Spatial policies and restrictions
Spatial policies and land tenure can influence the pattern of land use change. Spatial
policies and restrictions mostly indicate areas where land use changes are restricted
through policies or tenure status. For the simulation maps that indicate the areas for
which the spatial policy is implemented must be supplied. Some spatial policies restrict
all land use change in a certain area, e.g., a log-ban within a forest reserve. Other land
use policies restrict a set of specific land use conversions, e.g., residential construction
in designated agricultural areas or permanent agriculture in the buffer zone of a nature
reserve. The conversions that are restricted by a certain spatial policy can be indicated
in a land use conversion matrix: for all possible land use conversions it is indicated if the
spatial policy applies.