Research Environmental Geography

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• Research themes

  The department of Environmental Geography

  The research approach is structured along two main principles: (1) the achievement of excellent science that is informed by interactions with stakeholders and used for sustainability solutions in policy and practice, and (2) the use of an approach in which both global dynamics and local realities are accounted for. This multi-scale approach is essential to ensure that the regional and global context is accounted for in local research. At the same time, global scale models and data should account for the local realities where sustainability solutions need to be implemented. The different scales are not only addressed in different research projects; we also stimulate PhD candidates to work across the different scale on which the phenomena operate.

  The research in the department is broadly organised according to four themes.

  Socio-ecological system mapping and modelling

  The Environmental Geography Group aims to provide tools and data to better understand the impacts and feedbacks in the coupled human-land-climate system, especially focusing on the role of humans in this system. of the main focus is on the understanding of land systems as socio-ecological systems in which land use and land cover are the result of dynamic interactions of humans with their environment.

  As different scales require different approaches, we employ a range of methods including case studies, meta-studies, participatory mapping and quantitative models. Specific attention is given to the role of human decision making in land use and adaptation as a core component of socio-ecological systems. We strive towards providing more detailed measures of land change and ecosystem dynamics and implementing these into operational land use models. Additionally, we aim to understand landscape values as an essential means to support sustainable land use and spatial planning by citizen participation.

  Trade-offs between climate, biodiversity and ecosystem services

  Land use is not only a cause of climate change, but also holds major opportunities for mitigating and adapting to climate change. Our group investigates the trade-offs between demands for climate change mitigation, biodiversity protection and ecosystem services.
  
  One the one hand, land-cover/use change is the second largest contributor to atmospheric carbon dioxide after fossil fuel burning. Land-cover/use change alters biogeochemical processes and biophysical processes. On the other hand, climate change impacts the composition and properties of ecosystems, land management practices and affects our water and food supply, e.g. by droughts, storms or changing temperatures.

  Aligning demands for climate change mitigation, biodiversity protection and multiple ecosystem services requires planning and management current account for trade-offs and synergies amongst different functions of the land. We aim to contribute by quantification and mapping of these interactions between targets and by exploring opportunities for the restoration of landscapes and the optimization of landscape structure. While multi-objective planning offers opportunities to maintain and enhance multifunctional land use, it also inevitably involves trade-offs between different societal actors and normative dimensions in target setting and prioritization. The EG group aims to investigate these dimensions and add transparency to decision-making.

  Land system change and sustainability transformations

  The majority of the earth’s land surface has been altered by humans, predominantly to produce food, feed and to provide shelter. These alterations have caused many changes in land cover, including a decrease in forest cover and other natural areas, and an increase in cropland and built-up areas. However, land change does not necessarily lead to land cover change: intensification of agricultural land management and changes from subsistence to market oriented agriculture may have strong impacts on the functioning of the land system and its impacts on human well-being.

  The Environmental Geography department studies processes of land change at scales ranging from local to global and has a long track record in developing world-leading land change models and advanced spatial analysis. Insight in spatial distribution and the ability to project future changes is a tool to synthesize our understanding of the land system and initiate discussions about the spatial diversity and potential futures of land use. Given the importance of food systems we investigate the structure of food systems, its actors and potential interventions. Focus areas are the land use impacts of sustainable diets and the spatial variation in access to and quality of food.

  Sustainable land management and cities

  Landscapes are manifestations of biophysical, cultural, and economic processes, facing constant change. These changes represent the many ways in which people interact with their environments. Landscapes have both material and immaterial dimensions: they provide us with a range of goods and services, but also form an important part of our identity, contributing to our natural and cultural heritage. Urban residents, tourists, rural country dwellers, farmers and fishermen all have different wants and needs from the landscape, leading to diverse landscapes and cities. This diversity of demands, perceptions, and uses of landscapes and cities raise challenging questions about how to best design, plan, and manage resilient landscapes and cities that are resistant to shocks and adaptive to changes in society and environment.

  To cater for the diverse nature of people-environment interactions, we develop and employ new integrative methods to develop sustainable land management and cities, including in-depth case-study research, landscape and urban modelling, remote sensing and distribution modelling. We conduct research towards the characterization of land management and urban structures. Accounting for diversity in structure and function of land and urban systems helps to target possible interventions at the right place and identify leverage points for systemic change.

