Cited by 1,876Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource ManagementLand Use and Ecosystem ServicesAgriculture, Land Use, Rural Development

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 47 of the 47 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 87 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Tropical forests were the primary sources of new agricultural land in the 1980s and 1990s

Open access
Gibbs, H. K., Ruesch, A. S., Achard, F., Clayton, M. K., Holmgren, P., Ramankutty, N., Foley, J. A.·2010·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Abstract

Global demand for agricultural products such as food, feed, and fuel is now a major driver of cropland and pasture expansion across much of the developing world. Whether these new agricultural lands replace forests, degraded forests, or grasslands greatly influences the environmental consequences of expansion. Although the general pattern is known, there still is no definitive quantification of these land-cover changes. Here we analyze the rich, pan-tropical database of classified Landsat scenes created by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations to examine pathways of agricultural expansion across the major tropical forest regions in the 1980s and 1990s and use this information to highlight the future land conversions that probably will be needed to meet mounting demand for agricultural products. Across the tropics, we find that between 1980 and 2000 more than 55% of new agricultural land came at the expense of intact forests, and another 28% came from disturbed forests. This study underscores the potential consequences of unabated agricultural expansion for forest conservation and carbon emissions.

Overview

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1073/pnas.0910275107

Cites

47 of 47 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

51 Not checked yet · 34 Own result · 20 Own method · 6 Own interpretation · 6 No basis given

Verify all 87 references — free account

Show all 68 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 39
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 20
49 of 49
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Scientific descriptions of expanding agricultural lands and whether they arise from new deforestation or from previously cleared lands are largely absent and undocumented for the tropics as a whole.

    “Scientific descriptions of these expanding agricultural landsand whether they arise from new deforestation or from previously cleared lands-are surprisingly absent and remain largely undocumented for the tropics as a whole.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Progress in environmental governance and policy decisions is hindered by sparse information on land sources for newly expanded croplands.

    “Progress in environmental governance and policy decisions (e.g., domestic and international standards for renewable fuel) is hindered by sparse information on land sources for newly expanded croplands.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Worldwide demand for agricultural products is expected to increase by about 50% by 2050.

    “Worldwide demand for agricultural products is expected to increase by ∼50% by 2050, and evidence suggests that tropical countries will be called on to meet much of this demand.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Tropical countries will be called on to meet much of the increased demand for agricultural products.

    “Worldwide demand for agricultural products is expected to increase by ∼50% by 2050, and evidence suggests that tropical countries will be called on to meet much of this demand.”
4 of 4

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Citations

Cites

Show all 47 references

Research works printed but not linked: 7

  1. MW Rosegrant, S Msango, T Sulser, R Valmonte-Santos Biofuels and the Global Food Balance (International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC, 2006).
  2. , ed SR Carpenter (Island Press, Washington, DC Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Scenarios: Findings of the Scenarios Working Group of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005).
  3. ; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000 (Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, FAO Forestry Paper 140. (2000).
  4. ; Malaysian Oil Palm Council Palm Oil and the Environment (Malaysian Oil Palm Council, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2008).
  5. ; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Forest Resources Assessment 1990—Survey of Tropical Forest Cover and Study of Change Processes (Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, FAO Forestry Paper 130. (1996).
  6. ; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FRA 2000: Pan-Tropical Survey of Forest Cover Changes, 1980–2000 (Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, Forest Resources Assessment Working Paper 49. (2001).
  7. MF Goodchild Spatial Autocorrelation. Catmog 47 (Geo Books, Norwich, CT, 1986).

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Metadata

Authors
Gibbs, H. K., Ruesch, A. S., Achard, F., Clayton, M. K., Holmgren, P., Ramankutty, N., & Foley, J. A.
Affiliations
  • Stanford University (US)
  • University of Washington (US)
  • European Commission (BE)
  • University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
  • Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (IT)
  • McGill University (CA)
  • University of Minnesota (US)
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2010-08-31
Volume
107
Issue
38
Pages
16732-16737
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
OpenAlex
W2129920251
Cited by
1,876
References
47
Citations by year
2026: 82 · 2025: 91 · 2024: 87 · 2023: 137 · 2022: 163 · 2021: 145 · 2020: 166 · 2019: 186 · 2018: 114 · 2017: 149 · 2016: 122 · 2015: 110 · 2014: 94 · 2013: 87 · 2012: 73
FWCI
65.39
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Joint Research Centre (European Commission) (submittedVersion)
Funders
U.S. Department of Energy
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Land Use and Ecosystem Services
  • Social Sciences › Development › Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development
Keywords
agricultural expansion, tropical forests, land conversion, cropland expansion, pasture expansion, forest loss, forest degradation, land cover change, Landsat imagery, biofuels, forest carbon emissions, forest conservation, 1980s-1990s
MeSH terms
Agriculture, Conservation of Natural Resources, Trees, Tropical Climate, United Nations, Databases, Factual, Crops, Agricultural, History, 20th Century, History, 21st Century

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