Abstract
To implement appropriate land management strategies, it is essential to identify past and current land cover and land use conditions. In addition, an assessment of land development phases (LDPs) in a human-dominated landscape coupled with an analysis of the water-food-ecosystem (WFE) nexus can deepen our understanding of sustainable land management. In this study, we proposed the concept of land development phases (LDPs) by forest and GDP changes using previously-applied theoretical and empirical approaches. The positive relationship between GDP growth and forest stock changes was used to analyze the timing of forest stock changes as five-year averages, which were aggregated over 20 years to classify LDPs. In addition, forest area changes compared with GDP and GDP per capita changes were analyzed to identify LDPs. Based on two conceptual approaches, we suggested global land into three LDPs: degradation, restoration and sustainability. Using this approach, most of Europe, North America and northeast Asia were classified as sustainability phases, while Africa and Central Asia in the Mid-Latitude region appeared to have degradation or restoration phases. The LDPs described could be improved with further incorporation of solid data analysis and clear standards, but even at this stage, these LDP classifications suggest points for implementing appropriate land management. In addition, indices from comparative analysis of the LDPs with the WFE nexus can be connected with socio-economic global indices, such as the Global Hunger Index, the Food Production Index and the Climate Change Performance Index. The LDPs have the potential to facilitate appropriate land management strategies through integrating WFE nexus and ecosystem services; we propose future research that uses this integration for the Mid-Latitude region and worldwide.
Highlights
Environmental sustainability is considered both a current and future challenge for global society, which needs to address human poverty and nature conservation, at the Mid-Latitude region, where most of the world’s population resides [1,2,3]
Achieving environmental sustainability has been recognized as a global challenge to improve climate change adaptation capacity through enhanced ecosystem resilience and ecosystem services [5,6,7]
The countries that had increasing forest area and forest stock growth combined with small forest management intervention and enough restoration capacity were classified into the sustainability phase
Summary
Understanding the current environmental and socio-economic status of land cover and land use both at global and regional levels, including the Mid-Latitude region, should be identified to appropriately balance the WFE nexus and achieve environmental sustainability [8]. More than 50% of the world’s population lives in this zone, which increases the pressure on natural resources and limits the adaptation and carrying capacity of the Mid-Latitude region This directly affects the achievement of environmental sustainability and human well-being [28]. These problems are expected in the Mid-Latitude region, policies based on different land development circumstances and latitudinal approaches are implemented, which suggests a direction of analysis [29]. WeFnEviarnodnmeceonstyalsteamndsesrovciicoe-secgoinvoemn itchesuLsDtaPisnasbtailtiutys inantdhegMloibda-lLaintidtuicdees rreeglaiotendantod wthoerlWdwFiEdea.nd ecosystem services given the LDPs status in the Mid-Latitude region and worldwide
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