This study addresses the challenging task of analysing multifunctional landscapes through an innovative integrated modelling approach. Acknowledging the limitations of disciplinary models in assessing diverse landscape functions, we present a conceptual framework for their integration. Demonstrating the feasibility and effectiveness of this approach in a Netherlands case study, we assess alternative land use changes for drought and carbon sequestration. Results underscore the framework's efficacy in elucidating the intricate relationship between carbon and water across multiple model runs and iterations. Notably, the alternative land use scenario reveals an average increase in soil moisture during dry periods and an increase in soil organic carbon content across four model runs. This softly coupled approach offers valuable insights into environmental modelling, facilitating navigation of complex integration challenges for researchers and practitioners. Furthermore, it enhances modelling transparency by elucidating variable representation and processes, providing a foundation for informed decisions in sustainable landscape management.

This research paper presents a systematic literature review on the use of remotely sensed and/or global datasets in distributed hydrological modelling. The study aims to investigate the most commonly used datasets in hydrological models and their performance across different geographical scales of catchments, including the micro-scale (<10 km²), meso-scale (10 km²–1000 km²), and macro-scale (>1000 km²). The analysis included a search for the relation between the use of these datasets to different regions and the geographical scale at which they are most widely used. Additionally, co-authorship analysis was performed on the articles to identify the collaboration patterns among researchers. The study further categorized the analysis based on the type of datasets, including rainfall, digital elevation model, land use, soil distribution, leaf area index, snow-covered area, evapotranspiration, soil moisture and temperature. The research concluded by identifying knowledge gaps in the use of each data type at different scales and highlighted the varying performance of datasets across different locations. The findings underscore the importance of selecting the right datasets, which has a significant impact on the accuracy of hydrological models. This study provides valuable insights into the use of remote sensed and/or global datasets in hydrological modelling, and the identified knowledge gaps can inform future research directions.