Chapter 17
Upcoming Challenges in Land Use
Science—An International Perspective
Christine Fürst
Abstract This chapter provides an overview on relevant concepts, such
as ecosystem services, sustainability, multifunctionality and social-ecological
systems/frameworks applied in land use sciences. Current discussions, political
debates and challenges in terms of methodological aspects, actor enrolment or project
design are raised. Future research topics particularly related to the often non-coherent
UN Sustainable Development Goals and their mutual trade-offs are raised and challenges in how to advance land use science are provided. An outlook is provided how
co-development of knowledge and co-design of land use system research could be
conceived in the future.
Keywords Land use science · Social-ecological systems · Co-development ·
Co-design · Integrated modelling and assessment
17.1 Introduction
Land use science or land system science turned out to be one of the key concepts
in the recent years to integrate an inter- and transdisciplinary perspective in the
sustainable management of our earth’s natural resources and ecosystems (Müller
and Monroe 2014; Rounsevell et al. 2012; Verburg et al. 2013, 2015). Disciplines
that found entrance in this concept include geography, landscape ecology, environmental economics, behavioural sciences, social sciences, and biology, to name
only few (Zscheischler and Rogga 2015). A key aspect of land use science consists
in co-developing new and integrative methods in systemic modelling, multi-actor
participation and in the appraisal of potential social-ecological impacts of changes
in land use and land management (Fürst et al. 2017).
A number of concepts is closely related and meanwhile part of the methodological
toolkit of land use science that should be shortly defined at the beginning. The
concepts social-ecological systems and the major approaches for assessing the impact
C. Fürst (B)
Institute for Geosciences and Geography, Dept. Sustainable Landscape Development, Martin
Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Von-Seckendorff-Platz 4, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
e-mail: christine.fuerst@geo.uni-halle.de
© The Author(s) 2021
T. Weith et al. (eds.), Sustainable Land Management in a European Context,
Human-Environment Interactions 8, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50841-8_17
319
Upcoming Challenges in Land Use
Science—An International Perspective
Christine Fürst
Abstract This chapter provides an overview on relevant concepts, such
as ecosystem services, sustainability, multifunctionality and social-ecological
systems/frameworks applied in land use sciences. Current discussions, political
debates and challenges in terms of methodological aspects, actor enrolment or project
design are raised. Future research topics particularly related to the often non-coherent
UN Sustainable Development Goals and their mutual trade-offs are raised and challenges in how to advance land use science are provided. An outlook is provided how
co-development of knowledge and co-design of land use system research could be
conceived in the future.
Keywords Land use science · Social-ecological systems · Co-development ·
Co-design · Integrated modelling and assessment
17.1 Introduction
Land use science or land system science turned out to be one of the key concepts
in the recent years to integrate an inter- and transdisciplinary perspective in the
sustainable management of our earth’s natural resources and ecosystems (Müller
and Monroe 2014; Rounsevell et al. 2012; Verburg et al. 2013, 2015). Disciplines
that found entrance in this concept include geography, landscape ecology, environmental economics, behavioural sciences, social sciences, and biology, to name
only few (Zscheischler and Rogga 2015). A key aspect of land use science consists
in co-developing new and integrative methods in systemic modelling, multi-actor
participation and in the appraisal of potential social-ecological impacts of changes
in land use and land management (Fürst et al. 2017).
A number of concepts is closely related and meanwhile part of the methodological
toolkit of land use science that should be shortly defined at the beginning. The
concepts social-ecological systems and the major approaches for assessing the impact
C. Fürst (B)
Institute for Geosciences and Geography, Dept. Sustainable Landscape Development, Martin
Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Von-Seckendorff-Platz 4, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
e-mail: christine.fuerst@geo.uni-halle.de
© The Author(s) 2021
T. Weith et al. (eds.), Sustainable Land Management in a European Context,
Human-Environment Interactions 8, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50841-8_17
319