Editing Land use

{{Short description|Classification of land resources based on what can be built and on its use}}
[[File:Co2-land-use_(OWID_0189).png|thumb|Cumulative [[Greenhouse gas emissions|CO2 emissions]] from land-use change (as of 2021). Emissions from land-use change can be positive or negative depending on whether these changes emit (positive, brown on the map) or sequester (negative) carbon (green on the map).]]
'''Land use''' is an umbrella term to describe what happens on a parcel of [[land]]. It concerns the benefits derived from using the land, and also the [[land management]] actions that humans carry out there.<ref name=":1" /> The following categories are used for land use: [[forest land]], cropland ([[agricultural land]]), [[grassland]], [[Wetland|wetlands]], [[Human settlement|settlements]] and other lands.<ref name=":2" /> The way humans use land, and how land use is changing, has many [[Human impact on the environment|impacts on the environment]].<ref name="Meyfroidt 52–67">{{Cite journal |last1=Meyfroidt |first1=P. |last2=Roy Chowdhury |first2=R. |last3=de Bremond |first3=A. |last4=Ellis |first4=E. C. |last5=Erb |first5=K. -H. |last6=Filatova |first6=T. |last7=Garrett |first7=R. D. |last8=Grove |first8=J. M. |last9=Heinimann |first9=A. |last10=Kuemmerle |first10=T. |last11=Kull |first11=C. A. |date=2018-11-01 |title=Middle-range theories of land system change |url=https://research.utwente.nl/files/59268660/middle_range.pdf |journal=[[Global Environmental Change]] |language=en |volume=53 |pages=52–67 |doi=10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2018.08.006 |issn=0959-3780 |s2cid=158366220 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2018GEC....53...52M }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ellis |first=Erle C. |date=2021-10-18 |title=Land Use and Ecological Change: A 12,000-Year History |journal=Annual Review of Environment and Resources |volume=46 |issue=1 |pages=1–33 |doi=10.1146/annurev-environ-012220-010822 |s2cid=244592514 |issn=1543-5938|doi-access=free }}</ref> Effects of land use choices and changes by humans include, for example, [[urban sprawl]], [[soil erosion]], [[soil degradation]], [[land degradation]] and [[desertification]].<ref>[http://unstats.un.org/unsd/ENVIRONMENT/envpdf/landdatafinal.pdf UN Land Degradation and Land Use/Cover Data Sources] ret. 26 June 2007</ref> Land use and [[land management]] practices have a major impact on [[natural resources]] including [[water]], [[soil]], [[nutrient]]s, [[plant]]s and [[animal]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ameztegui |first1=Aitor |last2=Coll |first2=Lluis |last3=Brotons |first3=Lluis |last4=Ninot |first4=J.M. |date=2016 |title=Land-use legacies rather than climate change are driving the recent upward shift of the mountain tree line in the Pyrenees. |url=http://arxiudigital.ctfc.cat/docs/upload/27_520_Ameztegui_et_al-Global_Ecology_and_Biogeography.pdf |url-status=live |journal=[[Global Ecology and Biogeography]] |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=263–273 |doi=10.1111/geb.12407 |bibcode=2016GloEB..25..263A |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809213135/https://arxiudigital.ctfc.cat/docs/upload/27_520_Ameztegui_et_al-Global_Ecology_and_Biogeography.pdf |archive-date=August 9, 2021 |access-date=September 8, 2022 |hdl-access=free |hdl=10459.1/65151}}</ref><ref name="Global Land Outlook">{{cite report |title=Global Land Outlook |publisher=[[United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification]] |page=21 |isbn=978-92-95110-48-9 |access-date=September 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920172701/https://knowledge.unccd.int/sites/default/files/2018-06/GLO%20English_Ch1.pdf |archive-date=September 20, 2022 |url-status=live |chapter-url=https://knowledge.unccd.int/sites/default/files/2018-06/GLO%20English_Ch1.pdf |chapter=Chapter 1 - Meaning of Land |year=2017}}</ref>

