Carbon emissions from the global land rush and potential mitigation

Chuan Liao; Kerstin Nolte; Jonathan A. Sullivan; Daniel G. Brown; Jann Lay; Christof Althoff; Arun Agrawal

doi:10.1038/s43016-020-00215-3

Carbon emissions from the global land rush and potential mitigation

Chuan Liao, Kerstin Nolte, Jonathan A. Sullivan, Daniel G. Brown, Jann Lay, Christof Althoff, Arun Agrawal

Sustainability, School of (SOS)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

37 Scopus citations

Abstract

Global drivers and carbon emissions associated with large-scale land transactions have been poorly investigated. Here we examine major factors behind such transactions (income, agricultural productivity, availability of arable land and water scarcity) and estimate potential carbon emissions under different levels of deforestation. We find that clearing lands transacted between 2000 and 2016 (36.7 Mha) could have emitted ~2.26 GtC, but constraining land clearing to historical deforestation rates would reduce emissions related to large-scale land transactions to ~0.81 GtC.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	15-18
Number of pages	4
Journal	Nature Food
Volume	2
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-020-00215-3
State	Published - Jan 2021

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Food Science
Animal Science and Zoology
Agronomy and Crop Science

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10.1038/s43016-020-00215-3

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abstract = "Global drivers and carbon emissions associated with large-scale land transactions have been poorly investigated. Here we examine major factors behind such transactions (income, agricultural productivity, availability of arable land and water scarcity) and estimate potential carbon emissions under different levels of deforestation. We find that clearing lands transacted between 2000 and 2016 (36.7 Mha) could have emitted ~2.26 GtC, but constraining land clearing to historical deforestation rates would reduce emissions related to large-scale land transactions to ~0.81 GtC.",

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AU - Lay, Jann

AU - Althoff, Christof

AU - Agrawal, Arun

PY - 2021/1

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N2 - Global drivers and carbon emissions associated with large-scale land transactions have been poorly investigated. Here we examine major factors behind such transactions (income, agricultural productivity, availability of arable land and water scarcity) and estimate potential carbon emissions under different levels of deforestation. We find that clearing lands transacted between 2000 and 2016 (36.7 Mha) could have emitted ~2.26 GtC, but constraining land clearing to historical deforestation rates would reduce emissions related to large-scale land transactions to ~0.81 GtC.

AB - Global drivers and carbon emissions associated with large-scale land transactions have been poorly investigated. Here we examine major factors behind such transactions (income, agricultural productivity, availability of arable land and water scarcity) and estimate potential carbon emissions under different levels of deforestation. We find that clearing lands transacted between 2000 and 2016 (36.7 Mha) could have emitted ~2.26 GtC, but constraining land clearing to historical deforestation rates would reduce emissions related to large-scale land transactions to ~0.81 GtC.

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Carbon emissions from the global land rush and potential mitigation

Abstract

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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