Agricultural intensification and changes in cultivated areas, 1970–2005

Rudel, Thomas K.; Schneider, Laura; Uriarte, María; Turner, B. L.; DeFries, Ruth; Lawrence, Deborah; Geoghegan, Jacqueline; Hecht, Susanna; Ickowitz, Amy; Lambin, Éric F.; Birkenholtz, Trevor; Baptista, Sandra; Grau, Ricardo

doi:10.1073/pnas.0812540106

Cited by 508 publications

(373 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Economic drivers hold great sway over deforestation [53][54][55] . Ecologically friendly economic incentives could play an important part in slowing forest loss: the proposed Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) programme, market certification, and ecotourism all provide opportunities to benefit economically from forest protection 56 .…”

Section: Stop Expanding Agriculturementioning

confidence: 99%

Solutions for a cultivated planet

Foley

Ramankutty

Brauman

et al. 2011

Nature

6,624

3,980

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Section: Stop Expanding Agriculturementioning

confidence: 99%

Solutions for a cultivated planet

Foley

Ramankutty

Brauman

et al. 2011

Nature

6,624

3,980

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“…If demand is elastic, however, prices may not change significantly. In this case the farmer has no incentive to abandon land, but may, conversely, be incentivised to increase the area they cultivate as this will directly lead to an increase in income 58 . Empirical studies undertaken at local and regional levels provide evidence of both land consuming and land sparing effects from intensification, but a lack of robust data on abandoned land, as well as the confounding effects of global trade and political intervention makes examining global level effect difficult 59,60 .…”

Section: Cereal Yieldsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Empirical studies undertaken at local and regional levels provide evidence of both land consuming and land sparing effects from intensification, but a lack of robust data on abandoned land, as well as the confounding effects of global trade and political intervention makes examining global level effect difficult 59,60 . Looking at changes in the global cultivated arable areas between 1970 and 2005, intensification only appears to be correlated with declines in cultivated areas between 1980-85 in the aftermath of a sustained decline in agricultural commodity prices and a steep rise in yields 58 . Moreover, explicit political intervention appears to have been an essential driver for cropland abandonment.…”

Section: Cereal Yieldsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global bioenergy resources

2014

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Using biomass to provide energy services is a strategically important option for increasing the global uptake of renewable energy. Yet the practicalities of accelerating deployment are mired in controversy over the potential resource conflicts that might occur, in particular conflicts over land, water, and biodiversity conservation. This calls into question whether policies to promote bioenergy are justified. Here we examine the assumptions on which global bioenergy resource estimates are predicated. We find there is a disjunct between the evidence that global bioenergy studies can provide and policy makers' desire for estimates that can straightforwardly guide policy targets. We highlight the need for bottom-up assessments informed by empirical studies, experimentation, and cross disciplinary learning in order to better inform the policy debate. 1 Conflicting aspirations for bioenergyUsing biomass to provide energy services is one of the most versatile options for increasing the global uptake of renewable energy and an important component in many climate change mitigation and energy supply scenarios [1][2][3][4] . The International Energy Agency (IEA), for example, estimates that biomass could contribute an additional 50EJ (~10%) to global primary energy supply by 2035, and states that "the potential supply could be an order of magnitude higher" 4 . Governments of the world's largest economies have also introduced policies to incentivise bioenergy deployment, motivated by concerns about energy security and climate change, and by the desire to stimulate rural development 5,6 . Yet the potential contribution from biomass to global energy supply is controversial. Sources of contention include concern about the inter-linkages between biomass, bioenergy and other systems. Most notably, land and resource conflicts are foreseen between bioenergy and food supply, water use, and biodiversity conservation. The fear is that the benefits offered by increased biomass use will be outweighed by the costs [7][8][9][10] . It is also argued that the wide range of estimates of biomass potential and the lack of standardised assessment methodologies confuses policy makers, impedes effective action and fosters uncertainty and ambivalence 11 . These broad points contribute to a general sense of unease about the future role of bioenergy, and whether it presents a genuine opportunity or is a utopian (or for some dystopian) vision that stands little chance of being realised.Here we analyse how scenarios for increasing bioenergy deployment are contingent on anticipated demand for food, energy, and environmental protection, and expectations of technological advances. We use a systematic review methodology 12,13 to identify and analyse the most influential estimates of the global bioenergy potential that have been published over the last 20 years. The technical and sustainability assumptions that lie behind these estimates are exposed and their influence on calculations of potential described. We find that the range of estimates is primar...

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“…For example, international trade accounts for 30% of threats to species globally (Lenzen et al 2012). Although a number of countries, such as China, have experienced forest transitions, e.g., a shift from net forest loss to net forest recovery, these transitions often occur at the cost of forests in other countries through trade of forest and agricultural products (Zhu and Feng 2003, Zhu et al 2004, Rudel et al 2009, DeFries et al 2010, Lambin and Meyfroidt 2011. Impacts of climate change on agriculture are predicted to be most significant in regions where food demands are growing the fastest, e.g., China, requiring trade to bridge the gap between food production and food consumption (Jones and Thornton 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Framing Sustainability in a Telecoupled World

Liu¹,

Hull²,

Batistella³

et al. 2013

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804

585

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ABSTRACT. Interactions between distant places are increasingly widespread and influential, often leading to unexpected outcomes with profound implications for sustainability. Numerous sustainability studies have been conducted within a particular place with little attention to the impacts of distant interactions on sustainability in multiple places. Although distant forces have been studied, they are usually treated as exogenous variables and feedbacks have rarely been considered. To understand and integrate various distant interactions better, we propose an integrated framework based on telecoupling, an umbrella concept that refers to socioeconomic and environmental interactions over distances. The concept of telecoupling is a logical extension of research on coupled human and natural systems, in which interactions occur within particular geographic locations. The telecoupling framework contains five major interrelated components, i.e., coupled human and natural systems, flows, agents, causes, and effects. We illustrate the framework using two examples of distant interactions associated with trade of agricultural commodities and invasive species, highlight the implications of the framework, and discuss research needs and approaches to move research on telecouplings forward. The framework can help to analyze system components and their interrelationships, identify research gaps, detect hidden costs and untapped benefits, provide a useful means to incorporate feedbacks as well as trade-offs and synergies across multiple systems (sending, receiving, and spillover systems), and improve the understanding of distant interactions and the effectiveness of policies for socioeconomic and environmental sustainability from local to global levels.

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Agricultural intensification and changes in cultivated areas, 1970–2005

Cited by 508 publications

References 24 publications

Solutions for a cultivated planet

Solutions for a cultivated planet

Global bioenergy resources

Framing Sustainability in a Telecoupled World

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