''Land use change'' is "the change from one land-use category to another".<ref name=":2" /> Land-use change, together with use of [[fossil fuel]]s, are the major [[Human impact on the environment|anthropogenic]] sources of carbon dioxide, a dominant [[greenhouse gas]].<ref name=":16" /> Human activity is the most significant cause of land cover change, and humans are also directly impacted by the environmental consequences of these changes.<ref name=":72" /> For example, [[deforestation]] (the systematic and permanent conversion of previously forested land for other uses) has historically been a primary facilitator of land use and land cover change.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last1=Mayer |first1=Audrey L. |last2=Buma |first2=Brian |last3=Davis |first3=Amélie |last4=Gagné |first4=Sara A. |last5=Loudermilk |first5=E. Louise |last6=Scheller |first6=Robert M. |last7=Schmiegelow |first7=Fiona K.A. |last8=Wiersma |first8=Yolanda F. |last9=Franklin |first9=Janet |date=2016-04-27 |title=How Landscape Ecology Informs Global Land-Change Science and Policy |journal=BioScience |volume=66 |issue=6 |pages=458–469 |doi=10.1093/biosci/biw035 |issn=0006-3568 |doi-access=free |hdl-access=free |hdl=11122/8174}}</ref><ref name=":17">{{Cite web |last=Derouin |first=Sarah |date=2019 |title=Deforestation: Facts, Causes & Effects |url=https://www.livescience.com/27692-deforestation.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201220080102/https://www.livescience.com/27692-deforestation.html |archive-date=2020-12-20 |access-date=2021-03-08 |website=livescience.com |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Land change science|study of land change]] relies on the synthesis of a wide range of data and a diverse range of data collection methods.<ref name=":52">{{Cite journal |last1=Magliocca |first1=Nicholas R. |last2=Rudel |first2=Thomas K. |last3=Verburg |first3=Peter H. |last4=McConnell |first4=William J. |last5=Mertz |first5=Ole |last6=Gerstner |first6=Katharina |last7=Heinimann |first7=Andreas |last8=Ellis |first8=Erle C. |date=February 2015 |title=Synthesis in land change science: methodological patterns, challenges, and guidelines |journal=Regional Environmental Change |language=en |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=211–226 |bibcode=2015REnvC..15..211M |doi=10.1007/s10113-014-0626-8 |issn=1436-3798 |pmc=4372122 |pmid=25821402 |doi-access=free}}</ref> These include land cover monitoring and assessments, modeling risk and vulnerability, and [[land change modeling]].

== Definition and categories ==
[[File:Land-use-australian-capital-territory-large.png|thumb|A graphic description of land use in the [[Australian Capital Territory]] as of 2017. Colours represent different uses.]]
[[File:Long-term-change-in-land-use.png|thumb|The development of global land use over the centuries and millennia: more and more of the world's habitable land is used for agriculture.]]
The [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|IPCC]] defines the term ''land use'' as the "total of arrangements, activities and inputs applied to a parcel of land".<ref name=":2">IPCC, 2022: [https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGII_Annex-II.pdf Annex II: Glossary] [Möller, V., R. van Diemen, J.B.R. Matthews, C. Méndez, S. Semenov, J.S. Fuglestvedt, A. Reisinger (eds.)]. In: [https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/ Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, pp. 2897–2930, doi:10.1017/9781009325844.029.</ref>{{rp|2914}} The same report groups ''land use'' into the following categories: [[forest land]], cropland ([[agricultural land]]), [[grassland]], [[Wetland|wetlands]], [[Human settlement|settlements]] and ''other lands''.<ref name=":2" />{{rp|2914}} 

Another definition is that of the [[United Nations]]' [[Food and Agriculture Organization]]: "Land use concerns the products and/or benefits obtained from use of the land as well as the [[land management]] actions (activities) carried out by humans to produce those products and benefits."<ref name=":1">[https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20090808100750/http://www.fao.org/landandwater/agll/landuse/landusedef.stm FAO Land and Water Division] retrieved 14 September 2010</ref> 

As of the early 1990s, about 13% of the [[Earth]] was considered arable land, with 26% in pasture, 32% forests and woodland, and 1.5% urban areas.<ref name=":1" />

As of 2015, the total [[arable land]] is 10.7% of the land surface, with 1.3% being permanent cropland.<ref>{{cite web |title=World Bank arable land |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.ARBL.ZS/countries/1W?display=graph |access-date=October 19, 2015 |publisher=[[World Bank]] |archive-date=October 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002170510/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.ARBL.ZS/countries/1w?display=graph |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=World Bank permanent cropland |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.CROP.ZS/countries?display=graph |access-date=October 19, 2015 |publisher=[[World Bank]] |archive-date=July 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713131245/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.CROP.ZS/countries?display=graph |url-status=live}}</ref>

