A global clustering of terrestrial food production systems
Unsustainable food production drives biodiversity loss, emissions, and land degradation. Mapping global “foodscapes” using biophysical and socio-economic data reveals concentrated production areas, highlights climate and degradation risks, and identifies leverage points and zones for targeted, sustainable agricultural interventions.
Subject Tags
- Agriculture
- Regenerative food systems
- Social Sciences
Abstract
Food production is at the heart of global sustainability challenges, with unsustainable practices being a major driver of biodiversity loss, emissions and land degradation. The concept of foodscapes, defined as the characteristics of food production along biophysical and socio-economic gradients, could be a way addressing those challenges. By identifying homologues foodscapes classes possible interventions and leverage points for more sustainable agriculture could be identified. Here we provide a globally consistent approximation of the world’s foodscape classes. We integrate global data on biophysical and socio-economic factors to identify a minimum set of emergent clusters and evaluate their characteristics, vulnerabilities and risks with regards to global change factors. Overall, we find food production globally to be highly concentrated in a few areas. Worryingly, we find particularly intensively cultivated or irrigated foodscape classes to be under considerable climatic and degradation risks. Our work can serve as baseline for global-scale zoning and gap analyses, while also revealing homologous areas for possible agricultural interventions.
Citation
Jung, M., Boucher, T.M., Wood, S.A., Folberth, C., Wironen, M., Thornton, P., Bossio, D. and Obersteiner, M., 2024. A global clustering of terrestrial food production systems. PLoS One, 19(2), p.e0296846. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0296846
TNC Authors
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Timothy M. Boucher
Senior Conservation Scientist, Africa
The Nature Conservancy
Email: tboucher@tnc.org -
Stephen A. Wood
Senior Scientist, Agriculture and Food Systems
The Nature Conservancy
Email: stephen.wood@tnc.org -
Michael Wironen
Corporate Engagement Director, Food and Water
The Nature Conservancy
Email: michael.wironen@tnc.org -
Deborah Bossio
Lead Scientist, Food and Water
The Nature Conservancy
Email: deborah.bossio@tnc.org