concept

land use and land cover change

Also known as: LULC, land use and land cover change

Facts (31)

Sources

Practitioners' perceived risks to biodiversity from renewable energy ... nature.com Nature Feb 27, 2025 16 facts

procedurePractitioners compared the direct net impacts on biodiversity from the land footprint of large-scale wind and solar energy (LSWS) with impacts from other industrial-scale land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) drivers, including agriculture, farming, urban growth, timber harvest, and fossil fuel extraction and operations.

claimSolutions to minimize total land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) include co-locating energy production with crops, grazing, pollinator habitat, or water bodies.

claimPractitioners across all regions expect that urban, agrarian, and farming land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) will have greater impacts on biodiversity by 2050 compared to large-scale wind and solar (LSWS).

procedureThe study surveyed practitioners to measure their perceptions regarding the type of net impact on biodiversity from large-scale renewable energy, the impact of large-scale renewable energy compared to six common drivers of land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) in 2023, the impact of large-scale renewable energy compared to other drivers of LULCC by 2050, and the impact of large-scale renewable energy on ecosystems currently and in the future.

measurementPractitioners perceive the relative impact of large-scale solar and wind energy on biodiversity as less than any of the six other examined drivers of land-use and land-cover change (LULCC), with relative impact values ranging from 0.42 to 0.97 on a Likert scale.

claimPractitioners from state environmental agencies equate the impact of fossil fuel operations, urban growth, and wind energy on animals, whereas non-profit and research institute practitioners perceive less impact on biodiversity from wind than from other land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) drivers.

claimPractitioners perceive that large-scale wind and solar (LSWS) energy projects have some merits when compared against other industrial-scale drivers of land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) in the United States.

claimPractitioners generally perceive the biodiversity impacts of large-scale wind and solar (LSWS) development to be less than the impacts from other land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) drivers, such as industrial agriculture and fossil fuel development.

claimIn regions such as the Northeast or Pacific Coast, practitioners equate the biodiversity impacts of large-scale wind and solar (LSWS) siting with other drivers of land-use and land-cover change (LULCC), suggesting that spatial factors influence these perceptions.

claimPractitioners generally expect future solar development to have fewer biodiversity impacts than other Land Use and Land Cover Change (LULCC) drivers.

procedurePractitioners rated the land footprint impact of large-scale renewable energy deployment projects (LSWS) on biodiversity compared to land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) types using a three-point Likert scale: “lesser” (-1), “equal” (0), or “greater” (1).

measurementOn average, practitioners across all regions except the Mountain region report that wind energy has less impact on all biodiversity categories than other land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) drivers, with scores ranging from -1 to -0.33.

claimFactors such as timberland ecosystem services, fossil fuel greenhouse gas emissions, and sensitive habitat loss from urbanization may influence practitioner perceptions of land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) impacts, regardless of the physical space occupied by these drivers.

claimPractitioners across regions perceive that drivers of land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) other than large-scale wind and solar (LSWS) pose a greater threat to biodiversity.

referenceScholars have identified six predominant drivers of land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) that impact biodiversity: agriculture, pasturelands, urban growth, forestry, fossil fuel extraction, and fossil fuel operations.

claimAmbiguous classifications of low-biodiversity lands, such as conflating 'marginal' with 'economically marginal', embed assumptions about land use that may misrepresent the capacity to mitigate land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) conflicts.

The interplay of future solar energy, land cover change, and their ... discovery.researcher.life Researcher.life Jun 9, 2024 15 facts

measurementIn a specific district, 45.2% of the total area (360.92 km2) underwent Land Use Land Cover (LULC) changes between 1990 and 2020.

claimClimate change and Land Use Land Cover (LULC) changes are two of the most significant causes of environmental change.

claimIneffective law enforcement and inadequate legislation are responsible for Land Use Land Cover (LULC) changes in Zambian mining areas, as mining corporations do not pay attention to requirements regarding mine closures.

procedureResearchers mapped land use land cover (LULC) changes in Kitwe District, Copperbelt Province, Zambia, from 1990 to 2020 using the Google Earth Engine (GEE) and a remote sensing analysis of Landsat TM (1990, 2000, 2010) and OLI (2020) images.

claimPopulation growth, rapid urbanization, and deforestation were the primary drivers of land use and land cover change, resulting in environmental impacts such as degraded habitat quality in the watershed.

claimLand Use Land Cover (LULC) changes and rainfall influence flood severity in Kalutara more than in Rathnapura because Kalutara is located at a lower elevation level.

claimClimate change and Land Use Land Cover (LULC) changes are believed to influence soil erosion.

measurementThe Niger Delta region of Nigeria experienced land use and land cover changes (LULCC) between 1986 and 2024, with built-up and agriculture land classes recording the greatest increases of approximately 8,229 and 6,727 square kilometers respectively.

claimBangladesh experienced significant land use and land cover changes (LULCC) between 2000 and 2010, primarily occurring between agricultural land and waterbodies, and between forest and shrubland.

claimLand use land cover (LULC) changes resulting from copper exploration in Kitwe District, Copperbelt Province, Zambia, have adversely impacted the environment.

claimExisting capacity expansion models for solar energy do not integrate land use land cover change (LULC) dynamics into their projections.

claimLand Use Land Cover (LULC) changes are a main contributory factor for floods worldwide, alongside rainfall.

perspectiveObroma O. Agumagu argues that the Nigerian government and other stakeholders must manage land use and land cover change (LULCC) and support forest and mangrove restoration, specifically in Delta, Cross River, and Rivers States, to address the negative impacts on the hydrological functioning of the Niger Delta.

procedureThe Google Earth Engine (GEE) Random Forest classifier algorithm was employed to detect land use land cover (LULC) changes in Kitwe District, Copperbelt Province, Zambia.

claimClimate change and Land Use Land Cover (LULC) changes are interrelated, as land use change may drive climate change, and a changing climate may result in land cover changes.