For example, the [[US Department of Agriculture]] has identified six major types of land use in the United States. Acreage statistics for each type of land use in the [[Contiguous United States|contiguous 48 states]] in 2017 were as follows:<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last1=Merrill |first1=Dave |last2=Leatherby |first2=Lauren |date=July 31, 2018 |title=Here's How America Uses Its Land |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-us-land-use/ |access-date=2018-08-05 |work=[[Bloomberg News|Bloomberg]]}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+US land use (2017)<ref name=":0" />
!Use
!acreage (M)
!km<sup>2</sup> (M)
!% of total
|-
|[[Pasture]]/[[Rangeland|range]]
|654
|2.647
|35
|-
|[[Forest]]
|538.6
|2.18
|28
|-
|[[Agricultural land|Cropland]]
|391.5
|1.584
|21
|-
|Special use
|168.8
|0.683
|9
|-
|Miscellaneous
|68.9
|0.279
|4
|-
|[[Urban area|Urban]]
|69.4
|0.281
|4
|-
|Total
|1,891
|7.653
|100
|}
''Special use'' areas in the table above include national parks (29 M acres) and state parks (15 M), wildlife areas (64.4 M), highways (21 M), railroads (3M), military bases (25 M), airports (3M) and a few others. ''Miscellaneous'' includes cemeteries, golf courses, marshes, deserts, and other areas of "low economic value". The total land area of the United States is 9.1 M km<sup>2</sup> but the total used here refers only to the contiguous 48 states, without Alaska etc.

== Land use change ==
{{See also|Land change science}}
[[File:Global land use for food production, OWID statistic.png|thumb|upright=1.8|Global distribution of land used for agriculture]]
''Land use change'' is "the change from one land-use category to another".<ref name=":2" />{{rp|2914}} Land-use change, together with use of [[fossil fuel]]s, are the major [[Human impact on the environment|anthropogenic]] sources of carbon dioxide, a dominant [[greenhouse gas]].<ref name=":16">{{cite web |title=UN Report on Climate Change |url=http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM2feb07.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203164304/http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM2feb07.pdf |archive-date=February 3, 2007 |access-date=June 25, 2007}}</ref>

Human activity is the most significant cause of land cover change, and humans are also directly impacted by the environmental consequences of these changes.<ref name=":72">{{Cite web |title=The Science of LCLUC {{!}} LCLUC |url=https://lcluc.umd.edu/content/science-lcluc |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117170607/https://lcluc.umd.edu/content/science-lcluc |archive-date=2021-01-17 |access-date=2021-03-08 |website=lcluc.umd.edu}}</ref> Collective land use and land cover changes have fundamentally altered the functioning of key [[Earth system science|Earth systems]].<ref name=":112">{{Cite journal |last1=Lambin |first1=Eric F. |last2=Turner |first2=B.L. |last3=Geist |first3=Helmut J. |last4=Agbola |first4=Samuel B. |last5=Angelsen |first5=Arild |last6=Bruce |first6=John W. |last7=Coomes |first7=Oliver T. |last8=Dirzo |first8=Rodolfo |last9=Fischer |first9=Günther |last10=Folke |first10=Carl |last11=George |first11=P.S. |last12=Homewood |first12=Katherine |last13=Imbernon |first13=Jacques |last14=Leemans |first14=Rik |last15=Li |first15=Xiubin |date=2001-12-01 |title=The causes of land-use and land-cover change: moving beyond the myths |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959378001000073 |url-status=live |journal=Global Environmental Change |language=en |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=261–269 |bibcode=2001GEC....11..261L |doi=10.1016/S0959-3780(01)00007-3 |issn=0959-3780 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200705082119/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959378001000073 |archive-date=2020-07-05 |access-date=2021-04-09 |last16=Moran |first16=Emilio F. |last17=Mortimore |first17=Michael |last18=Ramakrishnan |first18=P.S. |last19=Richards |first19=John F. |last20=Skånes |first20=Helle |last21=Steffen |first21=Will |last22=Stone |first22=Glenn D. |last23=Svedin |first23=Uno |last24=Veldkamp |first24=Tom A. |last25=Vogel |first25=Coleen |author25-link=Coleen Vogel |last26=Xu |first26=Jianchu|url-access=subscription }}</ref> For instance, human changes to land use and land cover have a profound impact on climate at a local and regional level, which in turn contributes to [[climate change]].<ref name=":112" />

