scholarly journals Fading opportunities for mitigating agriculture-environment trade-offs in a South American deforestation hotspot

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Law ◽  
Leandro Macchi ◽  
Matthias Baumann ◽  
Julieta Decarre ◽  
Gregorio Gavier-Pizarro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Spatial Optimization ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Second Development ◽  
Sustainability Planning ◽  
Land System ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Potential Traps ◽  
Sustainable Futures

Strong trade-offs between agriculture and the environment occur in deforestation frontiers, particularly in the world’s rapidly disappearing tropical and subtropical dry forests. Pathways to mitigate these trade-offs are often unclear, as well as how deforestation or different policies alter the option space of available pathways. Using a spatial optimization framework based on linear programming, we developed a landscape-scale possibility frontier describing trade-offs between agricultural profit, biodiversity, and carbon stock for the Argentinean Dry Chaco, a global deforestation hotspot. We use this framework to assess how current land-use zoning, as well as past and future land-use-trajectories, alter the option space to minimize trade-offs between biodiversity, carbon, and agriculture. Our analyses yield four major insights. First, we found substantial co-benefits between biodiversity and carbon, yet strong trade-offs of both with agriculture. Second, development according to the current zoning could lead to highly suboptimal socio-ecological outcomes, and our analysis pinpoints how this zoning could be improved. Third, high landscape-scale multifunctionality can be achieved using different land-use strategies, but maintaining >40% of forest is essential in all of them, and silvopastoral systems appear to be central for achieving high overall multifunctionality. Finally, our results suggest the window of opportunity is closing rapidly: recent land-use changes since 2000 have rapidly moved the Chaco within the options space, with forest extent declining towards critical thresholds for maintaining balanced, multifunctional landscapes. Our results emphasize that the time for sustainability planning in the Chaco is now. More broadly, we show how multi-criteria optimization can describe dynamic trade-offs between agriculture and the environment at landscape and regional scales. This can help to identify land-system tipping points that, once crossed, would inhibit more sustainable futures, and policies to avoid such potential traps.

scholarly journals Analyzing the Patterns, Trends and Dynamics of the Land-Use Changes in Azores Region: From 1990 to 2018

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5433
Author(s):  
Rui Alexandre Castanho ◽  
José Manuel Naranjo Gómez ◽  
Gualter Couto ◽  
Pedro Pimentel ◽  
Áurea Sousa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Regional Government ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Comprehensive Planning ◽  
Sustainability Planning ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
Planning Strategies ◽  
Agricultural Areas

The remarkable richness and singularity of the Azorean Region (located 38° North) and its landscapes require a sharp, well-defined, and comprehensive planning policy. Bearing in mind the significance of this issue in the enlightenment of sustainability, planning strategies should be based and supported by different studies and thematic domains to understand the problem thoroughly. Using GIS (Geographic Information Systems), the present article enables us to identify the dynamics and patterns of the evolution of the Land-Use Changes in the Azores Region from 1990 to 2018. In aggregate, the Azores islands showed growth in artificial surfaces and forest and seminatural land-uses by essentially decreasing agricultural areas—most resulting from the economic and social development strategy pursued by several Azorean governments. Moreover, this study permits us to reinforce that the Azores Archipelago’s land-uses has undergone multiple changes—marked by increasing and decreasing periods. In fact, some of these reducing dynamics are disturbing. They require closer monitorization by regional government actors to give protection, preservation, and conservation to these incomparable ultra-peripheral landscapes, environments, ecosystems, and the region as a whole.

scholarly journals Modelling land system evolution and dynamics of terrestrial carbon stocks in the Luanhe River Basin, China: a scenario analysis of trade-offs and synergies between sustainable development goals

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiren Xu ◽  
Fabrice G. Renaud ◽  
Brian Barrett
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Urban Growth ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Luanhe River Basin ◽  
Land System ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Development Goals

