Land

Abstract

Changing climate patterns, economic globalization, population growth, increasing use of natural resources and rapid urbanization are putting pressure on terrestrial ecosystems as never before, and virtually all of them are under stress. Biophysical limits on what is available for human use are real and there are strong signals that these limits are close to being reached or have already been exceeded (Rockström et al. 2009). Even so, the fact that some areas show recent gains in forested area or land reclamation (Lambin and Meyfroidt 2010; Nepstad et al. 2009; Bai et al. 2008) suggests that declines are not inevitable, and indeed that recovery may be possible – even though original ecosystem functions may be modified or pressure on ecosystems may shift elsewhere (Meyfroidt et al. 2010).