Land use by humans has a long history, first emerging more than 10,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ellis |first1=Erle |last2=Goldewijk |first2=Kees Klein |last3=Gaillard |first3=Marie-José |last4=Kaplan |first4=Jed O. |last5=Thornton |first5=Alexa |last6=Powell |first6=Jeremy |last7=Garcia |first7=Santiago Munevar |last8=Beaudoin |first8=Ella |last9=Zerboni |first9=Andrea |date=2019-08-30 |title=Archaeological assessment reveals Earth's early transformation through land use |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |language=en |volume=365 |issue=6456 |pages=897–902 |bibcode=2019Sci...365..897S |doi=10.1126/science.aax1192 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=31467217 |s2cid=201674203 |hdl-access=free |hdl=10150/634688}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ellis |first1=Erle C. |last2=Gauthier |first2=Nicolas |last3=Goldewijk |first3=Kees Klein |last4=Bird |first4=Rebecca Bliege |last5=Boivin |first5=Nicole |last6=Díaz |first6=Sandra |last7=Fuller |first7=Dorian Q. |last8=Gill |first8=Jacquelyn L. |last9=Kaplan |first9=Jed O. |last10=Kingston |first10=Naomi |last11=Locke |first11=Harvey |date=2021-04-27 |title=People have shaped most of terrestrial nature for at least 12,000 years |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]] |language=en |volume=118 |issue=17 |pages=e2023483118 |bibcode=2021PNAS..11823483E |doi=10.1073/pnas.2023483118 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=8092386 |pmid=33875599 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Human changes to land surfaces have been documented for centuries as having significant impacts on both [[Earth system science|earth systems]] and human well-being. [[Deforestation]] is an example of large-scale land use change. The deforestation of [[temperate region]]s since 1750 has had a major effect on [[land cover]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Changes in Atmospheric Constituents and in Radiative Forcing |url=http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-chapter2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215200559/http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-chapter2.pdf |archive-date=December 15, 2007 |publisher=[[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]]}}</ref> The reshaping of landscapes to serve human needs, such as the deforestation for [[Agricultural land|farmland]], can have long-term effects on earth systems and exacerbate the causes of climate change.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last1=Turner |first1=B. L. |last2=Lambin |first2=Eric F. |last3=Reenberg |first3=Anette |date=2007 |title=The emergence of land change science for global environmental change and sustainability |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=104 |issue=52 |pages=20666–20671 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0704119104 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=2409212 |pmid=18093934 |doi-access=free}}</ref> 

Although the burning of fossil fuels is the primary driver of present-day climate change, prior to the [[Industrial Revolution]], [[deforestation]] and [[irrigation]] were the largest sources of human-driven [[greenhouse gas emissions]].<ref name=":02" /> Even today, 35% of anthropogenic carbon dioxide contributions can be attributed to land use or land cover changes.<ref name=":02" /> Currently, almost 50% of Earth’s non-ice land surface has been transformed by human activities, with approximately 40% of that land used for [[agriculture]], surpassing natural systems as the principal source of nitrogen emissions.<ref name=":02" />

Increasing land conversion by humans in future is not inevitable: In a discussion on response options to [[climate change mitigation]] and [[Climate change adaptation|adaptation]] an [[Special Report on Climate Change and Land|IPCC special report]] stated that "a number of response options such as increased food productivity, [[Planetary health diet|dietary choices]] and food losses, and waste reduction, can reduce demand for land conversion, thereby potentially freeing land and creating opportunities for enhanced implementation of other response options".<ref name=":15">IPCC, 2019: [https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/4/2022/11/SRCCL_SPM.pdf Summary for Policymakers]. In: [https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl/ Climate Change and Land: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems] [P.R. Shukla, J. Skea, E. Calvo Buendia, V. Masson-Delmotte, H.- O. Pörtner, D. C. Roberts, P. Zhai, R. Slade, S. Connors, R. van Diemen, M. Ferrat, E. Haughey, S. Luz, S. Neogi, M. Pathak, J. Petzold, J. Portugal Pereira, P. Vyas, E. Huntley, K. Kissick, M. Belkacemi, J. Malley, (eds.)]. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009157988.001</nowiki></ref>{{rp|20}}