AbstractA more holistic understanding of land use and land cover (LULC) will help minimise trade-offs and maximise synergies, and lead to improved future land use management strategies for the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, current assessments of future LULC changes rarely focus on the multiple demands for goods and services, which are related to the synergies and trade-offs between SDGs and their targets. In this study, the land system (combinations of land cover and land use intensity) evolution trajectories of the Luanhe River Basin (LRB), China, and major challenges that the LRB may face in 2030, were explored by applying the CLUMondo and InVEST models. The results indicate that the LRB is likely to experience agricultural intensification and urban growth under all four scenarios that were explored. The cropland intensity and the urban growth rate were much higher under the historical trend (Trend) scenario compared to those with more planning interventions (Expansion, Sustainability, and Conservation scenarios). Unless the forest area and biodiversity conservation targets are implemented (Conservation scenario), the forest areas are projected to decrease by 2030. The results indicate that water scarcity in the LRB is likely to increase under all scenarios, and the carbon storage will increase under the Conservation scenario but decrease under all other scenarios by 2030. Our methodological framework and findings can guide regional sustainable development in the LRB and other large river basins in China, and will be valuable for policy and planning purposes to the pursuance of SDGs at the sub-national scale.

scholarly journals Future Impacts of Land Use Change on Ecosystem Services under Different Scenarios in the Ecological Conservation Area, Beijing, China

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zuzheng Li ◽  
Xiaoqin Cheng ◽  
Hairong Han
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Carbon Storage ◽  
Soil Conservation ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Conservation Area ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Ecological Conservation ◽  
Flood Regulation

Ecosystem services (ES), defined as benefits provided by the ecosystem to society, are essential to human well-being. However, it remains unclear how they will be affected by land-use changes due to lack of knowledge and data gaps. Therefore, understanding the response mechanism of ecosystem services to land-use change is critical for developing systematic and sound land planning. In this study, we aimed to explore the impacts of land-use change on the three ecosystem services, carbon storage (CS), flood regulation (FR), and soil conservation (SC), in the ecological conservation area of Beijing, China. We first projected land-use changes from 2015 to 2030, under three scenarios, i.e., Business as Usual (BAU), Ecological Land Protection (ELP), and Rapid Economic Development (RED), by interactively integrating the Markov model (Quantitative simulation) with the GeoSOS-FLUS model (Spatial arrangement), and then quantified the three ecosystem services by using a spatially explicit InVEST model. The results showed that built-up land would have the most remarkable growth during 2015–2030 under the RED scenario (2.52% increase) at the expense of cultivated and water body, while forest land is predicted to increase by 152.38 km2 (1.36% increase) under the ELP scenario. The ELP scenario would have the highest amount of carbon storage, flood regulation, and soil conservation, due to the strict protection policy on ecological land. The RED scenario, in which a certain amount of cultivated land, water body, and forest land is converted to built-up land, promotes soil conservation but triggers greater loss of carbon storage and flood regulation capacity. The conversion between land-use types will affect trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services, in which carbon storage would show significant positive correlation with soil conservation through the period of 2015 to 2030, under all scenarios. Together, our results provide a quantitative scientific report that policymakers and land managers can use to identify and prioritize the best practices to sustain ecosystem services, by balancing the trade-offs among services.

scholarly journals Local Perspectives on Ecosystem Service Trade-Offs in a Forest Frontier Landscape in Myanmar

Land ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Feurer ◽  
Andreas Heinimann ◽  
Flurina Schneider ◽  
Christine Jurt ◽  
Win Myint ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Oil Palm ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Rubber Plantations ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Land User ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Local Perspectives

