Veronika Gaube

Quantifying and mapping the human appropriation of net primary production in earth's terrestrial ecosystems

Human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP), the aggregate impact of land use on biomass available each year in ecosystems, is a prominent measure of the human domination of the biosphere. We present a comprehensive assessment of global HANPP based on vegetation modeling, agricultural and forestry statistics, and geographical information systems data on land use, land cover, and soil degradation that localizes human impact on ecosystems. We found an aggregate global HANPP value of 15.6 Pg C/yr or 23.8% of potential net primary productivity, of which 53% was contributed by harvest, 40% by land-use-induced productivity changes, and 7% by human-induced fires. This is a remarkable impact on the biosphere caused by just one species. We present maps quantifying human-induced changes in trophic energy flows in ecosystems that illustrate spatial patterns in the human domination of ecosystems, thus emphasizing land use as a pervasive factor of global importance. Land use transforms earths terrestrial surface, resulting in changes in biogeochemical cycles and in the ability of ecosystems to deliver services critical to human well being. The results suggest that large-scale schemes to substitute biomass for fossil fuels should be viewed cautiously because massive additional pressures on ecosystems might result from increased biomass harvest.

Global human appropriation of net primary production doubled in the 20th century

Global increases in population, consumption, and gross domestic product raise concerns about the sustainability of the current and future use of natural resources. The human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) provides a useful measure of human intervention into the biosphere. The productive capacity of land is appropriated by harvesting or burning biomass and by converting natural ecosystems to managed lands with lower productivity. This work analyzes trends in HANPP from 1910 to 2005 and finds that although human population has grown fourfold and economic output 17-fold, global HANPP has only doubled. Despite this increase in efficiency, HANPP has still risen from 6.9 Gt of carbon per y in 1910 to 14.8 GtC/y in 2005, i.e., from 13% to 25% of the net primary production of potential vegetation. Biomass harvested per capita and year has slightly declined despite growth in consumption because of a decline in reliance on bioenergy and higher conversion efficiencies of primary biomass to products. The rise in efficiency is overwhelmingly due to increased crop yields, albeit frequently associated with substantial ecological costs, such as fossil energy inputs, soil degradation, and biodiversity loss. If humans can maintain the past trend lines in efficiency gains, we estimate that HANPP might only grow to 27–29% by 2050, but providing large amounts of bioenergy could increase global HANPP to 44%. This result calls for caution in refocusing the energy economy on land-based resources and for strategies that foster the continuation of increases in land-use efficiency without excessively increasing ecological costs of intensification.

A comprehensive global 5 min resolution land-use data set for the year 2000 consistent with national census data

This article presents a medium resolution land use data set (5 arc min, c. 10 × 10 km) for the year 2000 that reproduces national land use statistics for cropland and forestry at the country level. We distinguish five land use classes displayed as percent-per-gridcell layers: cropland, grazing, forestry, urban and infrastructure areas, and areas without land use. For each gridcell, the sum of these five layers is 100%; that is, the Earths total land area is allocated to these five classes. Spatial patterns are derived from available thematic maps and reconciled with national extents from census data. Statistical comparisons of the resulting maps with MODIS and CORINE data demonstrate the reliability of our data set; remaining discrepancies can be largely explained by the conceptual difference between land use and land cover. The data set presented here is aimed to support the systematic integration of socio-economic and ecological data in integrated analyses of the coupled global land system. The data set can be downloaded at http://www.iff.ac.at/socec/.

Land-use change and socio-economic metabolism in Austria—Part I: driving forces of land-use change: 1950–1995