== Analytical methods ==
[[Land change science]] relies heavily on the synthesis of a wide range of data and a diverse range of data collection methods, some of which are detailed below.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last1=Magliocca |first1=Nicholas R. |last2=Rudel |first2=Thomas K. |last3=Verburg |first3=Peter H. |last4=McConnell |first4=William J. |last5=Mertz |first5=Ole |last6=Gerstner |first6=Katharina |last7=Heinimann |first7=Andreas |last8=Ellis |first8=Erle C. |date=February 2015 |title=Synthesis in land change science: methodological patterns, challenges, and guidelines |journal=Regional Environmental Change |language=en |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=211–226 |bibcode=2015REnvC..15..211M |doi=10.1007/s10113-014-0626-8 |issn=1436-3798 |pmc=4372122 |pmid=25821402 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Land cover monitoring and assessments ===
A primary function of land change science is to document and model long-term patterns of landscape change, which may result from both human activity and natural processes.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Land Cover Monitoring and Assessments {{!}} USGS.gov |url=https://www.usgs.gov/core-science-systems/land-change-science-program/science/land-cover-monitoring-and-assessments |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210074940/https://www.usgs.gov/core-science-systems/land-change-science-program/science/land-cover-monitoring-and-assessments |archive-date=2021-02-10 |access-date=2021-02-09 |website=www.usgs.gov}}</ref> In the course of monitoring and assessing land cover and land use changes, scientists look at several factors, including where [[Land cover|land-cover]] and land-use are changing, the extent and timescale of changes, and how changes vary through time.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=The Science of LCLUC {{!}} LCLUC |url=https://lcluc.umd.edu/content/science-lcluc |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117170607/https://lcluc.umd.edu/content/science-lcluc |archive-date=2021-01-17 |access-date=2021-03-08 |website=lcluc.umd.edu}}</ref> To this end, scientists use a variety of tools, including [[satellite imagery]] and other sources of [[Remote sensing|remotely sensed data]] (e.g., aircraft imagery), field observations, historical accounts, and reconstruction modeling.<ref name=":3" /> These tools, particularly satellite imagery, allow land change scientists to accurately monitor land-change rates and create a consistent, long-term record to quantify change variability over time.<ref name=":7" /> Through observing patterns in land cover changes, scientists can determine the consequences of these changes, predict the impact of future changes, and use this information to inform strategic [[land management]].

=== Modeling risk and vulnerability ===
Modeling [[risk assessment|risk]] and [[Vulnerability assessment|vulnerability]] is also one of land change science's practical applications. Accurate predictions of how human activity will influence [[land cover]] change over time, as well as the impact that such changes have on the sustainability of ecological and human systems, can inform the creation of policy designed to address these changes.<ref name=":82">{{Cite journal |last1=Mayer |first1=Audrey L. |last2=Buma |first2=Brian |last3=Davis |first3=Amélie |last4=Gagné |first4=Sara A. |last5=Loudermilk |first5=E. Louise |last6=Scheller |first6=Robert M. |last7=Schmiegelow |first7=Fiona K.A. |last8=Wiersma |first8=Yolanda F. |last9=Franklin |first9=Janet |date=2016-04-27 |title=How Landscape Ecology Informs Global Land-Change Science and Policy |journal=BioScience |volume=66 |issue=6 |pages=458–469 |doi=10.1093/biosci/biw035 |issn=0006-3568 |doi-access=free |hdl-access=free |hdl=11122/8174}}</ref>

Studying risk and vulnerability entails the development of [[Quantitative research|quantitative]], [[Qualitative research|qualitative]], and [[geospatial]] models, methods, and support tools.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Risk and Vulnerability {{!}} USGS.gov |url=https://www.usgs.gov/core-science-systems/land-change-science-program/science/risk-and-vulnerability |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125165350/https://www.usgs.gov/core-science-systems/land-change-science-program/science/risk-and-vulnerability |archive-date=2021-01-25 |access-date=2021-02-09 |website=www.usgs.gov}}</ref> The purpose of these tools is to communicate the vulnerability of both human communities and natural ecosystems to hazard events or long-term land change. Modeling risk and vulnerability requires analyses of community sensitivity to hazards, an understanding of geographic distributions of people and infrastructure, and accurate calculation of the probability of specific [[Disturbance (ecology)|disturbances]] occurring.<ref name=":4" />

=== Land change modeling ===
A key method for studying risk and vulnerability is [[land change modeling]] (LCM), which can be used to simulate changes and land use and land cover.<ref name=":10">{{Cite journal |last1=Van Vliet |first1=Jasper |last2=Bregt |first2=Arnold K. |last3=Brown |first3=Daniel G. |last4=Van Delden |first4=Hedwig |last5=Heckbert |first5=Scott |last6=Verburg |first6=Peter H. |date=2016-08-01 |title=A review of current calibration and validation practices in land-change modeling |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1364815216301128 |url-status=live |journal=Environmental Modelling & Software |language=en |volume=82 |pages=174–182 |bibcode=2016EnvMS..82..174V |doi=10.1016/j.envsoft.2016.04.017 |issn=1364-8152 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418185310/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1364815216301128 |archive-date=2021-04-18 |access-date=2021-04-09|url-access=subscription }}</ref> LCMs can be used to predict how land use and land cover may change under alternate circumstances, which is useful for risk assessment, in that it allows for the prediction of potential impacts and can be used to inform policy decisions, albeit with some uncertainty.<ref name=":10" />{{excerpt|land change modeling}}

