This page gives some background on the Nodal Office for Integration and Modelling.
Background
The GLP Nodal Office in Aberdeen is a joint initiative between The Macaulay Institute and The University of Aberdeen. The office focuses on the integration and synthesis of activities, databases, models, methods and analysis tools relevant to the objectives of the GLP. The office will achieve its aims through focused international workshops and conferences (as GLP community research initiatives), by acting as a clearing house for relevant initiatives and activities, through the publication of scientific and policy-related material and through the development of funding proposals that address the GLP scientific agenda.
Integration and Modelling
Research preceding the Global Land Project within the Land Use and Land Cover Change program (LUCC) and the Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems project (GCTE) helped the international community increase its understanding of the potential impacts of the dynamics of land use change and their consequences. However, it has also highlighted limits in our understanding of the dynamics between social and ecological systems in the context of land change.
The GLP aims to study these dynamics in a holistic manner, as complex, simultaneous interactions between societal, natural and mixed processes at various scales. In order to do this, a large body of existing and on-going research work addressing different aspects of land systems need to be integrated and modelled. This will help address disciplinary fragmentation of the land system science community. In addition, there are scientific issues of integration and modelling that go beyond the linkage of existing work and that require attention in their own right.
The GLP therefore decided to establish a Nodal Office for Integration and Modelling (based in Aberdeen, UK) to assist the GLP IPO in this task.