concept

cropland

Also known as: cropland, cropland use, croplands, crop and farmland

Facts (18)

Sources

The potential land requirements and related land use change ... nature.com Nature Feb 3, 2021 7 facts

claimAt the domestic level, solar energy projects predominantly compete for land with cropland and managed forests.

claimThe optimal microclimate for solar energy production, based on insolation, air temperature, wind speed, and humidity, is found over land currently used as cropland.

measurementIn regions with high crop productivity such as the European Union, Japan, and South Korea, the displacement of cropland to regions with lower productivity due to solar energy expansion can increase global cropland cover by up to 22%.

claimFuture investors in solar energy projects have a preference for cropland due to microclimate, flatness, and connectivity in terms of roads and electricity grids.

claimThe demand for solarland primarily competes with used, degraded, and potential cropland, including chemically fertilised meadows.

claimIndirect land use change (iLUC) emissions refer to emissions produced by using cropland for energy purposes, which indirectly increases land competition elsewhere to meet global food demand and potentially replaces land with high carbon stocks like natural forests.

claimSolar energy expansion in the EU, India, Japan, and South-Korea is projected to predominantly replace or avoid future conversion of land used for commercial purposes, such as cropland or commercial forest, rather than significantly affecting unmanaged land.

Practitioners' perceived risks to biodiversity from renewable energy ... nature.com Nature Feb 27, 2025 4 facts

claimA sizeable portion of practitioners in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States perceive that large-scale wind and solar (LSWS) projects have negative impacts on croplands.

measurementLess than 1% of all land in the United States is currently used for large-scale wind and solar (LSWS), which is significantly less than the land area used for farmland (25%) and cropland (19%), as reported by Vilsack and Hamer (2024).

claimHumanity will require drastic expansion and intensification of crop-and-farmland by 2050 to address increasing global food demand.

measurementThe projected 2 million km2 growth of the global energy footprint by 2050 is comparable to the projected expansion of urban areas (0.6–2.41 million km2) and croplands (1.6–3.2 million km2).

Health and environmental impacts of diets worldwide globalnutritionreport.org Global Nutrition Report 4 facts

procedureThe 2021 Global Nutrition Report assessment of environmental impacts of diets included greenhouse gas emissions, cropland use, fresh-water use, and nitrogen and phosphorus application related to fertilizers.

referenceThe Global Nutrition Report analysis of food demand estimates from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and a database of environmental footprints shows that dietary patterns in Northern America, Oceania, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia consistently exceeded global environmental targets for greenhouse gas emissions, cropland use, freshwater use, and nitrogen and phosphorus application between 2010 and 2018.

measurementThe global food system required 15.8 million square kilometres (Mkm2) of cropland, 43.9 Mkm2 of pastureland, 2,500 cubic kilometres (km3) of fresh water, 108.7 million tonnes (Mt) of nitrogen, and 18.6 Mt of phosphorus in 2018.

measurementGlobal cropland use in 2018 was 60% above the value required to limit the loss of natural habitat as defined by the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and SDG 15.

Measurement of diets that are healthy, environmentally sustainable ... frontiersin.org Frontiers 1 fact

claimMost land use metrics in sustainable diet studies are simple land occupation measures (m2*time), while a smaller number use nuanced measures such as cropland scarcity footprints (m2*yr-eq) or divide land use between cropland and grassland.

A Scoping Review of Indicators for Sustainable Healthy Diets frontiersin.org Frontiers Jan 12, 2022 1 fact

claimCommonly used indicators for assessing land use in sustainable diet studies include total land use, land occupation, cropland use, ecological footprint, and nature occupation.

Balancing land use for conservation, agriculture, and renewable ... nature.com Nature Mar 7, 2026 1 fact

referenceAdeh et al. (2019) determined that the potential for solar photovoltaic power generation is highest when located over croplands.