== Examples of land use change ==

=== Deforestation ===
{{Main|Deforestation}}
[[File:Deforestation_of_Rainforest.jpg|thumb|Rainforest [[deforestation]] for land use conversion]]
[[Deforestation]] is the systematic and permanent conversion of previously forested land for other uses.<ref name=":17" /> It has historically been a primary facilitator of land use and land cover change.<ref name=":8" /> Forests are a vital part of the global ecosystem and are essential to [[Carbon capture and storage|carbon capture]], ecological processes, and [[biodiversity]].<ref name=":8" /> However, since the invention of agriculture, global forest cover has diminished by 35%.<ref name=":8" /> 

There is rarely one direct or underlying cause for deforestation.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |date=2007-03-30 |title=Tropical Deforestation |url=https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/Deforestation/deforestation_update3.php#:~:text=Direct%20causes%20of%20deforestation%20are,single%20direct%20cause%20for%20deforestation. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210331054947/https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/Deforestation/deforestation_update3.php#:~:text=Direct%20causes%20of%20deforestation%20are,single%20direct%20cause%20for%20deforestation. |archive-date=2021-03-31 |access-date=2021-04-08 |website=earthobservatory.nasa.gov |language=en}}</ref> Rather, deforestation is the result of intertwining systemic forces working simultaneously or sequentially to change land cover.<ref name=":12" /> Deforestation occurs for many interconnected reasons.<ref name=":92">{{Cite journal |last1=López-Carr |first1=David |last2=Burgdorfer |first2=Jason |date=2013-01-01 |title=Deforestation Drivers: Population, Migration, and Tropical Land Use |url= |journal=Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=3–11 |bibcode=2013ESPSD..55a...3L |doi=10.1080/00139157.2013.748385 |issn=0013-9157 |pmc=3857132 |pmid=24347675}}</ref> For instance, mass deforestation is often viewed as the product of industrial agriculture, yet a considerable portion [[old-growth forest]] deforestation is the result of small-scale migrant farming.<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal |last1=López-Carr |first1=David |last2=Burgdorfer |first2=Jason |date=2013-01-01 |title=Deforestation Drivers: Population, Migration, and Tropical Land Use |url= |journal=Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=3–11 |bibcode=2013ESPSD..55a...3L |doi=10.1080/00139157.2013.748385 |issn=0013-9157 |pmc=3857132 |pmid=24347675}}</ref> As forest cover is removed, forest resources become exhausted and increasing populations lead to scarcity, which prompts people to move again to previously undisturbed forest, restarting the process of deforestation.<ref name=":9" /> There are several reasons behind this continued migration: poverty-driven lack of available farmland and high costs may lead to an increase in farming intensity on existing farmland.<ref name=":9" /> This leads to the overexploitation of farmland, and down the line results in [[desertification]], another land cover change, which renders soil unusable and unprofitable, requiring farmers to seek out untouched and unpopulated old-growth forests.<ref name=":9" />

In addition to rural migration and subsistence farming, economic development can also play a substantial role in deforestation.<ref name=":12" /> For example, road and railway expansions designed to increase quality of life have resulted in significant deforestation in the [[Amazon rainforest|Amazon]] and [[Central America]].<ref name=":12" /> Moreover, the underlying drivers of economic development are often linked to global economic engagement, ranging from increased [[Export|exports]] to a [[External debt|foreign debt]].<ref name=":12" />

