Abstract
In the light of daunting global sustainability challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss and food security, improving our understanding of the complex dynamics of the Earth system is crucial. However, large knowledge gaps related to the effects of land management persist, in particular those human-induced changes in terrestrial ecosystems that do not result in land-cover conversions. Here, we review the current state of knowledge of ten common land management activities for their biogeochemical and biophysical impacts, the level of process understanding and data availability. Our review shows that ca. one-tenth of the ice-free land surface is under intense human management, half under medium and one-fifth under extensive management. Based on our review, we cluster these ten management activities into three groups: (i) management activities for which data sets are available, and for which a good knowledge base exists (cropland harvest and irrigation); (ii) management activities for which sufficient knowledge on biogeochemical and biophysical effects exists but robust global data sets are lacking (forest harvest, tree species selection, grazing and mowing harvest, N fertilization); and (iii) land management practices with severe data gaps concomitant with an unsatisfactory level of process understanding (crop species selection, artificial wetland drainage, tillage and fire management and crop residue management, an element of crop harvest). Although we identify multiple impediments to progress, we conclude that the current status of process understanding and data availability is sufficient to advance with incorporating management in, for example, Earth system or dynamic vegetation models in order to provide a systematic assessment of their role in the Earth system. This review contributes to a strategic prioritization of research efforts across multiple disciplines, including land system research, ecological research and Earth system modelling.
Highlights
We have entered a proposed new geologic epoch, the Anthropocene, characterized by a surging human population and the accumulation of human-made artefacts resulting in grand sustainability challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss and threats to food security (Steffen et al, 2015)
While a relatively robust body of knowledge exists on the effect of land-cover conversions, for example change in forest cover (Brovkin et al, 2004; Feddema et al, 2005; Pongratz et al, 2009), landuse activities that result in ‘land modifications’, that is changes that occur within the same land-cover type, remain much less studied (Erb, 2012; Rounsevell et al, 2012; Campioli et al, 2015; McGrath et al, 2015)
We review the current state of knowledge of ten common land management activities for their global impact, the level of process understanding and data availability to improve both analytical and modelling capacities as well as to prioritize future modelling and data generation activities
Summary
We have entered a proposed new geologic epoch, the Anthropocene, characterized by a surging human population and the accumulation of human-made artefacts resulting in grand sustainability challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss and threats to food security (Steffen et al, 2015). We compiled information on the current global extent; past, ongoing and anticipated dynamics; data availability; and state of knowledge on biogeochemical and biophysical effects. Grazing and mowing harvest is the most spatially extensive land management activity worldwide, covering 28–56 Mkm2 or 21–40% of the terrestrial, ice-free surface, with a wide range of grazing intensity (Herrero et al, 2013; Luyssaert et al, 2014; Petz et al, 2014; FAOSTAT, 2015).
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