(iii) Integrated approach. The complexity of land-use systems and the associated
sustainability analysis demand a need for the integration of physical and social sciences.
While the disciplinary models are complex, have a sound theoretical basis and address
specific issues (e.g. groundwater contamination) in depth, the integrated models are
designed to be easy to use and implement, and therefore present broader, but less detailed
consequences for important issues. The essence of integrated modeling is to provide a
systematic way of integrating knowledge across disciplines, styles, resolutions and
degrees of certainty [3]. Most previous land-use models have been disciplinary in nature,
addressing either human or physical dimensions of land-use change, or addressing only
one part of the complexity of land-use systems [17]. In contrast, in AgFutures we integrate
human and natural dimensions of a land-use system at multiple scales, and examine the
impacts on social, economic and environmental outcomes and the trade-offs among these,
through selected indicators of sustainability. Inclusion of variables related to all three
components of sustainability provides a balanced perspective, in contrast to analyses that
emphasize only economic or environmental aspects of a system.