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Direct and indirect loss of natural area from urban expansion

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  • Jasper van Vliet

    (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

Abstract

Global losses of natural area are primarily attributed to cropland expansion, whereas the role of urban expansion is considered minor. However, urban expansion can induce cropland displacement, potentially leading to a loss of forest elsewhere. The extent of this effect is unknown. This study shows that indirect forest losses, through cropland displacement, far exceed direct losses from urban expansion. On a global scale, urban land increased from 33.2 to 71.3 million hectares (Mha) between 1992 and 2015, leading to a direct loss of 3.3 Mha of forest and an indirect loss of 17.8 to 32.4 Mha. In addition, this urban expansion led to a direct loss of 4.6 Mha of shrubland and an indirect loss of 7.0 to 17.4 Mha. Guiding urban development towards more sustainable trajectories can thus help preserve forest and other natural area at a global scale.

Suggested Citation

  • Jasper van Vliet, 2019. "Direct and indirect loss of natural area from urban expansion," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 2(8), pages 755-763, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natsus:v:2:y:2019:i:8:d:10.1038_s41893-019-0340-0
    DOI: 10.1038/s41893-019-0340-0
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    Cited by:

    1. Sophie de Bruin & Just Denerink & Pritpal Randhawa & Idrissa Wade & Hester Biemans & Christian Siderius, 2022. "IFAD Research Series 71: Urbanizing food systems: exploring opportunities for rural transformation," IFAD Research Series 320721, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
    2. Su Wu & Neema Simon Sumari & Ting Dong & Gang Xu & Yanfang Liu, 2021. "Characterizing Urban Expansion Combining Concentric-Ring and Grid-Based Analysis for Latin American Cities," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-14, April.
    3. Hartung, Frank & Krause, Dörthe & Sprink, Thorben & Wilhelm, Ralf, 2024. "Anwendungen der Grünen Gentechnik in der Landwirtschaft: Potenziale und Risiken," Studien zum deutschen Innovationssystem 5-2024, Expertenkommission Forschung und Innovation (EFI) - Commission of Experts for Research and Innovation, Berlin.
    4. Qiu, Bingwen & Li, Haiwen & Tang, Zhenghong & Chen, Chongcheng & Berry, Joe, 2020. "How cropland losses shaped by unbalanced urbanization process?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    5. Meng Wang & Qingchen Xu & Zemeng Fan & Xiaofang Sun, 2021. "The Imprint of Built-Up Land Expansion on Cropland Distribution and Productivity in Shandong Province," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-12, June.
    6. Wang, Bo & Liang, Youjia & Peng, Shouzhang, 2022. "Harnessing the indirect effect of urban expansion for mitigating agriculture-environment trade-offs in the Loess Plateau," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    7. Wang, Liye & Zhang, Siyu & Tang, Lanping & Lu, Yanchi & Liu, Yanfang & Liu, Yaolin, 2022. "Optimizing distribution of urban land on the basis of urban land use intensity at prefectural city scale in mainland China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    8. He, Zhichao & Zhao, Chunhong & Fürst, Christine & Hersperger, Anna M., 2021. "Closer to causality: How effective is spatial planning in governing built-up land expansion in Fujian Province, China?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    9. César Benavidez-Silva & Magdalena Jensen & Patricio Pliscoff, 2021. "Future Scenarios for Land Use in Chile: Identifying Drivers of Change and Impacts over Protected Area System," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-21, April.
    10. Huang, Junlong & Tang, Zhuo & Liu, Dianfeng & He, Jianhua, 2020. "Ecological response to urban development in a changing socio-economic and climate context: Policy implications for balancing regional development and habitat conservation," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    11. Chen, Hang & Meng, Fei & Yu, Zhenning & Tan, Yongzhong, 2022. "Spatial–temporal characteristics and influencing factors of farmland expansion in different agricultural regions of Heilongjiang Province, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    12. Sophie Bruin & Just Dengerink & Jasper Vliet, 2021. "Urbanisation as driver of food system transformation and opportunities for rural livelihoods," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(4), pages 781-798, August.
    13. Schatz, Eva-Maria & Bovet, Jana & Lieder, Sebastian & Schroeter-Schlaack, Christoph & Strunz, Sebastian & Marquard, Elisabeth, 2021. "Land take in environmental assessments: Recent advances and persisting challenges in selected EU countries," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    14. Malakoff, Kaitlyn Lee & Nolte, Christoph, 2023. "Estimating the parcel-level impacts of agricultural conservation easements on farmland loss using satellite data in New England," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    15. Daniel Pavlačka & Dominik Kaim & Krzysztof Ostafin & Jaroslav Burian, 2023. "Changes in spatial discontinuity in settlement patterns in the Czech‐Polish border area: A case study of Těšín Silesia," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 102(3), pages 565-587, June.
    16. Grădinaru, Simona R. & Fan, Peilei & Iojă, Cristian I. & Niță, Mihai Răzvan & Suditu, Bogdan & Hersperger, Anna M., 2020. "Impact of national policies on patterns of built-up development: an assessment over three decades," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    17. Ivan Montiel & Junghoon Park & Bryan W. Husted & Andres Velez-Calle, 2022. "Tracing the connections between international business and communicable diseases," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(8), pages 1785-1804, October.
    18. Guangdong Li & Chuanglin Fang & Yingjie Li & Zhenbo Wang & Siao Sun & Sanwei He & Wei Qi & Chao Bao & Haitao Ma & Yupeng Fan & Yuxue Feng & Xiaoping Liu, 2022. "Global impacts of future urban expansion on terrestrial vertebrate diversity," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
    19. Wang, Liye & Zhang, Siyu & Xiong, Qiangqiang & Liu, Yu & Liu, Yanfang & Liu, Yaolin, 2022. "Spatiotemporal dynamics of cropland expansion and its driving factors in the Yangtze River Economic Belt: A nuanced analysis at the county scale," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    20. Hoong Chen Teo & Alex Mark Lechner & Saut Sagala & Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz, 2020. "Environmental Impacts of Planned Capitals and Lessons for Indonesia’s New Capital," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-17, November.
    21. Sakketa, Tekalign Gutu, 2023. "Urbanisation and social cohesion: Theory and empirical evidence from Africa," IDOS Discussion Papers 16/2023, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    22. Siyu Sheng & Bohan Yang & Bing Kuang, 2022. "Impact of Cereal Production Displacement from Urban Expansion on Ecosystem Service Values in China: Based on Three Cropland Supplement Strategies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-19, April.
    23. Shengqiang Jing & Yueguan Yan & Fangqu Niu & Wenhui Song, 2022. "Urban Expansion in China: Spatiotemporal Dynamics and Determinants," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-16, February.
    24. Yuan Wang & Yilong Han & Lijie Pu & Bo Jiang & Shaofeng Yuan & Yan Xu, 2021. "A Novel Model for Detecting Urban Fringe and Its Expanding Patterns: An Application in Harbin City, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-16, August.

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