Land-use changes are increasingly being influenced by distant forces due to the globalization of many markets. Land-use decisions are traditionally based on short-term economic factors. Land use is also changed by both human and climate drivers. Conversely, climate change can also influence land cover, resulting in a loss of forest cover from climate-related increases in disturbances, the expansion of woody vegetation into grasslands, and the loss of beaches due to coastal erosion amplified by rises in sea level. Aggregated over large areas, these changes have the potential to influence Earth’s climate by altering regional and global circulation patterns, changing the albedo (reflectivity) of Earth’s surface, and changing the amount of carbon dioxide (CO 2) in the atmosphere.
For example, demand for new settlements often results in the permanent loss of natural and working lands, which can result in localized changes in weather patterns, temperature, and precipitation. Understanding how land cover, use, condition, and management vary in space and time is challenging.Ĭhanges in land cover can occur in response to both human and climate drivers. Land cover and use are inherently coupled: changes in land-use practices can change land cover, and land cover enables specific land uses. A forest, for instance, would likely include tree cover but could also include areas of recent tree removals currently covered by open grass areas. Climate can affect and be affected by changes in land cover (the physical features that cover the land such as trees or pavement) and land use (human management and activities on land, such as mining or recreation).
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