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The State of the World’s Arable Land

Olsson, Lennart LU ; Cotrufo, Francesca ; Crews, Timothy ; Franklin, Janet ; King, Alison ; Mirzabaev, Alisher ; Scown, Murray LU ; Tengberg, Anna LU ; Villarino, Sebastian and Wang, Yafei LU (2023) In Annual Review of Environment and Resources 48. p.451-475
Abstract

For millennia, agriculture has been shaping landscapes on Earth. Technological change has increased agricultural productivity dramatically, especially in the past six decades, but also resulted in trade-offs such as land and soil degradation, emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs), and spreading of toxic substances. In this article we review the impacts of agriculture on the world’s arable land. We start by synthesizing information on the extent of arable land and associated agricultural practices, followed by a review of the state of the art of soil health and soil carbon. We review processes of land degradation, emission of GHGs, and threats to biodiversity. To conclude, we review key social and economic aspects of arable land and... (More)

For millennia, agriculture has been shaping landscapes on Earth. Technological change has increased agricultural productivity dramatically, especially in the past six decades, but also resulted in trade-offs such as land and soil degradation, emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs), and spreading of toxic substances. In this article we review the impacts of agriculture on the world’s arable land. We start by synthesizing information on the extent of arable land and associated agricultural practices, followed by a review of the state of the art of soil health and soil carbon. We review processes of land degradation, emission of GHGs, and threats to biodiversity. To conclude, we review key social and economic aspects of arable land and identify some important concerns for the future. The article ends on a positive note describing a potential new pathway for agriculture—to gradually adopt polycultures of novel perennial grain crops.

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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
biodiversity, greenhouse gases, land degradation, land use, rural economies, soil carbon
in
Annual Review of Environment and Resources
volume
48
pages
25 pages
publisher
Annual Reviews
external identifiers
  • scopus:85179433689
ISSN
1543-5938
DOI
10.1146/annurev-environ-112320-113741
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
5b998650-180d-4bfc-8534-860770a9d31c
date added to LUP
2024-01-08 14:25:19
date last changed
2024-01-08 14:25:56
@article{5b998650-180d-4bfc-8534-860770a9d31c,
  abstract     = {{<p>For millennia, agriculture has been shaping landscapes on Earth. Technological change has increased agricultural productivity dramatically, especially in the past six decades, but also resulted in trade-offs such as land and soil degradation, emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs), and spreading of toxic substances. In this article we review the impacts of agriculture on the world’s arable land. We start by synthesizing information on the extent of arable land and associated agricultural practices, followed by a review of the state of the art of soil health and soil carbon. We review processes of land degradation, emission of GHGs, and threats to biodiversity. To conclude, we review key social and economic aspects of arable land and identify some important concerns for the future. The article ends on a positive note describing a potential new pathway for agriculture—to gradually adopt polycultures of novel perennial grain crops.</p>}},
  author       = {{Olsson, Lennart and Cotrufo, Francesca and Crews, Timothy and Franklin, Janet and King, Alison and Mirzabaev, Alisher and Scown, Murray and Tengberg, Anna and Villarino, Sebastian and Wang, Yafei}},
  issn         = {{1543-5938}},
  keywords     = {{biodiversity; greenhouse gases; land degradation; land use; rural economies; soil carbon}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{451--475}},
  publisher    = {{Annual Reviews}},
  series       = {{Annual Review of Environment and Resources}},
  title        = {{The State of the World’s Arable Land}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-112320-113741}},
  doi          = {{10.1146/annurev-environ-112320-113741}},
  volume       = {{48}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}