This book presents recent estimates on the rate of change of major land classes. Aggregated globally, multiple impacts of local land changes are shown to significantly affect central aspects of Earth System functioning. The book offers innovative developments and applications in the fields of modeling and scenario construction. Conclusions are also drawn about the most pressing implications for the design of appropriate intervention policies.

Eric Lambin is Professor at the Department of Geography at the University of Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, and chair of the Scientific Steering Committee of the IGBP-IHDP Land-Use/Cover Change (LUCC) project, besides contributing to many other international scientific projects and initiatives. His research focuses on remote sensing, tropical deforestation, desertification and land use transitions. Helmut Geist is Professor of Human-Environment Interactions at the University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom, and former Executive Director of the IGBP-IHDP Land-Use/Cover Change (LUCC) project. His research focuses on environment/development issues and political ecology.