IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v168y2026ics0264837726001730.html

Tracing the pathways and drivers of imbalances in global land system pressures

Author

Listed:
  • Fu, Wenjie
  • Frazier, Amy E.
  • Hu, Shougeng

Abstract

The continuous expansion of globalization and rising consumption demands have imposed mounting pressures on global land systems. Yet, the complexity and heterogeneity of these pressures, transmitted through international trade networks, remain insufficiently understood. In this study, we systematically characterize land system pressures, quantify their spatiotemporal dynamics from 1995 to 2022, and examine how cross-border trade reshapes the unequal distribution of these pressures across countries and regions. Our results show that global land system pressures have, on average, increased by 88% since 1995. Driven by structural differences in national economies, variations in trade patterns, and the interplay between scale and structure, the transfer of land system pressures between regions exhibits pronounced disparities and remains highly uneven. This study sheds light on the underlying mechanisms of land system pressure transmission, thereby advancing our understanding of global land-use dynamics and providing critical insights for promoting sustainable development.

Suggested Citation

  • Fu, Wenjie & Frazier, Amy E. & Hu, Shougeng, 2026. "Tracing the pathways and drivers of imbalances in global land system pressures," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:168:y:2026:i:c:s0264837726001730
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2026.108089
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837726001730
    Download Restriction: Full text may be restricted for ScienceDirect subscribers
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2026.108089?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jason Hickel & Morena Hanbury Lemos & Felix Barbour, 2024. "Unequal exchange of labour in the world economy," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Arto, Iñaki & Cazcarro, Ignacio & Garmendia, Eneko & Ruiz, Itxaso & Sanz, María J., 2022. "A new accounting framework for assessing forest footprint of nations," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    3. Zhifu Mi & Jiali Zheng & Jing Meng & Jiamin Ou & Klaus Hubacek & Zhu Liu & D’Maris Coffman & Nicholas Stern & Sai Liang & Yi-Ming Wei, 2020. "Economic development and converging household carbon footprints in China," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 3(7), pages 529-537, July.
    4. Fanning, Andrew L. & Hickel, Jason, 2023. "Compensation for atmospheric appropriation," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 119717, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Thomas Wiedmann & Manfred Lenzen & Lorenz T. Keyßer & Julia K. Steinberger, 2020. "Scientists’ warning on affluence," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-10, December.
    6. Zhai, Guangyi & Li, Keke & Cui, Huwei & Wang, Zhen & Wang, Ling & Yu, Shuxia & Shi, Zhi-Hua, 2024. "Ecological unequal exchange: Evidence from imbalanced cropland soil erosion and agricultural value-added embodied in global agricultural trade," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    7. Li Chai & Ao Liu & Xuecao Li & Zhenshan Guo & Wanru He & Jianxi Huang & Tiecheng Bai & Jianguo Liu, 2024. "Telecoupled impacts of the Russia–Ukraine war on global cropland expansion and biodiversity," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 7(4), pages 432-441, April.
    8. Tausch, Luca & Althouse, Jeffrey, 2025. "Ecologically unequal exchange (EUE) as a multi-tiered hierarchy: Investigating the interdependence of global and domestic environmental inequalities to explain China's rise," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    9. Andrew L. Fanning & Jason Hickel, 2023. "Compensation for atmospheric appropriation," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 6(9), pages 1077-1086, September.
    10. Kajwan Rasul & Sarah Schmidt & Edgar G. Hertwich & Richard Wood, 2024. "EXIOBASE energy accounts: Improving precision in an open‐sourced procedure applicable to any MRIO database," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 28(6), pages 1771-1785, December.
    11. Benjamin S. Halpern & Melanie Frazier & Juliette Verstaen & Paul-Eric Rayner & Gage Clawson & Julia L. Blanchard & Richard S. Cottrell & Halley E. Froehlich & Jessica A. Gephart & Nis S. Jacobsen & Ca, 2022. "The environmental footprint of global food production," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 5(12), pages 1027-1039, December.
    12. Bruckner, Martin & Fischer, Günther & Tramberend, Sylvia & Giljum, Stefan, 2015. "Measuring telecouplings in the global land system: A review and comparative evaluation of land footprint accounting methods," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 11-21.
    13. Cheng, Mengyao & Wu, Jialu & Li, Chaohui & Jia, Yuanxin & Xia, Xiaohua, 2023. "Tele-connection of global agricultural land network: Incorporating complex network approach with multi-regional input-output analysis," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    14. Hickel, Jason & Dorninger, Christian & Wieland, Hanspeter & Suwandi, Intan, 2022. "Imperialist appropriation in the world economy: drain from the global South through unequal exchange, 1990–2015," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113823, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    15. Arunima Malik & Manfred Lenzen & Mengyu Li & Camille Mora & Sarah Carter & Stefan Giljum & Stephan Lutter & Jorge Gómez-Paredes, 2024. "Polarizing and equalizing trends in international trade and Sustainable Development Goals," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 7(10), pages 1359-1370, October.
    16. Xiuzhi Chen & Yue Hou & Thomas Kastner & Liu Liu & Yuqian Zhang & Tuo Yin & Mo Li & Arunima Malik & Mengyu Li & Kelly R. Thorp & Siqi Han & Yaoze Liu & Tahir Muhammad & Jianguo Liu & Yunkai Li, 2023. "Physical and virtual nutrient flows in global telecoupled agricultural trade networks," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    17. Elizabeth H. Boakes & Carole Dalin & Adrienne Etard & Tim Newbold, 2024. "Impacts of the global food system on terrestrial biodiversity from land use and climate change," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-16, December.
