Simulating multiple scenarios of land use/cover change using a coupled model to capture ecological and economic effects

Abstract The conflict between the demands of ecological protection and economic development is increasingly prominent. Land use change is sensitive to whether economic or ecological profits dominate, and prediction of future land use changes has become an important scientific issue. This article constructs a coupled model that comprises the grey model (GM), the fuzzy multiple objective linear programming model (FMOLP) and the future land use simulation model (FLUS). We used this model to calculate a macro‐scale quantitative forecast using the top‐down GM‐FMOLP model, and calculated micro‐scale spatial simulations of land use/cover change (LUCC) using the bottom‐up FLUS model under three dissimilar future scenarios, with different emphases on ecological and economic benefits. The scenarios were designed to meet different planning requirements in Chongqing: ecological benefits maximization, economic benefits maximization, and combined ecological and economic benefits maximization. The proposed model, FLUS, was applied to a LUCC simulation for Chongqing in 2015, beginning from verified historical land use data from 2010. The results show that the simulation agrees well with the actual land use in 2015. The overall accuracy and kappa coefficient are 85.92% and 0.76, respectively, which indicates the model performs well. The three land use types with the highest producer and user accuracies are forest, cropland and water areas. The GM‐FMOLP model was used to forecast future LUCC quantity demand, and the FLUS model was then used to calculate spatial predictions for the three scenarios for 2040. The prediction results for the six land use types were significantly different under the three different scenarios. The total areas of forest, urban land and water increased by different degrees under the three scenarios, and the unused land area dwindled. Cropland areas were largely converted into forest, urban land and water areas. The increases in forest and urban land areas generally represents internal gap‐filling between disparate areas and peripheral expansion of areas of the same land use type. The increase in water area results from increased surface runoff in mountainous valleys with severe terrain. Areas of unused land are fully transformed into other land use types. The outcomes from the designed scenarios demonstrate that the proposed models are reliable and effective for future LUCC simulation, and highlight key areas where land use changes differently according to the scenario. In summary, in the predictions for the scenario that combined ecological and economic benefits maximization, each land use type tried to maximize ecological and economic benefits under the constraints, taking into account ecological safety and economic growth, which is in line with the coordination, comprehensiveness and binding requirements in Chongqing's development plan. Therefore, this scenario becomes the optimal scenario for land use optimization in Chongqing in the future. This study provides an example of the application of simulation and forecast models in land use management, remediation and urban planning, and addresses the growing requirement for low‐cost and effective tools for prediction of dynamic land use succession patterns.