English Abstract The main purpose of the IMAGE Land Use Model is to show
the user the relations between various land-use changes and agricultural
processes, the trade-offs between and the impact of different strategies to
control emissions related to land use. The major motive for land
conversions is the demand for food, meat and dairy products, and feed. Part
of this study involves functions of demand based on cross sections of the
GNP and population for a large number of countries. The sources of
greenhouse gases described in the Land Use Model are those related to land
use changes, agriculture, landfills and natural sources: CO2 emissions from
permanent and temporary conversions of forests to agricultural land and
grasslands; N2O) emissions from natural ecosystems and agricultural
systems; CH4 emissions from natural wetlands, wetland rice cultivation and
landfills, and finally, CH4, CO and N2O) emissions associated with burning
processes (burning of savannas, agricultural wastes and wildfires, shifting
cultivation and other processes of forest burning).