Extensive land use changes in forest frontier landscapes are leading to trade-offs in the supply of ecosystem services (ES) with, in many cases, as yet unknown effects on human well-being. In the Tanintharyi Region of Myanmar, a forest frontier landscape facing oil palm and rubber expansion, little is known about local perspectives on ES and the direct impact of trade-offs from land use change. This study assessed the trade-offs experienced with respect to 10 locally important ES from land user perspectives using social valuation techniques. The results show that while intact forests provide the most highly valued ES bundle, the conversion to rubber plantations entails fewer negative trade-offs than that to oil palm. Rubber plantations offer income, fuelwood, a good microclimate, and even new cultural identities. By contrast, oil palm concessions have caused environmental pollution, and, most decisively, have restricted local people’s access to the respective lands. The ES water flow regulation is seen as the most critical if more forest is converted; other ES, such as non-timber forest products, can be more easily substituted. We conclude that, from local perspectives, the impact of ES trade-offs highly depends on access to land and opportunities to adapt to change.

scholarly journals Assessing the Potential Impact of Rising Production of Industrial Wood Pellets on Streamflow in the Presence of Projected Changes in Land Use and Climate: A Case Study from the Oconee River Basin in Georgia, United States

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Surendra Shrestha ◽  
Puneet Dwivedi ◽  
S. McKay ◽  
David Radcliffe
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Base Case ◽  
Wood Pellets ◽  
Wood Pellet ◽  
Changing Climate ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Oconee River

This study examines the impact of projected land use changes in the context of growing production of industrial wood pellets coupled with expected changes in precipitation and temperature due to the changing climate on streamflow in a watershed located in the northeastern corner of the Oconee River Basin. We used the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) for ascertaining any changes in streamflow over time. The developed model was calibrated over a seven-year period (2001–2007) and validated over another seven-year period (2008–2014). Any changes in streamflow were simulated for a combination of 10 land use and climate change cases, from 2015 to 2028, under the two scenarios of High and Low Demand for industrial wood pellets. Our results suggest that streamflow is relatively stable (<1% change) for land use and temperature-related cases relative to the base case of no change in land use and climate. However, changes in precipitation by ±10% lead to considerable changes (±25%) in streamflow relative to the base case. Based on our results, expected changes in precipitation due to the changing climate will determine any changes in the streamflow, rather than projected land use changes in the context of rising demand for industrial wood pellets for export purposes in the selected watershed, keeping land under urban areas as constant. This study contributes to our broader understanding of the sustainability of the transatlantic industrial wood pellet trade; however, we suggest undertaking similar research at a larger spatial scale over a longer time horizon for understanding trade-offs across carbon, biodiversity, and water impacts of the transatlantic industrial wood pellet trade.

scholarly journals The Effects of Land-Use Change/Conversion on Trade-Offs of Ecosystem Services in Three Precipitation Zones

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 13306
Author(s):  
Qiang Feng ◽  
Siyan Dong ◽  
Baoling Duan
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Piecewise Linear ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Spatial Differentiation ◽  
Mean Annual Precipitation ◽  
Water Yield ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Negative Effect

Revealing the spatial differentiation of ecosystem service (ES) trade-offs and their responses to land-use change along precipitation gradients are important issues in the Loess Plateau of China. We selected three watersheds called Dianshi (300 mm < MAP (mean annual precipitation) < 400 mm), Ansai (400 mm < MAP < 500 mm), and Linzhen (500 mm < MAP < 600 mm). A new ES trade-off quantification index was proposed, and quantile regression, piecewise linear regression, and redundancy analysis were used. The results were as follows. (1) Carbon sequestration (TC) and soil conservation (SEC) increased, but water yield (WY) decreased in the three watersheds from 2000 to 2018. (2) The effect of forests on trade-offs was positive in three watersheds, the main effect of shrubs was also positive, but the negative effect appeared in the TC-WY trade-off in Ansai. Grassland exacerbated trade-offs in Dianshi, whereas it reduced trade-offs in Ansai and Linzhen. These effects exhibited respective trends with the quantile in the three watersheds. (3) There were threshold values that trade-offs responded to land-use changes, and we could design land-use conversion types to balance ESs. In general, the water consumption of grass cannot be ignored in Dianshi; shrubs and grass are suitable vegetation types, and forests need to be restricted in Ansai; more forests and shrubs can be supported in Linzen due to higher precipitation, but the current proportions of forests and shrubs are too high. Our research contributes to a better understanding of the response mechanisms of ES trade-offs to land-use changes.

