LUCAS: an original tool for landscape modelling

The aim of this paper is to present an original modelling tool for biogeographical systems. This software named LUCAS (LUcifer Cellular Automata Simulator) has been developed within the European programme LUCIFER (Land Use Change Interactions with Fire in MeditERrranean landscapes). LUCAS constitutes general software, based on coupling local dynamics described by a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations with a cellular automaton spatial model. Various parameters related to the system considered can be chosen by the user. Numerous possibilities of LUCAS are illustrated through a real application regarding the catchment of a Polish river.