• Research projects

  The projects are organised according to the four themes.

  (1) Socio-ecological system mapping and modelling

  (2) Trade-offs between climate, biodiversity and ecosystem services

  (3) Land system change and sustainability transformations

  (4) Sustainable land management and cities

• List of key publications

  2022

  • Banerjee, O., Cicowiez, M., Macedo, M.N., Malek, Ž., Verburg, P.H., Goodwin, S., Vargas, R., Rattis, L., Bagstad, K. J., Brando, P.M., Coe, M.T., Neill, C., Marti, O.D., & Murillo, J.Á. (2022). Can we avert an Amazon tipping point? The economic and environmental costs. Environmental Research Letters, 17(12), 125005. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aca3b8
  • Debonne, N., Bürgi, M., Diogo, V., Helfenstein, J., Herzog, F., Levers, C., Mohr, F., Swart, R. & Verburg, P. (2022). The geography of megatrends affecting European agriculture. Global Environmental Change, 75, 102551. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2022.102551
  • Felix, L., Houet, T. & Verburg, P.H. (2022). Mapping biodiversity and ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies of agricultural change trajectories in Europe. Environmental Science and Policy, 136, 387–399. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2022.07.004
  • Laroche, P.C.S.J., Schulp, C.J.E., Kastner, T. & Verburg, P.H. (2022). Assessing the contribution of mobility in the European Union to rubber expansion. Ambio, 51(3), 770–783. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-021-01579-x
  • Li, M., Wang, Y., Rosier, J.F., Verburg, P.H. & van Vliet, J. (2022). Global maps of 3D built-up patterns for urban morphological analysis. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 114, 103048. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2022.103048
  • Meyfroidt, P., de Bremond, A., Ryan, C.M., ... Verburg, P.H., Zeleke, G. & Zu Ermgassen, E.K.H.J. (2022). Ten facts about land systems for sustainability. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 119(7), e2109217118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2109217118
  • Schrammeijer, E.A., Malek, Ž. & Verburg, P.H. (2022). Mapping demand and supply of functional niches of urban green space. Ecological Indicators, 140, 1-14. [109031]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.109031
  • Schulp, C.J.E., Komossa, F., Scherer, L., van der Zanden, E.H., Debolini, M. & Piorr, A. (2022). The Role of Different Types of Actors In The Future of Sustainable Agriculture In a Dutch Peri-urban Area. Environmental Management, 70(3), 401–419. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-022-01654-3
  • Ulukan, D., Bergkvist, G., Lana, M., Fasse, A., Mager, G., Öborn, I. & Chopin, P. (2022). Combining sustainable livelihood and farm sustainability approaches to identify relevant intensification options: Implications for households with crop-based and gathering-based livelihoods in Tanzania. Ecological Indicators, 144, 109518. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.109518
  • West, T A.P., Rausch, L., Munger, J. & Gibbs, H.K. (2022). Protected areas still used to produce Brazil's cattle. Conservation Letters, 15(6), e12916. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12916

  2021

  • Debonne, N., van Vliet, J., Metternicht, G., & Verburg, P.H. (2021). Agency shifts in agricultural land governance and their implications for land degradation neutrality. Global Environmental Change, 66, 102221.
  • Dou, Y., Cosentino, F., Malek, Z., Maiorano. L., Thuiller, W. & Verburg, P.H. (2021). A new European land systems representation accounting for landscape characteristics. Landscape Ecology, 36(8), 2215–2234.
  •  Leijten, F., Sim. S., King., H & Verburg, P.H. (2021) Local deforestation spillovers induced by forest moratoria: Evidence from Indonesia. Land Use Policy, 19, 105690.
  • Zagaria, C., Schulp, C.J.E., Zavalloni, M., Viaggi, D. & Verburg, P.H. (2021). Modelling transformational adaptation to climate change among crop farming systems in Romagna, Italy. Agricultural Systems, 188, 103024.
  • Wang, Y., van Vliet, J., Debonne, N., Pu, L. & Verburg, P.H. (2021) Settlement changes after peak population: Land system projections for China until 2050. Landscpae and Urban Planning, 209, 104045.
  • Schrammeijer, E.A., van Zanten, B.T. & Verburg, P.H. (2021) Whose park? Crowdsourcing citizen's urban green space preferences to inform needs-based management decisions. Sustainable Cities and Society, 74, 103249.
  • Levers, C., Romero-Muñoz, A., Baumann, M., De Marzo, T., Fernández, P.D., Gasparri, N.I., Gavier-Pizarro, G.I., Le Polain de Waroux, Y., Piquer-Rodríguez, M., Semper-Pascual, A. & Kuemmerle, T. (2021) Agricultural expansion and the ecological marginalization of forest-dependent people. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America, 118(44), 1–9.

