From land-use/land-cover to land system science : This article belongs to Ambio's 50th Anniversary Collection. Theme: Agricultural land use

Exploring trade-offs between residential and industrial functions in rural areas and their ecological impacts across transitioning agricultural systems: Evidence from the metropolitan suburbs of China

The rapid transition of agricultural systems substantially affects residential and industrial land use systems in rural areas, often generating spatiotemporal trade-offs between residential and industrial functions and producing considerable ecological impacts, which has thus far not been well understood. We conduct an indicator-based assessment of transitioning agriculture systems, and then links the transitioning agricultural systems to trade-offs between residential and industrial functions from 2005 to 2020 by using a case study-the metropolitan suburbs of Beijing, China. Also, the associated ecological impacts of the trade-offs are characterized based on the calculation of the ecological quality index (EQI) and ecological contribution rate. The results show that trade-offs between residential and industrial functions in the metropolitan suburbs have gradually adapted to the different agricultural systems in transition, which can be characterized by increasing industrial function as well as declining residential function, together with the diversification of land use into a mixed pattern. Additionally, along with the transitioning process comes a U shape of the ecological quality curve, which indicates that relentless industrial sprawl into regions where the agricultural system has a low capacity for technology, as well as decay in rural areas attributed to a rural exodus and industrial decline in semi-subsistence agricultural areas, even cause ecological degradation. In general, trade-offs between residential and industrial functions (especially for the non-agricultural production function) in rural areas could partially and temporally generate unfavorable ecological impacts, but it seems to be a favorable phenomenon to promote ecological quality in the long term. Therefore, to achieve rural sustainable planning, it is necessary for land use management to observe the trade-offs between residential and industrial functions while avoiding negative impacts, such as low-density land use patterns, disordered land use functions, and eco-environmental deterioration. Such effective strategies can contribute to the feasible implementation of policies aiming to achieve the compatible development of liveable residences, highly efficient industrial production, and eco-friendly operations in rural areas.

Land use change in rapidly developing economies-a case study on land use intensification and land fallowing in Kochi, Kerala, India

The land use/land cover change is a local driver of environmental change having cascading impacts and implications at the global level, and therefore requires appreciable consideration when perceived from sustainability perspectives. Kerala, the southernmost state of India, has undergone a dramatic transition from a traditional agrarian economy to a modern thriving economy involving the irrational exploitation of natural resources, precisely, land and its components. The present study addresses how land is being changed along an urbanization gradient in the most agglomerative city in the state, Kochi, during the last one and half decades. High-resolution remote sensing data available from the Google Earth Pro pertaining to the four time periods, i.e., 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020, representing urban, suburban, and rural areas, were analysed to estimate the changes in land use land cover. A semi-structured interview was conducted at the household level to identify the major drivers of land use change. The results indicated the presence of two major and divergent trends; the first one is the intensification of land use activities at the rate of 1.37% per annum, primarily driven by urbanization and infrastructure developments, and the second one is the fallowing and abandonment of land (at the rate of 0.21% per annum) driven by the increased cost of cultivation. The rates of change are more prominent in the rural areas while the urban grids are nearing saturation occupying nearly two-thirds of the area with urban features at the expense of greenery. Though the progression with respect to urbanization and infrastructure developments is expected, the fallowing and abandonment of land is unanticipated, raising serious questions in the developmental pathways to achieve Sustainable Development Goals in the State of Kerala.

Urbanization does not endanger food security: Evidence from China's Loess Plateau

The expansion of construction land due to urbanization is the most rapid land use change in contemporary human history and has always occupied high-quality cropland, posing a severe threat to cropland and food security, it's essential to clarify the impact of urbanization on cropland and food security. This study proposed a research framework based on the regulating role of human activities, used quantifiable complex network analysis to uncover the vital role of urbanization in the evolution of land systems, and combined trajectory analysis of crop yield change to explore the impact of different urbanization modes (urban, town, and township mode) on food security through a continuous observation on 4259 township-level administrative regions of the Loess Plateau from 1990 to 2020. The findings proved that urbanization occupied the greatest land use area of cropland, and the town mode occupied 58.62 % of all urbanization modes encroaching on cropland, which has become a new pattern for advancing the urbanization development in the Loess Plateau. Construction land is more likely to be transferred in than out in the land use transfer network, while other land use types converted to construction land will be difficult to reverse. The Chinese government has implemented pragmatic policies, improved agricultural production techniques, and promoted agricultural intensification, resulting in a considerable increase in crop productivity and crop yield and the achievement of basic crop yield self-sufficiency of the Loess Plateau, so urbanization would not endanger food security. This study not only provides a more systematic research framework for related studies but also provides a theoretical basis for securing food security in other rapidly urbanizing regions of the world.