=== Urbanization ===
[[File:Delhi_aerial_photo_03-2016_img2.jpg|thumb|An aerial image of [[New Delhi]], India, one of the world's largest urban areas]]
Broadly, [[urbanization]] is the increasing number of people who live in urban areas. Urbanization refers to both urban population growth and the physical growth of urban areas.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Urbanization |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/urbanization.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113094611/https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/urbanization.htm |archive-date=2021-01-13 |access-date=2021-04-09 |website=ScienceDaily |language=en}}</ref> According to the [[United Nations]], the global urban population has increased rapidly since 1950, from 751 million to 4.2 billion in 2018, and current trends predict this number will continue to grow.<ref name=":13">United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). World Urbanization Prospects 2018: Highlights (ST/ESA/SER.A/421).</ref> Accompanying this population shift are significant changes in economic flow, culture and lifestyle, and spatial population distribution.<ref name=":13" /> Although urbanized areas cover just 3% of the Earth's surface, they nevertheless have a significant impact on land use and land cover change.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Zhifeng |last2=He |first2=Chunyang |last3=Zhou |first3=Yuyu |last4=Wu |first4=Jianguo |date=May 2014 |title=How much of the world's land has been urbanized, really? A hierarchical framework for avoiding confusion |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10980-014-0034-y |journal=Landscape Ecology |language=en |volume=29 |issue=5 |pages=763–771 |bibcode=2014LaEco..29..763L |doi=10.1007/s10980-014-0034-y |issn=0921-2973 |s2cid=207209868|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Urbanization is important to land use and land cover change for a variety of reasons. In particular, urbanization affects land change elsewhere through the shifting of ''urban-rural linkages,'' or the [[ecological footprint]] of the transfer of [[goods and services]] between urban and rural areas.<ref name=":11">{{Cite journal |last1=Lambin |first1=Eric F. |last2=Turner |first2=B.L. |last3=Geist |first3=Helmut J. |last4=Agbola |first4=Samuel B. |last5=Angelsen |first5=Arild |last6=Bruce |first6=John W. |last7=Coomes |first7=Oliver T. |last8=Dirzo |first8=Rodolfo |last9=Fischer |first9=Günther |last10=Folke |first10=Carl |last11=George |first11=P.S. |last12=Homewood |first12=Katherine |last13=Imbernon |first13=Jacques |last14=Leemans |first14=Rik |last15=Li |first15=Xiubin |date=2001-12-01 |title=The causes of land-use and land-cover change: moving beyond the myths |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959378001000073 |url-status=live |journal=Global Environmental Change |language=en |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=261–269 |bibcode=2001GEC....11..261L |doi=10.1016/S0959-3780(01)00007-3 |issn=0959-3780 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200705082119/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959378001000073 |archive-date=2020-07-05 |access-date=2021-04-09 |last16=Moran |first16=Emilio F. |last17=Mortimore |first17=Michael |last18=Ramakrishnan |first18=P.S. |last19=Richards |first19=John F. |last20=Skånes |first20=Helle |last21=Steffen |first21=Will |last22=Stone |first22=Glenn D. |last23=Svedin |first23=Uno |last24=Veldkamp |first24=Tom A. |last25=Vogel |first25=Coleen |author25-link=Coleen Vogel |last26=Xu |first26=Jianchu|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Increases in urbanization lead to increases in consumption, which puts increased pressure on surrounding rural lands.<ref name=":11" /> The outward spread of urban areas can also take over adjacent land formerly used for crop cultivation.<ref name=":11" />

Urbanization additionally affects land cover through the [[Urban heat island|urban heat island effect.]] Heat islands occur when, due to high concentrations of structures, such as buildings and roads, that absorb and re-emit solar radiation, and low concentrations of vegetative cover, urban areas experience higher temperatures than surrounding areas.<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |last=US EPA |first=OAR |date=2014-02-28 |title=Heat Island Effect |url=https://www.epa.gov/heatislands |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210407190916/https://www.epa.gov/heatislands |archive-date=2021-04-07 |access-date=2021-04-09 |website=US EPA |language=en}}</ref> The high temperatures associated with heat islands can compromise human health, particularly in low-income areas.<ref name=":14" />

=== Decline of the Aral Sea ===
[[File:AralSea1989_2014.jpg|thumb|Remote sensing images show changes to the extent of the [[Aral Sea]] from 1989 (left) to 2014 (right).]]
The rapid decline of the [[Aral Sea]] is an example how local-scale land use and land change can have compounded impacts on regional climate systems, particularly when human activities heavily disrupt natural climatic cycles, how land change science can be used to map and study such changes.<ref name=":03">{{Cite journal |last1=Turner |first1=B. L. |last2=Lambin |first2=Eric F. |last3=Reenberg |first3=Anette |date=2007-12-26 |title=The emergence of land change science for global environmental change and sustainability |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=104 |issue=52 |pages=20666–20671 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0704119104 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=2409212 |pmid=18093934 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In 1960, the Aral Sea, located in Central Asia, was the world's fourth largest lake.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Middleton |first=Nick |title=The Global Casino: An Introduction to Environmental Issues |publisher=Routledge |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-315-15840-2 |location=London & New York |pages=179–182}}</ref> However, a water diversion project, undertaken by the [[Soviet Union]] to irrigate arid plains in what is now [[Kazakhstan]], [[Uzbekistan]], and [[Turkmenistan]], resulted in the Aral Sea losing 85% of its land cover and 90% of its volume.<ref name=":6" /> The loss of the Aral Sea has had a significant effect on human-environment interactions in the region, including the decimation of the sea's fishing industry and the [[Soil salinity|salinization]] of agricultural lands by the wind-spread of dried sea salt beds.<ref name=":03" /><ref name=":6" /> 