  2020

  • Komossa, F., Wartmann, F.M., Kienast, F. & Verburg, P.H. (2020). Comparing outdoor recreation preferences in peri-urban landscapes using different data gathering methods. Landscape and Urban Planning 199, 103796.
  • Laroche, P.C.S.J., Schulp, C.J.E., Kastner, T. & Verburg, P.H. (2020). Telecoupled environmental impacts of current and alternative Western diets. Global Environmental Change, 62, 102066.
  • Leijten, F.C, Sim, S., King, H. & Verburg, P.H. (2020). Which forests could be protected by corporate zero deforestation commitments? A spatial assessment. Environmental Research Letters.
  • Li, M., Koks, E.E., Taubenböck, H. & van Vliet, J. (2020). Continental-scale mapping and analysis of 3D buiding structure. Remote Sensing of Environment, 245, 114859.
  • Prestele, R., and Verburg, P.H. (2020). The overlooked spatial dimension of climate smart agriculture. Global Change Biology, 23(3), 1045–1054.
  • Shaw, B.J., van Vliet, J. & Verburg., P.H. (2020). The peri-urbanization of Europe: A systematic review of a multifaceted process. Landscape and Urban Planning, 196, 103733.
    

  2019

  • Bais-Moleman, A-L., Schulp, C.J.E. & Verburg, P.H. (2019). Assessing the environmental impacts of production- and consumption-side measures in sustainable agriculture intensification in the European Union. Geoderma 338, 555–567.
  • Bubalo, M., van Zanten, B.T. & Verburg, P.H. (2019). Crowdsourcing geo-information on landscape perceptions and preferences: a review. Landscape and Urban Planning 184, 101–111.
  • Debonne, N., van Vliet, J. & Verburg, P.H., (2019). Future governance options for large-scale land acquisition in Cambodia: impacts on tree cover and tiger landscapes. Environmental Science & Policy, 94, 9–19.
  • Kiruki, H., van der Zanden, E.H., Zagaria, C. & Verburg, P.H. (2019). Sustainable woodland management and livelihood options in a charcoal producing region: An agent-based modelling approach. Journal of Environmental Management, 248, 109245.
  • Malek, Z., Douw, B., van Vliet, J., van der Zanden, E. & Verburg, P.H. (2019). Local land-use decision-making in a global context. Environmental Research Letters, 14(8).
  • Schulp, C.J.E., Levers, C., Kuemmerle, T., Tieskens, K.F. & Verburg, P.H. (2019). Mapping and modelling past and future land use change in Europe’s cultural landscapes. Land Use Policy 80, 332–344.
  • Schulze, K., Malek, Z. & Verburg, P.H. (2018). Towards better mapping of forest management patterns: A global allocation approach. Forest Ecology and Management, 432, 776–785.
  • van Vliet, J (2019). Direct and indirect loss of natural area from urban expansion. Nature Sustainability 2(8), 755–763.
  • Verburg, P.H., Alexander, P., Evans, T., Magliocca, N.R., Malek, Z., Rounsevell, M.D.A. & van Vliet, J. (2019). Beyond land cover change: towards a new generation of land use models. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 38, 77–85.
  • Wang, Y., van Vliet, J., Pu, L. & Verburg, P.H. (2019). Modeling different urban change trajectories and their trade-offs with food production in Jiangsu Province, China. Computers, Environment, and Urban Systems, 77, 101355.

