Land & Carbon Lab

Deforestation gets all the attention, but wetlands and grasslands like Brazil’s Cerrado are being converted to agriculture at four times the rate of forests worldwide. Half of the converted land becomes pasture and 27% becomes food crops. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/xnAo50YmuQi

🌾 Agriculture isn’t only replacing forests. New research from Land & Carbon Lab, World Resources Institute, Rainforest Alliance and Senckenberg Nature Research shows that agriculture-driven ecosystem conversion extends well beyond forests, and it is happening at a global scale. Between 2005–2020, non-forest ecosystems were converted to annual crops and pasture at roughly four times the rate of forests, totaling an area nearly as large as Indonesia. Key findings from the paper: 🏞️ Grasslands, savannas and wetlands have been a hidden agricultural frontier, with conversion to crops and pasture often outside the spotlight. Globally traded crops like corn and soy are linked to this conversion across multiple regions. 🌏 Conversion of non-forest ecosystems is not limited to tropical countries. Hotspots are geographically dispersed, reflecting where supply chains concentrate production to meet demand. 🐄 Livestock is the dominant commodity linked with conversion. About half of all non-forest ecosystem conversion is to pasture, followed by food crops, feed production – adding further livestock-related pressure – and other uses, mainly bioenergy. The study shows how critical it is for conservation and sustainability strategies to cover ALL natural ecosystems. 👉 Read about the findings here and their implications for supply chains: https://go.wri.org/A7UCgQ Accountability Framework initiative (AFi)

From a plain language question to insights on the world’s changing landscapes in minutes, supported by maps, statistics and context.    Access to Global Nature Watch is now completely open. Sign up today for immediate access.    Start with an area of interest, explore peer-reviewed data sets and ask a question (in over 100 languages). Global Nature Watch then returns maps, charts, statistics and written context backed by peer-reviewed data from Land & Carbon Lab and Global Forest Watch. Then dive deeper: replicate the analysis and continue exploring the data.    ➡️ Explore Global Nature Watch: https://lnkd.in/ebEnueyr   Global Nature Watch is an experimental, open, AI-powered system that combines research from Land & Carbon Lab and Global Forest Watch in a simple, chat-style interface. Integrating near-real-time and annual satellite data, it reveals change across ecosystems, from forests to grasslands, croplands and other landscapes.    Global Nature Watch is currently in preview. Your feedback plays a critical role as we continue to refine and improve the platform. #GlobalNatureWatch

New global maps show where crop emissions are highest 🚜🌾 New maps developed by Cornell University in collaboration with Land & Carbon Lab highlight where emissions from crop farming are greatest and how they vary across countries and regions. So where are those emissions coming from most? The data shows that six countries account for 61% of all crop emissions globally: Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Thailand and the United States. But the reasons differ. In China, India and Thailand, higher emissions are closely tied to rice production, where flooded fields release methane. In Brazil and the United States, emissions are associated more with fertilizer use than with rice cultivation. And in Indonesia, emissions from crops grown on drained peatlands play an outsized role. At the same time, high emissions do not automatically mean a system is inefficient. Some of the world’s most productive agricultural regions also have high emissions, in part because they produce a large share of global calories. Understanding where emissions are highest and what contributes to them is key to designing more targeted climate solutions for agriculture. Explore the data and learn more here: https://lnkd.in/ez5bfge7

What’s the climate cost of growing crops? New global maps developed by Cornell University in collaboration with Land & Carbon Lab reveal that croplands emitted nearly 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, surpassing global shipping and on par with annual emissions from tropical primary forest loss. Taken together, crop farming accounted for 2.5 gigatons of CO₂e in 2020, or 19% of net emissions from the land sector. These new maps help show what is behind that total by breaking emissions out by source, crop and agricultural management practices. In 2020, the three largest sources accounted for 93% of all emissions from crop farming: 🌿 Draining peatlands (35%) 🌾 Flooded rice cultivation (35%) 🧪 Synthetic fertilizers (23%) For the first time, this level of detail makes it possible to see not only where total emissions are highest but also the climate cost of production per hectare and per calorie, revealing how emissions vary by crop and how fields are managed. Explore the data and learn more here: https://lnkd.in/ez5bfge7

Our data for statistical land use change (sLUC) emissions for different crops can help provide important signals to companies about the environmental risks and profile of the regions they source from – even when they don’t know exactly which farms their commodities came from – so that they can prioritize traceability efforts and supply chain interventions. Based on methods aligned with Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol)'s just released Land Sector and Removals Standard.   📊 Read more about the data and methods behind our new guidebook on land sector reporting for crop commodities in this blog ➡️ https://lnkd.in/epwZGDNf   📕 See the guidebook here ➡️https://lnkd.in/eMTzjA2H Get the sLUC emission factors here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eau66Svy

🌍 Access to Global Nature Watch is now completely open. Sign up for immediate access!    Explore Global Nature Watch right away by asking real questions about the places and ecosystems you care about.    Not sure where to get started? Try one of the prompts on the second slide — and if you want more options, the platform also offers several starting prompts to choose from.    Choose one, adapt it to your location or timeframe and see how Global Nature Watch turns plain-language questions into maps, statistics and context — backed by peer-reviewed research from Land & Carbon Lab and Global Forest Watch.    ➡️ Try a prompt and explore now: https://lnkd.in/ebEnueyr   Global Nature Watch integrates near-real-time and annual satellite data to reveal change across ecosystems, from forests to grasslands, croplands and other landscapes. As the platform continues to improve, it aims to make monitoring more comprehensive, faster and easier, helping people protect and restore ecosystems, support livelihoods and address climate challenges.    Global Nature Watch is currently in preview. Your feedback plays a critical role as we continue to refine and improve the platform. 

🚀 Access to Global Nature Watch is now completely open — no waitlist required. Sign up today for immediate access. Global Nature Watch is an experimental, open, AI-powered system that combines trusted research from Land & Carbon Lab and Global Forest Watch in a simple, chat-style interface. ➡️ Sign up for immediate access: https://lnkd.in/ebEnueyr With Global Nature Watch, you can ask questions in plain language (in 100+ languages) and receive responses backed by peer-reviewed data from Land & Carbon Lab and Global Forest Watch, supported by maps, statistics and context. Integrating near-real-time and annual satellite data, it reveals change across ecosystems — from forests to grasslands, croplands and other landscapes. Global Nature Watch is currently in early release, so your feedback plays a critical role as we continue to refine and improve the platform. #GlobalNatureWatch

Apakah Anda bekerja untuk merestorasi lahan, melindungi ekosistem, atau memperkuat kebijakan berbasis data? Atau Anda tertarik pada isu ini dan punya banyak pertanyaan? Bergabunglah dalam webinar Global Nature Watch, sebuah sistem pemantauan lahan berbasis kecerdasan buatan (AI) terbaru dari Land & Carbon Lab, yang memadukan berbagai data terbuka dan riset terpercaya tentang lahan dan alam dari Land & Carbon Lab dan Global Forest Watch 🌳 📅 Kamis, 12 Februari 2026 ⏰ 10:00–11:00 WIB 🔗 Zoom (registrasi: https://lnkd.in/g-H3dk7Z) Global Nature Watch dirancang agar wawasan tentang alam dan lingkungan menjadi lebih mudah diakses oleh siapapun, intuitif, dan dapat mendorong aksi nyata. Saat ini, platform masih dalam tahap rilis awal, dan masukan Anda akan membantu pengembangannya ke depan. Mari daftar sekarang dan sampai jumpa di webinar! #GlobalNatureWatch