Land system change 

The boundary of land system change is related to three major forest biomes— boreal, temperate, and tropical —that significantly influence biogeophysical processes globally. The control variable for assessing these boundaries is the percentage of forest cover remaining compared to the potential forest area during the Holocene epoch

The key points to consider in this boundary are:

  • Major Forest Biomes: The focus is on tropical, temperate, and boreal forests, which are critical in driving global biogeophysical processes.

Control Variable: The primary measure used is the remaining forest cover compared to its potential area during the Holocene. This geological epoch began around 11,700 years ago after the last major ice age.

Boundary Positions: The cover of forest biomes are currently at:

  • Boreal forests: 85% of their potential area during the Holocene.

  • Temperate forests: 50% of their potential area during the Holocene.

  • Tropical forests: 85% of their potential area during the Holocene.

It’s almost as if you could tell the preferred places humans like to live by the destruction of the forests.

  • Current State of Forests (as of 2019): Based on land-cover classification maps from satellite observations in 2019, the status of regional biomes is similar to that in 2015. However, most regions have experienced increased deforestation since 2015.

  • Causes of Change: The primary drivers of forest area changes include land-use conversion and fires, leading to rapid forest loss.

  • Deforestation in the Amazon: Deforestation in the Amazon tropical forest has surpassed the planetary boundary, indicating a significant environmental concern.

  • Methodological Changes: Differences in the reported forest cover compared to previous updates may be due to changes in the methods and technology used to estimate forest cover since 2015.

Overall Trend: Despite methodological changes, there is a clear trend of a continuous decrease in global forest area 

MANA and what you can do.

Simply, eat less meat. Eating more legumes and grains saves land that is being converted for animal farming and even allows for some land to be returned for reforestation. MANA supports flexitarian diets that include more vegetables, legumes/grains, and a little meat with diets focusing on using many different plants, herbs, and spices.

The other way is to continue learning via the regularly updated MANA blog and our Newsletters.

References:
EU Copernicus Climate Change Service,“Land cover classification gridded maps from 1992 to present derived from satellite observations”, ICDR Land Cover 2016–2020. 73. 

Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, (FAO), United Nations’ Environmental Program, (UNEP), “The State of the World’s Forests 2020. Forests, biodiversity and people” (Publication 978-92-5-132419-6, 2020); https://doi.org/10.4060/ca8642en. 74. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United 

Nations, (FOA),“Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020: Main report” (Publication 978-92-5-132974-0, 2020); https://doi.org/10. 4060/ca9825en.