Land-System Changes and Migration Amidst the Opium Poppy Collapse in the Southern Highlands of Oaxaca, Mexico (2016-2020)

For decades, Mexico has been one of the major illegal opium poppy cultivation countries in the world. In 2017-2018 the price of the opium gum dropped abruptly to a historical low, causing a sudden collapse of production. We analyze the dynamics of rural land systems amid this price collapse through a multi-site approach in three neighboring municipalities in the Southern Highlands of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. We use medium-scale spatial resolution satellite imagery for a quantitative assessment in a five-year period (2016-2020), complemented by secondary data and structured/semi-structured interviews with poppy growers and other key informants. Findings show that all three municipalities experienced pronounced declines in the areas of overall cultivated agricultural land immediately after the poppy price collapsed (2017-2018). However, there is a clear contrast among municipalities in how these areas recovered the following years (2019-2020). We identify three differentiating factors that explain this contrast in land-system trajectories: different levels of extreme poverty, livelihood diversification, and geographic isolation associated to (trans)national migration networks. These findings contribute to the analysis of the dynamic relationships among rural land systems, local resource management (including agrobiodiversity), and economic globalization involving illegal crop-commodity cultivation and migration, particularly in Latin America.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10745-022-00388-4.

Land Cover Change Detection and Subsistence Farming Dynamics in the Fringes of Mount Elgon National Park, Uganda from 1978–2020

Analyzing the dominant forms and extent of land cover changes in the Mount Elgon region is important for tracking conservation efforts and sustainable land management. Mount Elgon’s rugged terrain limits the monitoring of these changes over large areas. This study used multitemporal satellite imagery to analyze and quantify the land cover changes in the upper Manafwa watershed of Mount Elgon, for 42 years covering an area of 320 km2. The study employed remote sensing techniques, geographic information systems, and software to map land cover changes over four decades (1978, 1988, 2001, 2010, and 2020). The maximum likelihood classifier and post-classification comparison technique were used in land cover classification and change detection analysis. The results showed a positive percentage change (gain) in planted forest (3966%), built-up (890%), agriculture (186%), and tropical high forest low-stocked (119%) and a negative percentage change (loss) in shrubs (−81%), bushland (−68%), tropical high forest well-stocked (−50%), grassland (−44%), and bare and sparsely vegetated surfaces (−14%) in the period of 1978–2020. The observed changes were concentrated mainly at the peripheries of the Mount Elgon National Park. The increase in population and rising demand for agricultural land were major driving factors. However, regreening as a restoration effort has led to an increase in land area for planted forests, attributed to an improvement in conservation-related activities jointly implemented by the concerned stakeholders and native communities. These findings revealed the spatial and temporal land cover changes in the upper Manafwa watershed. The results could enhance restoration and conservation efforts when coupled with studies on associated drivers of these changes and the use of very-high-resolution remote sensing on areas where encroachment is visible in the park.

Socioeconomic outcomes of agricultural land use change in Southeast Asia

Agricultural land use is transforming rapidly in Southeast Asia, often supported by development policies aiming primarily at economic growth. However, the socioeconomic outcomes of these changes for smallholder farmers remain unclear. Here, we systematically review cases of agricultural land use change in Southeast Asia to assess their socioeconomic outcomes and potential trade-off and synergies in these outcomes. Of the 126 reviewed cases, we find mostly positive outcomes for income (SDG 1, 100 cases) and employment (SDG 8, 11 cases), while outcomes on health (SDG 3, 9 cases) were mixed, and outcomes for food security (SDG 2, 44 cases), gender equality (SDG 5, 13 cases), and economic equality (SDG 10, 14 cases) were mostly negative. Studies describing multiple outcomes show indications of synergies between income and food security, and between income and employment, but also potential trade-offs between income and economic equality. In addition, we find that economic land concessions result in multiple negative outcomes more often than other types of land governance regimes. The results provide evidence that economic gains from agricultural land use change often come at a cost of other dimensions of sustainable development.

Artisanal Products and Land-Use Land-Cover Change in Indigenous Communities: The Case of Mezcal Production in Oaxaca, Mexico

Artisanal products are considered an alternative to industrial production; however, upon entering global commodity markets, pressures are placed on the territories and customary governance of producer communities. Through the lenses of land system science and telecouplings, this paper examines the links connecting global markets and artisanal products, using the case of mezcal production in an Indigenous community in Oaxaca, Mexico, and the resulting impacts to LULC (land-use and land-cover) dynamics and associated governance. Data were collected through document review, semi-structured interviews, and LULC analysis comparing the years 1993, 2001, 2013, and 2019. Agave crops expanded from 6 to 14% during 1993–2001, stabilized through 2001–2013, and expanded from 14 to 22% during 2013–2019. Market dynamics played a crucial role in the resultant LULC changes, with the biggest impact on tropical dry forest (TDF). The LULC results were coupled with tequila markets during the first two periods, while the third period was linked to new mezcal markets. Our research shows how artisanal production can drive LULC changes. However, customary governance institutions can mediate the relationship between producers and markets to support more sustainable management of territorial resources, including TDF as an ecologically important but locally undervalued forest type.

