The spectralrao-monitoring Python package: A RAO's Q diversity index-based application for land-cover/land-use change detection in multifunctional agricultural areas

•The Rao's Q diversity index is used to detect LCLU changes in multifunctional agricultural areas.•We developed and provide a Rao’s Q diversity index-based open-source Python application: spectralrao-monitoring.•We tested this application with Landsat 8 satellite data.•Overall accuracies of our three tested methodological approaches range from 0.88 to 0.92.•The study area is part of the largest Portuguese multifunctional farmstead.