Land Management: Data Availability and Process Understanding for Global Change Studies.

Global Change Biology, 23 (2), 512-533, Doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13443

58 Pages Posted: 8 Jan 2019

See all articles by Karl-Heinz Erb

Karl-Heinz Erb

Alpen Adria University

Sebastiaan Luyssaert

VU University Amsterdam

Patrick Meyfroidt

Université catholique de Louvain - Earth and Life Institute; F.R.S.-FNRS

Julia Pongratz

Max Planck Society for the Advancement of the Sciences - Max Planck Institute for Meteorology

Axel Don

Thünen Institute of Climate-Smart Agriculture

Silvia Kloster

Max Planck Society for the Advancement of the Sciences - Max Planck Institute for Meteorology

Tobias Kuemmerle

Humboldt University of Berlin - Department of Geography; Humboldt University of Berlin - Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human-Environment Systems (IRI THESys)

Tamara Fetzel

Alpen-Adria-University Klagenfurt

Richard Fuchs

VU University Amsterdam

Martin Herold

Wageningen University and Research (WUR)

Helmut Haberl

Alpen Adria University

Chris D Jones

Met Office

Erika Marin-Spiotta

University of Wisconsin - Madison

Ian McCallum

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)

Eddy Robertson

Met Office

Verena Seufert

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Steffen Fritz

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)

Aude Valade

Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE)

Andy Wiltshire

Met Office

A.J. (Han) Dolman

VU University Amsterdam

Date Written: April 2016

Abstract

In 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: (1) management activities for which datasets are available, and for which a good knowledge base exists (cropland harvest and irrigation); (2) management activities for which sufficient knowledge on biogeochemical and biophysical effects exists but robust global datasets are lacking (forest harvest, tree species selection, grazing and mowing harvest, N-fertilization); and (3) 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 e.g. 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.

Keywords: Land Management, Global Land Use Datasets, Data Availability, Land-Cover Modification, Process Understanding, Earth System Models

Suggested Citation

Erb, Karl-Heinz and Luyssaert, Sebastiaan and Meyfroidt, Patrick and Pongratz, Julia and Don, Axel and Kloster, Silvia and Kuemmerle, Tobias and Fetzel, Tamara and Fuchs, Richard and Herold, Martin and Haberl, Helmut and Jones, Chris D and Marin-Spiotta, Erika and McCallum, Ian and Robertson, Eddy and Seufert, Verena and Fritz, Steffen and Valade, Aude and Wiltshire, Andy and Dolman, A.J. (Han), Land Management: Data Availability and Process Understanding for Global Change Studies. (April 2016). Global Change Biology, 23 (2), 512-533, Doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13443, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3305968

Karl-Heinz Erb (Contact Author)

Alpen Adria University ( email )

Universitätsstraße 65
Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, 9020
Austria

Sebastiaan Luyssaert

VU University Amsterdam ( email )

De Boelelaan 1105
Amsterdam, ND North Holland 1081 HV
Netherlands

Patrick Meyfroidt

Université catholique de Louvain - Earth and Life Institute ( email )

Place Montesquieu, 3
Louvain-la-Neuve, 1348
Belgium

F.R.S.-FNRS ( email )

Rue d’Egmont 5
Brussels, 1000
Belgium

Julia Pongratz

Max Planck Society for the Advancement of the Sciences - Max Planck Institute for Meteorology ( email )

Bundesstra_e 55
20146 Hamburg
Germany

Axel Don

Thünen Institute of Climate-Smart Agriculture ( email )

Braunschweig
Germany

Silvia Kloster

Max Planck Society for the Advancement of the Sciences - Max Planck Institute for Meteorology

Bundesstra_e 55
20146 Hamburg
Germany

Tobias Kuemmerle

Humboldt University of Berlin - Department of Geography ( email )

Unter den Linden 6
Berlin
Germany

Humboldt University of Berlin - Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human-Environment Systems (IRI THESys) ( email )

Berlin
Germany

Tamara Fetzel

Alpen-Adria-University Klagenfurt ( email )

Universitätsstrasse 65-67
Klagenfurt, Carinthia 9020
Austria

Richard Fuchs

VU University Amsterdam ( email )

De Boelelaan 1105
Amsterdam, ND North Holland 1081 HV
Netherlands

Martin Herold

Wageningen University and Research (WUR) ( email )

Hollandseweg 1
Wageningen, 6706KN
Netherlands

Helmut Haberl

Alpen Adria University ( email )

Universitätsstraße 65
Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, 9020
Austria

Chris D Jones

Met Office ( email )

Erika Marin-Spiotta

University of Wisconsin - Madison ( email )

716 Langdon Street
Madison, WI 53706-1481
United States

Ian McCallum

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) ( email )

Schlossplatz 1
Laxenburg, A-2361
Austria

Eddy Robertson

Met Office ( email )

Verena Seufert

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology ( email )

Kaiserstraße 12
Karlsruhe, Baden Württemberg 76131
Germany

Steffen Fritz

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) ( email )

Schlossplatz 1
Laxenburg, A-2361
Austria

Aude Valade

Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE) ( email )

Point Courrier 129
Gif-Sur-Yvette, 91191
France

Andy Wiltshire

Met Office ( email )

A.J. (Han) Dolman

VU University Amsterdam ( email )

De Boelelaan 1105
Amsterdam, ND North Holland 1081 HV
Netherlands

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