The observation scale, the integration of actors' perceptions and specificities associated with representing discrete or continuous phenomena are taken into account. The temporal dimension determines versions of an entity, taking into account the entity's historical evolution as well as existing alternatives for its future. Versions provide a memory of the territory and offer views of its potential evolution in function of existing projects. The spatial dimension situates entities and their relationships in space, provides the necessary elements for spatial analysis procedures and allows representation of territorial information in a form which corresponds to the chosen level of perception. Multi-representation of entities according to visualization scales as well as by theme provides original visualization possibilities for land management problems.
Spatial analysis provides a key element for obtaining relevant decision making information.
The SLR furnishes three essential elements for analyzing a land planning and development scenario. Firstly, it enables identification of useful data for analysis by determining the entities concerned by a scenario. Next, processing results, realized either within the GIS or by external simulation models, may be taken into account by means of alternative entity versions. References R. Pr laz-Droux and A. Musy. In Proceedings, XII C.I.G.R. World Congress and AgEng '94 Conference, Milano, Italy, 1994.