Our Work

The Global Landscapes Initiative focuses on:

Mapping Global Land Use and Land Cover

Land use is an important driver of global environmental change, but we still don’t know exactly how the land has been changing—or why. As a first step, we need to document the world’s current land use practices and estimate how these patterns have changed throughout history.

While landscapes are now routinely monitored from space, satellite images can tell us only so much. To describe the “on the ground” practices of agriculture, forestry and urban expansion, we must also use ground-based data on fertilizer use, irrigation, crop selection and more. U of M scientists are partnering with colleagues at McGill University to develop pioneering techniques for combining satellite- and ground-based information on land use at the global scale.

Ultimately, the GLI researchers aim to build new datasets of croplands, pastures, forests and urban lands—including new data on productivity, land use practices and land degradation—around the world. The research team is paying particular attention to the Amazon Basin and the United States due to the regions’ global relevance.

Agriculture and Food Systems

Suitable climate and soil conditions, along with direct human management, are critical to agricultural production. While new irrigation and fertilizer technologies have expanded the limits of cultivation, several large regions of the world are still unsuitable for crops.

GLI experts are assessing how agricultural systems are distributed worldwide and how they might change in the future. Through land use datasets and ecological modeling tools, the team is examining the links among land use practices, agricultural production and the underlying patterns of climate and soil quality.

Initial results show a disturbing trend: The regions of the world with the least suitable agricultural lands are likely to be those hit hardest by increasing population and climate change.

Land Use Impacts on Ecosystems

Land use and agriculture play a vital role in sustaining the health, nourishment and economy of the world’s population. At the same time, some land use practices can degrade the quality of our soils, waterways, air and other natural resources.

The GLI researchers are working to understand how human land use activities impact the planet’s biological and physical systems. This research concentrates on the changing nature of global ecosystems and watersheds, and how they interact with the atmosphere and oceans.

The research team is also building and testing computer models of the world’s ecosystems, watersheds and climate patterns, and their connections to land use. Such innovative models will reveal how ecological, climatic and hydrological processes interact to support the rich diversity of life on Earth.

Land Use, Carbon Cycling and Climate Change

As concerns about the greenhouse effect continue to escalate, so does the discussion over the use of vegetation and soils to combat global warming. By planting trees, restoring degraded soils and practicing alternative farming techniques, it might be possible to “sequester” carbon dioxide from the atmosphere—temporarily removing it from the pool of greenhouse gases. Carbon sequestration could help ease our transition toward cleaner, more efficient energy technologies.

GLI experts are examining the role of land use and land cover change in the carbon cycle. Using historical land use data and global ecosystem models, the researchers can measure current patterns of carbon uptake and release from ecosystems, along with the potential for carbon sequestration worldwide.

Note: The current datasets of the Global Landscapes Initiative were developed in collaboration with McGill University and the University of Wisconsin.