Biodiversity models need to represent land‐use intensity more comprehensively

Abstract

Background Land use is the major driver of the current biodiversity crisis. However, its impact is not yet adequately reflected in biodiversity scenarios. In particular, effects of land‐use intensity are often neglected although natural limits to land conversion will likely enforce further land‐use intensification in the future. Aims and innovation We argue that integration of land‐use intensity into biodiversity models should ideally be based on a proper conceptualization of the land‐use intensity phenomenon. We, therefore, present terminological distinctions and a conceptual framework developed in land system science. The framework distinguishes three dimensions of land‐use intensity: input intensity, output intensity, and alterations of system properties. We discuss nonlinearities and intricacies of the relationships among these dimensions as well as their direct and indirect relationships to biodiversity. In an explorative literature assessment we demonstrate that the multi‐dimensional nature of land‐use intensity appears insufficiently reflected in biodiversity research. Finally, we discuss issues of data availability that limit integration of land‐use intensity into spatially and temporally explicit biodiversity modelling. Conclusion Research on the relationship between land use and biodiversity would profit from a more systematic and comprehensive consideration of land‐use intensity. While there is no standard recipe for combining indicators of land‐use intensity in biodiversity studies the input–output–system distinction is a useful conceptual basis for study designs. More generally, better integration of biodiversity and land system science would foster understanding and predicting the consequences of land‐use intensification on biodiversity.

Land use intensification increasingly drives the spatiotemporal patterns of the global human appropriation of net primary production in the last century

“…Our analysis suggests that these dynamics appear to be a global phenomenon showing consistent trends across different dimensions The crucial relevance of land-use intensity for understanding land-use patterns and their implications is increasingly acknowledged in the literature (e.g., Beckmann et al, 2019;Dullinger et al, 2021;Felipe-Lucia et al, 2020;Friedlingstein et al, 2020;Hong et al, 2021;Kuemmerle et al, 2013). Our results further corroborate these statements and clearly show that without appropriate consideration of the dynamics of land-use intensity, assessments, and models, such as integrated assessment models, will increasingly miss the major changes in land systems and might result in biased and incomplete interpretations (Erb et al, 2018;Pongratz et al, 2018).…”

Land‐use change and biodiversity: Challenges for assembling evidence on the greatest threat to nature

“…To improve our understanding of how land‐use change affects biodiversity, we need to investigate both sides of the paradigm in greater detail through improvements in land use and biodiversity data as well as study designs (Figure 8). Assessments of land‐use change should incorporate within class variation in use intensity (Dullinger et al, 2021) and prioritize biologically relevant metrics over coarse, human‐centered classes (Santos et al, 2021). Regarding biodiversity, more studies should include multiple trophic levels and focus on behavior and demographics to reveal potential mechanisms behind land‐use impacts and uncover temporal trends within communities.…”

Availability and proximity of natural habitat influence cropland biodiversity in forest biomes globally

“…Also, differences were for the measures of biodiversity considered here. There is a clear need for fine-resolution but large-extent data on land-use intensity for better integration of this important driver of biodiversity change (Dullinger et al, 2021).…”