2 Landscape Change in Europe
19
at risk (Antrop 2005; Bürgi et al. 2017; Plieninger et al. 2016). According to this
perspective, understanding the causes, processes and outcomes of landscape change
is becoming absolutely crucial (Plieninger et al. 2016). For this reason, landscape
change research has become an emerging field, in which quantitative approaches to
measure the expansion or decline of different land covers and changes in land use
intensity have coevolved with more qualitative studies that have tried to understand
what is driving such changes. More specifically, landscape researchers argue that
being aware of and understanding the rates and patterns of change, as well as the
driving forces behind them is necessary for context-specific and effective policymaking and for taking action towards more sustainable land management (Jepsen
et al. 2015; Kuemmerle et al. 2016; Levers et al. 2015). Here, we understand “sustainable land management” as a multidimensional and evolving concept, in which
a diverse range of stakeholders are involved and where ecological, economic and
social aspects need to be integrated; this means that no single definition is explanatory
enough (Weith et al. 2013). Such knowledge on the trends and drivers of landscape
change contributes to exploring and mitigating trade-offs and impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. These trade-offs result from land management practices
(Kuemmerle et al. 2016; Levers et al. 2015) in the context of increasing competition
for land for multiple and sometimes incompatible uses (Levers et al. 2016; PérezSoba et al. 2015; Verkerk et al. 2018). Finally, a comprehensive understanding of
how and why landscapes have changed facilitates the anticipation and projection of
possible future scenarios, which in turn may be used to develop land management
strategies and policy decisions to avoid undesirable futures (van Vliet et al. 2015;
Verkerk et al. 2018).
The study of landscape change can be broadly divided into: (1) land cover change
and (2) land use and management intensity change (Erb 2012; Levers et al. 2015).
Land cover change is understood as the “alterations of biophysical characteristics
of the Earth’s surface”, such as the spreading of forests or the reduction of agricultural land; while land use and management intensity change are defined as the
“changes in the levels of socioeconomic inputs (e.g., labour, resources, water, energy
or capital) and/or altered outputs (value or quantity) per unit area and time” (Erb
2012, p. 8). Erb (2012) and Verburg et al. (2013a) suggested that the former has
been more commonly studied due to the availability of land cover datasets and the
methodological challenge of quantifying and understanding land use intensity and
intensification processes. However, in the past decade, the study of intensification
processes has become a significant topic (e.g. Levers et al. 2014, 2016). In addition to that, substantial research has focused on identifying drivers of change to
understand why landscapes change or remain unchanged, why they evolve faster or
slower and to identify the causal mechanisms of regime shifts (Kizos et al. 2018).
Studies typically differentiate between proximate drivers—i.e. the human actions
that have a direct effect on the landscape changes; and underlying drivers—i.e. the
social and ecological factors that trigger those human actions (van Vliet et al. 2015).
In recent years, the study of landscape change has further broadened to identify
patterns of landscape stability (i.e. land cover types that remain unchanged over
a certain period; Lieskovský and Bürgi 2018) and their related stabilising factors.
19
at risk (Antrop 2005; Bürgi et al. 2017; Plieninger et al. 2016). According to this
perspective, understanding the causes, processes and outcomes of landscape change
is becoming absolutely crucial (Plieninger et al. 2016). For this reason, landscape
change research has become an emerging field, in which quantitative approaches to
measure the expansion or decline of different land covers and changes in land use
intensity have coevolved with more qualitative studies that have tried to understand
what is driving such changes. More specifically, landscape researchers argue that
being aware of and understanding the rates and patterns of change, as well as the
driving forces behind them is necessary for context-specific and effective policymaking and for taking action towards more sustainable land management (Jepsen
et al. 2015; Kuemmerle et al. 2016; Levers et al. 2015). Here, we understand “sustainable land management” as a multidimensional and evolving concept, in which
a diverse range of stakeholders are involved and where ecological, economic and
social aspects need to be integrated; this means that no single definition is explanatory
enough (Weith et al. 2013). Such knowledge on the trends and drivers of landscape
change contributes to exploring and mitigating trade-offs and impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. These trade-offs result from land management practices
(Kuemmerle et al. 2016; Levers et al. 2015) in the context of increasing competition
for land for multiple and sometimes incompatible uses (Levers et al. 2016; PérezSoba et al. 2015; Verkerk et al. 2018). Finally, a comprehensive understanding of
how and why landscapes have changed facilitates the anticipation and projection of
possible future scenarios, which in turn may be used to develop land management
strategies and policy decisions to avoid undesirable futures (van Vliet et al. 2015;
Verkerk et al. 2018).
The study of landscape change can be broadly divided into: (1) land cover change
and (2) land use and management intensity change (Erb 2012; Levers et al. 2015).
Land cover change is understood as the “alterations of biophysical characteristics
of the Earth’s surface”, such as the spreading of forests or the reduction of agricultural land; while land use and management intensity change are defined as the
“changes in the levels of socioeconomic inputs (e.g., labour, resources, water, energy
or capital) and/or altered outputs (value or quantity) per unit area and time” (Erb
2012, p. 8). Erb (2012) and Verburg et al. (2013a) suggested that the former has
been more commonly studied due to the availability of land cover datasets and the
methodological challenge of quantifying and understanding land use intensity and
intensification processes. However, in the past decade, the study of intensification
processes has become a significant topic (e.g. Levers et al. 2014, 2016). In addition to that, substantial research has focused on identifying drivers of change to
understand why landscapes change or remain unchanged, why they evolve faster or
slower and to identify the causal mechanisms of regime shifts (Kizos et al. 2018).
Studies typically differentiate between proximate drivers—i.e. the human actions
that have a direct effect on the landscape changes; and underlying drivers—i.e. the
social and ecological factors that trigger those human actions (van Vliet et al. 2015).
In recent years, the study of landscape change has further broadened to identify
patterns of landscape stability (i.e. land cover types that remain unchanged over
a certain period; Lieskovský and Bürgi 2018) and their related stabilising factors.