MAPPING GLOBAL LAND USE & LAND COVER
GLI researchers aim to build new datasets of croplands, pastures, forests and urban lands—including new data on productivity, land use practices and land degradation—around the world. The research team is paying particular attention to the Amazon Basin and the United States due to the regions’ global relevance. Learn more
AGRICULTURE & FOOD
SYSTEMS
GLI experts are assessing how agricultural systems are distributed worldwide and how they might change in the future. Through land use datasets and ecological modeling tools, the team is examining the links among land use practices, agricultural production and the underlying patterns of climate and soil quality. Learn more
LAND USE IMPACTS ON ECOSYSTEMS
The GLI researchers are working to understand how human land use activities impact the planet’s biological and physical systems. This research concentrates on the changing nature of global ecosystems and watersheds, and how they interact with the atmosphere and oceans. Learn more
LAND USE, CARBON CYCLING & CLIMATE CHANGE
GLI experts are examining the role of land use and land cover change in the carbon cycle. Using historical land use data and global ecosystem models, the researchers can measure current patterns of carbon uptake and release from ecosystems, along with the potential for carbon sequestration worldwide. Learn more
Research funding for GLI has been provided through the generous support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, the National Science Foundation, NASA, the US Department of Energy, and the Institute on the Environment. Our stakeholder outreach and public engagement efforts have been supported by General Mills, Mosaic, Cargill, Google, PepsiCo, Kellogg, and Mars. Furthermore, are grateful to ESRI, National Geographic, Scientific American, the Science Museum of Minnesota, and the American Museum of Natural HIstory for the opportunity to collaborate with them on public education and engagement projects.