  2018

  • Ariti, A.T., van Vliet, J. & Verburg, P.H. (2018). Farmers participation in the development of land use policies for the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia. Land Use Policy, 71, 129–137.
  • Debonne, N., van Vliet, J., Heinimann, A. & Verburg, P.H. (2018). Representing large-scale land acquisitions in land use change scenarios for the Lao PDR. Regional Environmental Change, 18, 1857–1869.
  • Komossa, F., van der Zanden, E.H., Schulp, C.J.E. & Verburg, P.H. (2018). Mapping landscape potential for outdoor recreation using different archetypical recreation user groups in the European Union. Ecological Indicators, 85, 105–116.
  • Malek, Z. & Verburg, P.H. (2018). Adaptation of land management in the Mediterranean under scenarios of irrigation water use and availability. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 23, 821–837.
  • Prestele, R., Hirsch, A.L., Davin, E.L., Senevirate, S.I. & Verburg, P.H. (2018). A spatially explicit representation of conservation agriculture for application in global change studies. Global Change Biology, 24, 4038–4053
  • Schulp, C.J.E., Levers, C., Kuemmerle, T., Tieskens, K.F. & Verburg, P.H. (2018). Mapping and modelling past and future land use change in Europe’s cultural landscapes. Land Use Policy.
  • Stürck, J., Levers, C., van der Zanden, E.H., Schulp, C.J.E., ….., Verburg, P.H. (2018). Simulating and delineating future land change trajectories across Europe. Regional Environmental Change, 18, 733–749.
  • Tieskens, K.F., van Zanten, B.T., Schulp, C.J.E. & Verburg, P.H. (2018). Aesthetic appreciation of the cultural landscape through social media: An analysis of revealed preference in the Dutch river landscape. Landscape and Urban Planning, 177, 128–137.
  • Verhagen, W., van Teeffelen, A.J.A. & Verburg, P.H. (2018). Shifting spatial priorities for ecosystem services in Europe following land use change. Ecological Indicators, 89, 397–410.
  • Wolff, S., Schrammeijer, E.A., Schulp, C.J.E. & Verburg, P.H. (2018). Meeting global land restoration and protection targets: what would the world look like in 2050? Global Environmental Change, 52, 259–272.

  2017

  • Tieskens, K.F., Shaw, B.J., Haer, T., Schulp, C.J.E. & Verburg, P.H. (2017). Cultural landscapes of the future: using agent-based modeling to discuss and develop the use and management of the cultural landscape of South West Devon. Landscape Ecology, 32, 2113–2132. 
  • Bürgi, M., Verburg, P.H., Kuemmerle, T. & Plieninger, T. (2017). Analyzing dynamics and values of cultural landscapes. Landscape Ecology,  32, 2077–2081. 
  • Malek, Ž. & Verburg, P.H. (2017). Adaptation of land management in the Mediterranean under scenarios of irrigation water use and availability. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 23(6), 821–837. 
  • Prestele, R., Arneth, A., Bondeau, A., de Noblet-Ducoudré, N., Pugh, T.A.M., Sitch, S., Stehfest, E. & Verburg, P.H. (2017). Current challenges of implementing anthropogenic land-use and land-cover change in models contributing to climate change assessments. Earth System Dynamics, 8, 369–386. 
  • Derkzen, M.L., Nagendra, H., van Teeffelen, A.J.A., Purushotham, A. & Verburg, P.H. (2017). Shifts in ecosystem services in deprived urban areas: understanding people’s responses and consequences for well-being. Ecology and Society, 22(1), 52. 
  • Derkzen, M.L., van Teeffelen, A.J.A. & Verburg, P.H. (2017). Green infrastructure for urban climate adaptation: How do residents’ views on climate impacts and green infrastructure shape adaptation preferences?Landscape and Urban Planning, 157, 106–130. 
  • Tieskens, K.F., Schulp, C.J.E., Levers, C., Lieskovský, J., Kuemmerle, T., Plieninger, T. & Verburg, P.H. (2017). Characterizing European cultural landscapes: Accounting for structure, management intensity and value of agricultural and forest landscapes. Land Use Policy, 62, 29–39. 
  • van der Zanden, E.H., Verburg, P.H., Schulp, C.J.E. & Verkerk, P.J. (2017). Trade-offs of European agricultural abandonment. Land Use Policy, 62, 290–301. 
  • van Vliet, J. , Eitelberg, D. & Verburg, P.H. (2017). A global analysis of land take in cropland areas and production displacement from urbanization. Global Environmental Change, 43, 107–115. 
  • Stürck, J. & Verburg, P.H. (2017). Multifunctionality at what scale? A landscape multifunctionality assessment for the European Union under conditions of land use change. Landscape Ecology, 32, 481–500.