scholarly journals Assessing potential landscape service trade-offs driven by urbanization in Switzerland

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Madleina Gerecke ◽  
Oskar Hagen ◽  
Janine Bolliger ◽  
Anna M. Hersperger ◽  
Felix Kienast ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Landscape Management ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Landscape Services ◽  
The Past ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Land Surfaces ◽  
Landscape Information

Abstract Landscapes have been changing at an increasing pace over the past century, with countless consequences for humans and their surrounding environments. Information on past and future land use change and the resulting alteration of landscape service provisioning are valuable inputs for policy making and planning. Land use transitions in Switzerland (2009–2081) were simulated using statistical models informed by past land use changes as well as environmental and socio-economic data (1979–2009). By combining land use types with additional contextual landscape information, eight landscape services, based on both (semi-)natural and artificial landscapes, were quantified and investigated on how they would evolve under projected land use changes. Investigation of land use transitions showed region-dependent trends of urban expansion, loss of agricultural area, and forest regrowth. Landscapes cannot accommodate all services simultaneously, and this study sheds light on some competing landscape services, in particular (i) housing at the expense of agriculture and (ii) vanishing recreation opportunities around cities as city limits, and thus housing and job provisioning, expand. Model projections made it possible to pinpoint potential trade-offs between landscape services in a spatially explicit manner, thereby providing information on service provision losses and supporting planning. While future changes are presented as extrapolations of the patterns quantified in the past, policy changes might cause deviation from the projections presented here. A major challenge is to produce socio-economic and policy scenarios to inform projections that will differ from current landscape management. Given that urban sprawl is affecting many land surfaces globally, the approach used here could be generalized to other countries in similar situations.

scholarly journals Trade-offs in water and carbon ecosystem services with land-use changes in grasslands

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1633-1644 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Kim ◽  
Esteban G. Jobbágy ◽  
Robert B. Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Trade Offs

scholarly journals Multi-Function Tradeoffs of Land System in Urbanized Areas—A Case Study of Xi’an, China

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 640
Author(s):  
Jiaqi Shao ◽  
Fei Li
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Spatial Pattern ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Qinling Mountains ◽  
The South ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Land System ◽  
The North ◽  
Trade Offs

Multi-functional trade-offs and synergy research on land systems are hotspots in geography and land science research, and are of great significance for achieving sustainable development of land use and the effective allocation of land resources. Recently, the development of the western region and The Belt and Road Initiative have become key topics, bringing opportunities and challenges to Xi’an. The rapid development of cities is accompanied by drastic changes in land use, and the ecological problems in the Qinling Mountains are becoming increasingly severe. This study took Xi’an as a case study and quantitatively evaluated the spatial-temporal patterns and trade-offs of land system functions such as economic development (ED), grain production (GP), ecological service (ES), etc. on the scale of 1 km × 1 km by fusing the data on land use, topography, soil, climate, and social economy. The results showed that the ED function of the land system continued to rise between 1980 and 2015, the GP function first declined and then increased; however, the ES function continued to decline. The ED, GP and ES functions respectively present a spatial pattern of high-value agglomeration, high in the north and low in the south, and high in the south and low in the north. In general, the three land system functions were trade-offs between each other. In terms of spatial pattern, ED and ES functions showed trade-offs in the south and a synergy distribution in the north; ESs and GP function trade-off zone significantly larger than the synergy zone, the trade-off between the two was significant; while the trade-off and the synergy zone for GP and ED was relatively small, the trade-off zone was the main one. The significant trade-off between GP and ES functions of the land system is a serious problem in land use in Xi’an. Under the premise of limited arable land, it is the current feasible strategy to promote the high-quality development of agriculture to increase the cultivation rate and efficiency, and to strengthen the ecological protection of arable land. In addition, the continued decline of ES functions is also worthy of attention. It is necessary to focus on increasing the greening rate of the city and strengthening the ecological management of the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains.

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