Abstract This is an analysis of the relationships between changes in land use, land cover and socio-economic metabolism in Austria between 1950 and 1995, covering the period during which Austrias agriculture was industrialized. From 1950 to about 1980, Austria mainly strove to achieve self-sufficiency as an agricultural producer. This goal was met in the 1970s, largely through agricultural intensification. Since then, the primary focus of Austrian agricultural policy has been to reduce agricultural overproduction, to preserve the existing farm structure, as well as to keep as large an agricultural area under cultivation as is possible. As a consequence, since the 1980s yields rose slowly and subsidized fallow covered substantial parts of cropland area. Austria joined the European Union in 1995, after which agricultural policy was, to a large extent, determined by the EU Common Agricultural Policy. From 1950 to 1995 we observe a continuous trend of declining cropland and grassland areas, increases in the areas of built-up and infrastructure land, and a slow increase in forested areas. The segregation of cropland cultivation and livestock husbandry leads to a concentration of cropland in fertile lowlands and of grasslands in the lower alpine regions from which crops are retreating. As a result of livestock being fed increasing amounts of cropland produce and imported protein feedstuffs, there was a disintegration of local nutrient cycles and a rising input of mineral fertilizer. We interpret these changes as a consequence of the massive input of fossil energy into Austrias agricultural system, which allowed a surge in the intensification of transport. We analyze these trends using GIS maps based upon statistic data.

Combining agent-based and stock-flow modelling approaches in a participative analysis of the integrated land system in Reichraming, Austria

The integrated modelling of coupled socio-ecological systems in land-change science requires innovative model concepts capable of grasping the interrelations between socioeconomic and natural components. Here, we discuss the integrated socio-ecological model SERD (Simulation of Ecological Compatibility of Regional Development) that was developed for the municipality of Reichraming in Upper Austria in a participative 2-year process involving local stakeholders. SERD includes three main components: (1) an agent-based actors module that simulates decisions of farmsteads, the municipal administration and other important actors; (2) a spatially explicit (GIS based) land-use module that simulates land-use change at the level of individual parcels of land and (3) an integrated socio-ecological stock-flow module that simulates carbon and nitrogen flows through both socioeconomic and ecological system compartments. We report on outcomes of a scenario analysis that outlines possible future trajectories depending on both external (e.g. agricultural subsidies and prices) and internal (e.g. innovation, willingness to co-operate) factors. We find that both external and internal factors can affect the behaviour of the integrated system considerably. Local and regional policies are found to be able to counteract adverse global socioeconomic conditions to some extent, but not to reverse the trend altogether. We also find strong interdependencies between socioeconomic and ecological components of the system. Fully evaluating these interdependencies is, however, not possible at the local scale alone and will require explicit consideration of higher-level effects in future research.

What determines geographical patterns of the global human appropriation of net primary production

The human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) is an integrated socioecological indicator of the intensity of land use. HANPP is associated with changes in global biogeochemical cycles of carbon, water, nitrogen and other substances as well as in ecosystem functions, services and biodiversity. Understanding patterns in HANPP is therefore important for the integrated analysis of the global land system. Attempts to explain spatial patterns of HANPP need to take both socioeconomic and natural factors as well as their interaction into account. In order to contribute to the understanding of global geographical patterns of HANPP, we discuss here the statistical analysis of a global national-level data set that includes data on HANPP and its components as well as selected potential determinants of HANPP for the year 2000. This statistical analysis is complemented with a discussion of findings from long-term country-level case studies conducted by ourselves and our students. We find that HANPP is higher in naturally more productive countries. Population density emerges as the most powerful factor determining HANPP per unit area and even has a strong influence on national-level patterns in per-capita HANPP. The interrelation between HANPP and economic growth or development is complex. On the one hand, growing affluence is associated with richer diets and other consumption patterns that tend to drive up HANPP, but on the other hand, economic growth is also associated with growing biomass trade as well as technological innovations that can help to reduce the amount of HANPP caused per unit of biomass consumption. While drawing some preliminary conclusions from our analysis, we also underline the necessity for further research

Conceptualising Long-Term Socio-ecological Research (LTSER): Integrating the Social Dimension

In order to support the emerging network of long-term ecological research (LTER) sites across Europe, the European Union has launched ALTER-Net, a network aiming at lasting integration of long-term socio-economic, ecological and biodiversity research. Due to its high population density and long history of human habitation, however, Europe’s ecosystems are generally intensively used. Social and natural drivers are so inextricably intertwined that the notion of ‘socio-ecological’ systems is appropriate. Traditional natural science-based approaches are insufficient to understand these integrated systems, as they cannot adequately capture their relevant socio-economic dimensions. This is particularly relevant because the EU launched ALTER-Net has an explicit aim to support sustainability, a goal that requires integration of socio-economic and ecological dimensions. As such, LTER is challenged to significantly expand its focus from ecological to socio-ecological systems, thus transforming itself from LTER to long-term socio-ecological research or LTSER. In order to support this transformation, this chapter explores several approaches for conceptualising socio-economic dimensions of LTSER. It discusses how the socio-economic metabolism approach can be combined with theories of complex adaptive systems to generate heuristic models of society–nature interaction which can then be used to integrate concepts from the social sciences. In particular, the chapter discusses possible contributions from the fields of ecological anthropology and ecological economics and shows how participatory approaches can be integrated with innovative agent-based modelling concepts to arrive at an integrated representation of socio-ecological systems that can help to support local communities to move towards sustainability.

