Land management: data availability and process understanding for global change studies.

Area of Science:

• Earth System Science
• Land System Science
• Ecological Research

Background:

• Global sustainability challenges necessitate understanding Earth system dynamics.
• Knowledge gaps persist regarding human-induced land management impacts on terrestrial ecosystems, especially non-conversion changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the state of knowledge on ten common land management activities.
• To assess their biogeochemical and biophysical impacts, process understanding, and data availability.
• To identify research priorities for incorporating land management into Earth system models.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of ten common land management activities.
• Categorization of activities based on data availability and knowledge base.
• Analysis of impacts, process understanding, and data gaps.

Main Results:

• Approximately one-tenth of ice-free land experiences intense management, with half under medium and one-fifth under extensive management.
• Activities clustered into three groups: (i) well-understood with available data (harvest, irrigation); (ii) sufficient knowledge but lacking data (forest harvest, fertilization, grazing); (iii) poor understanding and data (tillage, fire management).

Conclusions:

• Despite impediments, current knowledge and data suffice for integrating land management into Earth system and dynamic vegetation models.
• This review aids in prioritizing research efforts across disciplines to systematically assess land management's role in the Earth system.