The role of agricultural expansion, land cover and land-use change in contributing to climate change

The chapter discusses the role of agricultural expansion, land cover and use change in contributing to climate change. It begins by reviewing the impacts of land-use change on climate, specifically focusing on carbon emission, surface energy fluxes – such as reflection of solar radiation and evapotranspiration and hydrological impacts – and the emission of reactive gases from vegetation. It also assesses how to estimate the impacts of land-use change on climate. It moves on to review the role of the land sector in climate change mitigation, highlighting how the reduction of deforestation, the increase of reforestation, restoration and afforestation and the growth of crops of bioenergy can help to adapt to climate change. Finally, the chapter reviews future land-use trajectories and how they can be used to assess future potential climate change as a result of different levels of greenhouse gas emissions. It concludes by providing future research trends and resources for further information.