Land-use trajectories for sustainable land system transformations: Identifying leverage points in a global biodiversity hotspot

Finding entry points where policy has strong leverage to transform land systems for people and nature is pivotal. We develop an innovative framework to identify and evaluate such leverage points along land-use trajectories that account for path dependency. Applied to the biodiversity hotspot Madagascar, the framework reveals three leverage points: Two leverage points are associated with trade-offs between biodiversity, ecosystem services, and agricultural productivity, while the third entails cobenefits. Swift policy action is required, as path dependency caused by forest loss may soon put two leverage points out of reach. We argue that such closing windows of opportunity may be common, but often overlooked, calling for a wider consideration of path dependency in land-system science.

Sustainable land-system transformations are necessary to avert biodiversity and climate collapse. However, it remains unclear where entry points for transformations exist in complex land systems. Here, we conceptualize land systems along land-use trajectories, which allows us to identify and evaluate leverage points, i.e., entry points on the trajectory where targeted interventions have particular leverage to influence land-use decisions. We apply this framework in the biodiversity hotspot Madagascar. In the northeast, smallholder agriculture results in a land-use trajectory originating in old-growth forests and spanning from forest fragments to shifting hill rice cultivation and vanilla agroforests. Integrating interdisciplinary empirical data on seven taxa, five ecosystem services, and three measures of agricultural productivity, we assess trade-offs and cobenefits of land-use decisions at three leverage points along the trajectory. These trade-offs and cobenefits differ between leverage points: Two leverage points are situated at the conversion of old-growth forests and forest fragments to shifting cultivation and agroforestry, resulting in considerable trade-offs, especially between endemic biodiversity and agricultural productivity. Here, interventions enabling smallholders to conserve forests are necessary. This is urgent since ongoing forest loss threatens to eliminate these leverage points due to path dependency. The third leverage point allows for the restoration of land under shifting cultivation through vanilla agroforests and offers cobenefits between restoration goals and agricultural productivity. The co-occurring leverage points highlight that conservation and restoration are simultaneously necessary to avert collapse of multifunctional mosaic landscapes. Methodologically, the framework highlights the importance of considering path dependency along trajectories to achieve sustainable land-system transformations.

A Review of Small Farmer Land Use and Deforestation in Tropical Forest Frontiers: Implications for Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods

Forest conversion for agriculture is the most expansive signature of human occupation on the Earth’s surface. This paper develops a conceptual model of factors underlying frontier agricultural expansion—the predominant driver of deforestation worldwide—from the perspective of small farm households—the majority of farmers globally. The framework consists of four causal rubrics: demographic, socioeconomic, political–economic, and ecological. Following this approach, the article explores the current state of knowledge on tropical deforestation in tropical agricultural frontiers with a focus on Latin America, the region of greatest deforestation worldwide during recent decades. Neo-Malthusian arguments notwithstanding, in many tropical nations, deforestation has proceeded unabated in recent years despite declining rural populations. However, evidence from the global-to-household scale suggests that population size and composition are also related to farm forest conversion. Existing particularist or behaviorialist theories sometimes fail to capture key geographical and temporal dimensions, yet studies support the notion that certain cultural, individual, and household characteristics are crucial determinants of forest clearing. Conversely, while institutional arguments sometimes fail to emphasize that the ultimate land use change agents are local resource users, their livelihood decisions are shaped and constrained by policies governing economic subsidies, and market and infrastructure development. Further, although ecological change is usually modeled as an outcome in the deforestation literature, increasingly acute climate change and natural farm endowments form a dynamic tabula rasa on which household land use decisions are enabled. To more fully comprehend frontier forest conversion and to enhance protection and conservation while promoting vital local livelihoods, future research may fruitfully investigate the interaction of demographic, social, political, economic, and ecological factors across spatial scales and academic disciplines.

The emergence of land systems as the nexus for sustainability transformations : This article belongs to Ambio's 50th Anniversary Collection. Theme: Agriculture land use

This perspective recognizes the seminal Ambio articles of Sombroek et al. (1993), Turner et al. (1994) and Brussaard et al. (1997), identifying their individual and collective role in laying the ground work for a global change research agenda on land and its human use through increased understanding of terrestrial ecosystem dynamics and global change, and furthering nascent interdisciplinary efforts within the global change science community to better understand the 'human driving forces' of change. From these efforts, land system science, as a systemic science focused on complex socio-ecological interactions around land use and associated trade-offs and synergies, emerges as an 'interdiscipline' challenged to better understand land systems as the 'meeting ground' for multiple claims on land for biodiversity, carbon, livelihoods, food production among others, and support pathways to sustainability for people and nature.