Global land use changes are four times larger than previous estimates suggest
In short: Researchers using a new high-resolution assessment found that land use change has affected nearly one-third of the world's land area between 1960 and 2019. This scale of change is approximately four times greater than what previous long-term assessments had estimated.
By combining remote sensing, statistical data, and historical reconstructions, the study created the HILDA+ framework to track landscape shifts. The researchers observed that while the Global North experienced more afforestation and cropland abandonment, the Global South saw more deforestation and agricultural expansion. The study suggests that shifts in the rate of change may be linked to the influence of global trade on agricultural production.
Why it matters: Our understanding of how rapidly the Earth's surface is changing may be significantly underestimated.
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Sources
- Source: Research: Winkler et al. (2021). Global land use changes are four times greater than previously estimated. Nature Communications. · cc-by
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