  2016

  • van Zanten, B.T., van Berkel, D.B., Meentemeyer, R.K., Smith, J.W., Tieskens, K.F. & Verburg, P.H. (2016). Continental-scale quantification of landscape values using social media data. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 113:12974-12979. 
  • Prestele, R., Alexander, P., Rounsevell, M.D.A., Arneth, A., Calvinm K,, Doelman, J., Eitelberg, D.A., Engström, K., Fujimori, S., Hasegawa, T., Havlik, P., Humpenöder, F., Jain, A.K., Krisztin, T., Kyle, P., Meiyappan, P., Popp, A., Sands, R.D., Schaldach, R., Schüngel, J., Stehfest, E., Tabeau, A., van Meijl, H., van Vliet, J. & Verburg, P.H. (2016). Hotspots of uncertainty in land-use and land-cover change projections: a global-scale model comparison. Global Change Biology, 22, 3967–3983. 
  • Scholte, S.S.K., van Zanten, B.T., Verburg, P.H. & van Teeffelen, A.J.A. (2016). Willingness to offset? Residents’ perspectives on compensating impacts from urban development through woodland restoration. Land Use Policy, 58, 403–414. 
  • Ornetsmüller, C., Verburg, P.H. & Heinimann, A. (2016). Scenarios of land system change in the Lao PDR: Transitions in response to alternative demands on goods and services provided by the land. Applied Geography, 75, 1–11. 
  • Fuchs, R., Schulp, C.J.E., Hengeveld, G.M., Verburg, P.H., Clevers, J.G.P.W., Schelhaas, M.-J. & Herold, M. (2016). Assessing the influence of historic net and gross land changes on the carbon fluxes of Europe. Global Change Biology, 22(7), 2526–2539. 
  • Verburg, P.H., Dearing, J.A., Dyke, J.G., Leeuw, S.V.D., Seitzinger, S., Steffen, W. & Syvitski, J. (2016). Methods and approaches to modelling the Anthropocene. Global Environmental Change, 39, 328–340. 
  • van Zanten, B.T., Verburg, P.H., Scholte, S.S.K., Tieskens, K.F. (2016). Using choice modeling to map aesthetic values at a landscape scale: Lessons from a Dutch case study. EcologicalEconomics, 130, 221–231. 
  • Eitelberg, D.A., van Vliet, J., Doelman, J.C., Stehfest, E. & Verburg, P.H. (2016). Demand for biodiversity protection and carbon storage as drivers of global land change scenarios. Global Environmental Change, 40, 101–111. 
  • Schulp, C.J.E., van Teeffelen, A.J.A., Tucker, G. & Verburg, P.H. (2016). A quantitative assessment of policy options for no net loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the European Union. Land Use Policy, 57, 151–163.

  2015

  • Verburg, P.H., Crossman, N., Ellis, E.C., Heinimann, A., Hostert, P., Mertz, O., Nagendra, H., Sikor, T., Erb, K.-H., Golubiewski, N., Grau, R., Grove, M., Konaté, S., Meyfroidt, P., Parker, D.C., Chowdhury, R.R., Shibata, H., Thomson, A. & Zhen, L. (2015). Land system science and sustainable development of the earth system: A global land project perspective. Anthropocene, 12, 29–41. 
  • van Vliet, J., Magliocca, N., Büchner, B., Cook, E., Rey Benayas, J., Ellis, E., Heinimann, A., Keys, E., Lee, T., Liu, J., Mertz, O., Meyfroidt, P., Moritz, M., Poeplau, C., Robinson, B., Seppelt, R., Seto, K. & Verburg, P. (2015). Meta-studies in land use science: Current coverage and prospects. Ambio, 45(1), 15–28.

  All our publications are available here. 

• Data and models

  View our Data and Models

• Editorships

  • Alexandra Neidermeier is an editorial assistant for the Journal Landscape and Urban Planning: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/landscape-and-urban-planning
  • Nynke Schulp is Associate Editor of the journal Ecosystems and People: https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/tbsm22
  • Mario Torralba Viorreta is Associate Editor for the journal Ecology and Society: https://ecologyandsociety.org/) and Guest Editor for the journal GAIA: https://gaia.oekom.de/index.php/gaia
  • Peter Verburg is (co)-Editor-in-Chief of the journal Landscape and Urban Planning: 
  • Jasper van Vliet is part of the Editorial Board/Handling Editor of the journal Regional Environmental Change (Regional Environmental Change | Home (springer.com)) and also an Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Land Use Science :Journal of Land Use Science | Taylor & Francis Online (tandfonline.com