    18. Godé, Lukas & Vatn, Arild & Gómez-Baggethun, Erik, 2026. "Unequal exchange of labour and global justice: Principles for a fair international distribution of work," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    19. Hickel, Jason & Hanbury Lemos, Morena & Barbour, Felix, 2024. "Unequal exchange of labour in the world economy," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 124543, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    20. Kassouri, Yacouba & Alola, Andrew Adewale, 2022. "Towards unlocking sustainable land consumption in sub-Saharan Africa: Analysing spatio-temporal variation of built-up land footprint and its determinants," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    21. Chen, Rui & Adu, Derick T. & Li, Wenying & Wilson, Norbert L.W., 2024. "Virtual water trade: Does bilateral tariff matter?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    22. Zengkai Zhang & Chuanzeng Zheng & Zhenyu Xiao & Kunfu Zhu, 2025. "Occupational carbon footprints and exposure to climate transition risks," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-10, December.
    23. Moran, Daniel D. & Lenzen, Manfred & Kanemoto, Keiichiro & Geschke, Arne, 2013. "Does ecologically unequal exchange occur?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 177-186.
    24. Kunyu Niu & Mengyu Li & Manfred Lenzen & Thomas Wiedmann & Xudong Han & Shuqin Jin & Arunima Malik & Baojing Gu, 2024. "Impacts of global trade on cropland soil-phosphorus depletion and food security," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 7(9), pages 1128-1140, September.
    25. Benedikt Bruckner & Yuli Shan & Christina Prell & Yannan Zhou & Honglin Zhong & Kuishuang Feng & Klaus Hubacek, 2023. "Ecologically unequal exchanges driven by EU consumption," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 6(5), pages 587-598, May.
    26. Peipei Tian & Kuishuang Feng & Xiangjie Chen & Dan Li & Meng Jiang & Jiashuo Li & Heran Zheng & Yuli Shan & Laixiang Sun, 2026. "Consumption inequalities in material use undermining resources sustainability," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 9(3), pages 459-469, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Song, Yaya & Huang, Xianjin & Li, Qianjing & Qi, Xinxian & Sun, Rui & Wang, Mingshu, 2025. "Unpacking China's land use and trade-driven land transfers through telecoupling," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    2. Zhang, Danyang & Wang, Hui & Prell, Christina & Yan, Jin & Li, Yanxian & Zhou, Peng & Shan, Yuli & Hubacek, Klaus, 2026. "Assessing the unequal distribution between social benefits and costs across countries along global supply chains," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    3. Olk, Christopher, 2024. "How much a dollar cost: Currency hierarchy as a driver of ecologically unequal exchange," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    4. van Hoften, Felix & Pouw, Nicky & Rammelt, Crelis, 2026. "Bridging beyond GDP and degrowth: Identifying measurements that are fit for future," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 244(C).
    5. Chaabouni, Oussama & Bärnthaler, Richard, 2026. "Integrating post-growth economics into transformative adaptation: Property relations, capital, and democratic planning," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    6. Leoni, Dario & Jackson, Andrew & Jackson, Tim, 2026. "Post-growth and the North-South divide: A stock-flow consistent scenario analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).
    7. Angel, Tobias & Berthe, Alexandre & Costantini, Valeria & D’Angeli, Mariagrazia, 2026. "The inequality-emission dilemma: Predistribution vs. redistribution," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).
    8. Ndongo Samba Sylla & Andrew M. Fischer & Annina Kaltenbrunner & Sreerekha Sathi, 2024. "Global Reparations within Capitalism: Aspirations and Tensions in Contemporary Movements for Reparatory Justice," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 55(4), pages 560-600, July.
    9. Zuo, Qiting & Zhang, Zhizhuo & Wu, Qingsong & Ji, Yihu & Ma, Junxia, 2025. "Revealing environmental inequality based on three-dimensional extended input-output analysis: An integrated perspective of embodied water consumption, fossil energy use and carbon emissions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 330(C).
    10. Tausch, Luca & Althouse, Jeffrey, 2025. "Ecologically unequal exchange (EUE) as a multi-tiered hierarchy: Investigating the interdependence of global and domestic environmental inequalities to explain China's rise," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    11. Brian Drummond, 2025. "How ‘Consuming Nations’ Should Stop Contributing to Worldwide Deprivation: A Concise Overview of Relevant Literature," Journal of Developing Societies, , vol. 41(4), pages 522-545, December.
    12. Van Eynde, Reo & Dillman, Kevin J. & Vogel, Jefim & O'Neill, Daniel W., 2026. "What is required for a post-growth model?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    13. Gilles, Enrique & Cortés, Darwin & Monsalve, Fabio, 2026. "The carbon cost of rising incomes: Evidence from a middle-income country," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    14. Godé, Lukas & Vatn, Arild & Gómez-Baggethun, Erik, 2026. "Unequal exchange of labour and global justice: Principles for a fair international distribution of work," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    15. Joachim Peter Tilsted & Anders Bjørn, 2023. "Green frontrunner or indebted culprit? Assessing Denmark’s climate targets in light of fair contributions under the Paris Agreement," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 176(8), pages 1-22, August.
    16. Hanbury Lemos, Morena & Hickel, Jason, 2026. "Open veins: Drain from Latin America through ecologically unequal exchange," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    17. Lemos, Morena Hanbury & Hickel, Jason, 2026. "Open veins: drain from Latin America through ecologically unequal exchange," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 138593, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    18. Alf Hornborg, 2025. "Unequal exchange is not primarily about monetary value," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-3, December.
    19. Visentin, Guglielmo Alessandro, 2026. "Financial risks of biodiversity loss: A review," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    20. Ivanova, Diana & Wieland, Hanspeter, 2023. "Tracing carbon footprints to intermediate industries in the United Kingdom," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:168:y:2026:i:c:s0264837726001730. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.