Global maps of cropland extent and change show accelerated cropland expansion in the twenty-first century
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23366181 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Peter Potapov (0000-0003-3977-0021, University of Maryland, College Park, corresponding author), Svetlana Turubanova (0000-0001-6386-156X, University of Maryland, College Park), Matthew C Hansen (0000-0003-0042-2767, University of Maryland, College Park), Alexandra Tyukavina (0000-0003-3872-9844, University of Maryland, College Park), Viviana Zalles (0000-0002-9532-4643, University of Maryland, College Park), Ahmad Khan (0009-0002-4314-5747, University of Maryland, College Park), Xiao‐Peng Song (0000-0002-5514-0321, Texas Tech University), Amy Pickens (0000-0002-6014-6031, University of Maryland, College Park), Quan Shen (0000-0001-9629-7547, University of Maryland, College Park), Jocelyn Cortez (0000-0001-6411-9551, Instituto Politécnico Nacional) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 19-28 |
| Publication date | 2021-12-23 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Nature Food (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2662-1355 • E-ISSN: 2662-1355 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1038/s43016-021-00429-z |
| PMID | 37118483 |
| OpenAlex | W4200236397 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 120 |
| References cited | 33 |
Spatiotemporally consistent data on global cropland extent is essential for tracking progress towards sustainable food production. In the present study, we present an analysis of global cropland area change for the first two decades of the twenty-first century derived from satellite data time-series. We estimate that, in 2019, the cropland area was 1,244 Mha with a corresponding total annual net primary production (NPP) of 5.5 Pg C year −1 . From 2003 to 2019, cropland area increased by 9% and cropland NPP by 25%, primarily due to agricultural expansion in Africa and South America. Global cropland expansion accelerated over the past two decades, with a near doubling of the annual expansion rate, most notably in Africa. Half of the new cropland area (49%) replaced natural vegetation and tree cover, indicating a conflict with the sustainability goal of protecting terrestrial ecosystems. From 2003 to 2019, global per-capita cropland area decreased by 10% due to population growth. However, the per-capita annual cropland NPP increased by 3.5% as a result of intensified agricultural land use. The presented global, high-resolution, cropland map time-series supports monitoring of natural land appropriation at the local, national and international levels.
Agricultural productivity · Agriculture · Climate change · Ecosystem · Geography · Global change · Land cover · Land use · Per capita · Physical geography · Population · Population growth · Primary production · Sustainability · Vegetation (pathology) · Climate change impacts on agriculture · Demography · Ecology · Environmental Science · Land Use and Ecosystem Services · Remote Sensing in Agriculture
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| Unique citing works | 120 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 24 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2026 (6) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | Yes |
| Citation types | Neutral: 108 |