Land Use and Cover Change (LUCC)

Development of Lucc Research

Concerns over the effects of human activities on the environment may be traced back to when George Perkins Marsh published his book Man and Nature in 1864. The consequences of LUCC, such as deforestation leading to soil erosion and [Page 1735]subsequently decreased soil productivity, were debated on. LUCC has in the past several decades emerged in the global environmental change research agenda. In the 1970s, it was recognized that land cover change modifies surface albedo and, thus, surface-atmosphere energy exchanges, influencing regional climate. In the early 1980s, terrestrial ecosystems as sources and sinks of carbon were highlighted, underscoring LUCC as a major element of the global carbon cycle. Studies focused on LUCC came into the limelight in the mid 1990s. This can be seen in the growing number of publications on this topic in the past decade (Figure 1). The need to have a framework for LUCC studies at a global scale, to integrate the social and natural sciences, and to provide greater data availability and standardization also spurred the development of various national and international research programs. In 1994, a core project on LUCC was initiated and jointly run by the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) and the International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP) on Global Environmental Change. The International Geographical Union [Page 1736](IGU) established a study group on land use and land cover in 1996 to promote LUCC studies in the world geographical community. In the United States, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration developed a Land Cover and Land Use Change research program, synthesizing the results from different regions where important LUCC processes are taking place, such as the Brazilian Amazon, China, and southeast Asia. These programs and many others worldwide have made considerable progress and demonstrated the importance of cross-disciplinary efforts in addressing the LUCC issues. Because of its standalone significance and its critical role in other aspects of global change, LUCC research continues to gain programmatic support.

...