Land-N2N: An effective and efficient model for simulating the demand-driven changes in multifunctional lands

Land is multifunctional. Among all land change models, the only model capable of modeling multifunctional land changes is the CLUMondo model. However, the CLUMondo model is ineffective and inefficient. In the study, we addressed the problems by improving the CLUMondo model through four strategies, resulting in the improved version named “Land-N2N”. To evaluate the Land-N2N model, we designed six comparative experiments. In these experiments, we established the land systems using an upscaling approach based on Globeland30 data. Our finding shows that the effectiveness and efficiency of the Land-N2N model are better than the CLUMondo model. Specifically, the effectiveness of the Land-N2N model improved by 36% when measured with Kappa and by 377% when measured with Figure of Merit (FoM). Additionally, the efficiency of the Land-N2N model increased by 80%. The utility of the Land-N2N model lies in its ability to offer scientific solutions for land management by forecasting land changes.