Additionally, scientists have been able to use technology such as [[NASA]]'s [[Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer|Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)]] to track changes to the Aral Sea and its surrounding climate over time.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-09-24 |title=World of Change: Shrinking Aral Sea |url=https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/AralSea |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320113542/https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/AralSea |archive-date=2021-03-20 |access-date=2021-03-08 |website=earthobservatory.nasa.gov |language=en}}</ref> This use of modeling and satellite imagery to track human-caused land cover change is characteristic of the scope of land change science.

== Regulation ==
Commonly, political [[jurisdiction]]s will undertake [[land-use planning]] and regulate the use of land in an attempt to avoid [[land-use conflict]]s. Land use plans are implemented through land division and use ordinances and regulations, such as [[zoning regulations]].

The [[urban growth boundary]] is one form of land-use regulation. For example, [[Portland, Oregon]] is required to have an urban growth boundary which contains at least {{convert|20000|acre|km2}} of vacant land. Additionally, Oregon restricts the development of farmland. The regulations are controversial, but an economic analysis concluded that farmland appreciated similarly to the other land.<ref>Jaeker WG, Plantinga AJ (2007). [http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pdf/SR/SR1077-E.pdf How have Land-use regulations Affected Property Values in Oregon?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722070244/http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pdf/sr/sr1077-e.pdf|date=2012-07-22}} OSU Extension.</ref>

=== United States ===
{{See also|Zoning#United States}}
[[Image:Indiana Dunes Habitat Fragmentation.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|[[Habitat fragmentation]] caused by numerous roads near the [[Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore]]]]

In colonial America, few regulations were originally put into place regarding the usage of land. As society shifted from rural to urban, public land regulation became important, especially to city governments trying to control industry, commerce, and housing within their boundaries. The first zoning ordinance was passed in [[New York City]] in 1916,<ref>[[Village of Euclid, Ohio v. Ambler Realty Co.]]</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Nolon |first=John R. |date=July–August 1992 |title=Local Land Use Control in New York: An Aging Citadel Under Siege |url=https://ssrn.com/abstract=1505003 |journal=[[New York State Bar Journal]] |page=38}}</ref> and, by the 1930s, most states had adopted [[zoning]] laws. In the 1970s, concerns about the environment and historic preservation led to further regulation.

Today, federal, state, and local governments regulate growth and [[land development|development]] through [[statutory law]]. The majority of controls on land, however, stem from the actions of private developers and individuals. Judicial decisions and enforcement of private land-use arrangements can reinforce public regulation, and achieve forms and levels of control that regulatory zoning cannot. There is growing concern that land use regulation is a direct cause of housing segregation in the United States today.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Trounstine |first1=Jessica |date=May 2020 |title=The Geography of Inequality: How Land Use Regulation Produces Segregation |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6kn0x0ns |journal=[[American Political Science Review]] |volume=114 |issue=2 |page=443 |doi=10.1017/S0003055419000844 |s2cid=213239635 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Two major federal laws passed in the 1960s limit the use of land significantly. These are the [[National Historic Preservation Act of 1966]] (today embodied in 16 U.S.C. 461 et seq.) and the [[National Environmental Policy Act]] of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

== See also ==

* {{annotated link|Cultural landscape}}
* {{annotated link|Land use, land-use change and forestry}}
* {{annotated link|Land-use forecasting}}
* {{annotated link|Indirect land use change impacts of biofuels}}
* {{annotated link|Land change modeling}}
* {{annotated link|Land-use planning}}
* {{annotated link|Land-use conflict}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Land use}}
{{Land-use planning}}
{{Human impact on the environment}}
{{Natural resources}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Portal bar|Agriculture and Agronomy}}

[[Category:Land use| ]]