Theme 2: Consequences of Land System Change
The consequences of land system changes brought about by land use and global environmental changes, including feedbacks between people and ecosystems, are critical to Earth System science. Feedbacks to people are understood as changes in the delivery of a broad range of ecosystem services, such as agricultural productivity, clean air, potable water and many others. Feedbacks to ecosystems are understood in terms of changes in regimes of decision making related to land management, and may also include the feedbacks of societal changes to these processes. These changes may be induced by actual or perceived land system changes, or may be mediated through the effects of broader social, demographic and economic forces in shaping local land use decisions.
Changes in the availability of ecological services affect the viability, productivity and stability of the coupled socio-environmental system on which humans rely. Land management decisions may result in trade-offs in the delivery of different ecosystem services. The objectives of this theme are therefore to identify possible trade-offs in land use decisions, and to comprehend their multiple and complex causalities and the consequences they impose on land management. Effort will be made to quantify changes in ecosystem services caused by alterations of disturbance or management regimes, as these may induce shifts in land productivity by modifying physical inputs and economic returns.
The relationship between human activities and the conditions of the resource base cannot be mapped in
terms of simple cause-effect paradigms. While technical knowledge or even optimal solutions may be available
to respond to land system changes, actual decision processes will be influenced by economic, social, political,
cultural and even psychological factors, and will involve negotiations and conflict resolution. Social
differentiation and social dynamics have proved critical in influencing both decisions on the management of
resources, and responses to environmental changes. There may be fundamental differences in the perception of
changes, which are equally consequential for attitudes, knowledge, preferences and behaviour. Theme 2 research
will need to integrate the complex socio-economic, political and cultural environmental characteristics in which
land use decisions are embedded, and conceptualise these decisions in the context of patterns and processes at
various scales. In many places, the crucial relationships characterising land systems are studied at a local or
regional scale, yet a fundamental challenge for GLP remains that of understanding how these relationships are
affected by, and have implications for, the global scale. A number of the key factors for decision making processes
may also change over time. Hence, the temporal dimension will also be an indispensable element for a comprehensive
analysis of the interactions between societies and their environment. The ultimate goal is to better inform the
process of defining sustainable land management strategies. For more details regarding
Theme 2 please follow this link:
Global Land Project Science Plan Theme 2