Socioeconomic Metabolism and the Human Appropriation of Net Primary Production: What Promise Do They Hold for LTSER?

This chapter reviews approaches to analysing the ‘metabolism’ of socioeconomic systems consistently across space and time. Socioeconomic metabolism refers to the material, substance or energy throughput of socioeconomic systems, i.e. all the biophysical resources required for production, consumption, trade and transportation. We also introduce the broader concept of socio-ecological metabolism, which additionally considers human-induced changes in material, substance or energy flows in ecosystems. An indicator related to this broader approach is the human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP). We discuss how these approaches can be used to analyse society-nature interaction at different spatial and temporal scales, thereby representing one indispensible part of the methodological tool box of LTSER. These approaches are complimentary to other methods from the social sciences and humanities, as well as to genuinely transdisciplinary approaches. Using Austria’s sociometabolic transition from agrarian to industrial society from 1830 to 2000 as an example, we demonstrate the necessity of including a comprehensive stock-flow framework in order to use the full potential of the socio-ecological metabolism approach in LTSER studies. We demonstrate how this approach can be implemented in integrated socio-ecological models that can improve understanding of changes in society-nature interrelations through time, another highly important objective of LTSER.

Working Time of Farm Women and Small-Scale Sustainable Farming in Austria

Keywords Austria · Agricultural labour time · Agricultural change · Long-term socio-ecological research · Agent-based modelling · Local case study · Gender relations 14.1 Why Link to Boserup’s Approach? Are women farmers a hindrance to progress in agriculture? Is progress in agriculture the solution for feeding the world? How can we find a path to develop agriculture without pushing natural, economic or social limits too far? Can we obtain greater insights into these issues if we study the role of women in agriculture and development? Ester Boserup was the first scientist to ask these questions comprehensively. During her long career, she succeeded in developing a vast pool of data and insights. Ester Boserup promoted women’s role in agriculture as a new perspective through which to understand the link among economic, technological and agricultural development. Her work has been considered a starting point in understanding the importance of women’s role in development globally (e.g., Boserup 1970). Reading her work as students of social anthropology, sociology and biology, we were introduced to thinking about these questions in varying contexts. Her focus on unequal workloads and strategies of using the available time enables researchers to grasp problems for which analysing solely economics will fail (Boserup 1965). It encouraged us to pursue time-use research as a non-reductionist approach for analysing social development, especially gender inequalities and dynamics, when tackling the problems of agricultural structural change.

Using Integrated Models to Analyse Socio-ecological System Dynamics in Long-Term Socio-ecological Research – Austrian Experiences

Society-nature interaction is an inherently complex process the analysis of which requires inter- and transdisciplinary efforts. Integrated socio-ecological modelling is an approach to synthesize concepts and insights from various scientific disciplines into a coherent picture and thereby better understand the interrelations between various drivers behind the trajectories of socio-ecological systems. We here discuss insights gained in developing the integrated model SERD (Simulation of Ecological Compatibility of Regional Development) for the municipality of Reichraming in the centre of the Austrian LTSER platform Eisenwurzen. The model includes an agent-based actor module coupled with a spatially explicit land use module and a biophysical stock-flow module capable of simulating socio-ecological material flows (C and N). The model was developed, implemented and used in a transdisciplinary research process together with relevant stakeholders. We conclude that the development of such models is highly attractive for LTSER due to their ability to integrate contributions from various scientific disciplines and stakeholders and support learning on interactions in complex socio-ecological systems. Integrated socio-ecological models can therefore also support the study of sustainability-related issues in land-change science.