Land use and land cover in global environmental change: considerations for study

First proposes subject divisions for research into global environmental change which separate the human causes of environmental change from its consequences to society, the first category being further subdivided into the effects of industrial metabolism, and land use and cover. The paper provides definitions of elements of environmental changes, and attempts to create a structure and modelling framework for research into the human aspects of this problem. The authors conclude with a discussion of the current methodological debate over environmental change within the social and natural sciences. -P.Hardiman