Land-Use Impacts on Forest Ecosystems

Land-use change drives significant alterations in forest structure, composition and function. Agricultural expansion and intensification have historically led to extensive deforestation, habitat fragmentation and soil degradation, undermining biodiversity and carbon storage. Conversely, land abandonment in temperate regions has facilitated secondary succession, yielding new woodlands with distinct structural characteristics. Forestry practices, ranging from monoculture plantations to selective logging, impose varying pressures on understorey communities and nutrient cycles, shaping species diversity and ecosystem resilience. Urbanisation further compounds these impacts by converting forest cover to impervious surfaces, altering hydrological regimes and fragmenting habitats. The legacy of past land uses can persist for centuries, affecting soil properties, species pools and successional trajectories. Emerging research integrates high-resolution remote sensing, historical cartography and ecological indices to trace land-cover trajectories, quantify biomass shifts and identify forests of high conservation value. These approaches inform policy and management by pinpointing areas for restoration, sustainable harvest and conservation prioritisation. A global perspective reveals divergent trends: rapid deforestation in the tropics contrasts with forest transitions in some temperate locales, emphasising the need for context-specific strategies. Understanding the complex interplay between land use and forest ecosystems is crucial for maintaining biodiversity, mitigating climate change and sustaining ecosystem services worldwide.

Research from Nature Portfolio

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Land-Use Impacts on Forest Ecosystems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in land-use impacts on forest ecosystems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Land-use and land-cover change (LULC): Alterations in the way land is utilised and the type of surface cover, impacting ecosystem structure and function.

Secondary succession: Natural recovery process of vegetation following disturbance or land abandonment, leading to gradual ecosystem redevelopment.

Forest Maturity Index: Quantitative measure based on species composition used to gauge successional stage and ecological integrity of forests.

Understorey: Vegetation layer beneath the main forest canopy, comprising shrubs, herbs and young trees, crucial for biodiversity.

Remote sensing: Acquisition of information about Earth’s surface via satellite or aerial sensors, applied to map and monitor forests.

References

1. Four-century history of land transformation by humans in the United States (1630–2020): annual and 1 km grid data for the HIStory of LAND changes (HISLAND-US). Earth System Science Data (2023).
2. Using the Forest Maturity Index to model understory regeneration of post-agricultural forest in the NE Carpathians. Ecological Indicators (2024).
3. Historical maps improve the identification of forests with potentially high conservation value. Conservation Letters (2024).