Environment
Land-use change
Definition
Land-use change is the human-driven conversion of land from one cover type or use to another, for example the clearing of forests, grasslands or wetlands for agriculture, infrastructure or urban development. It releases stored carbon from vegetation and disturbed soils as greenhouse gases, principally CO₂, and is tracked as a distinct emissions source in national inventories and corporate carbon accounting.
References
Definition, emission mechanism, inventory and accounting treatment
Land-use-change accounting categories and 20-year conversion window in corporate standards
Overview
What it means
When natural ecosystems are converted, carbon held in biomass and soils is emitted, habitats are fragmented, and the land's capacity to sequester carbon is altered.
Land-use change emissions are estimated with satellite imagery, land-use data and carbon models under IPCC guidelines, and reported in the LULUCF/AFOLU sectors; corporate standards such as SBTi FLAG and the GHG Protocol Land Sector guidance require companies to account for them separately, typically with cut-off dates around 2020 for deforestation-free commitments.
How it is used
The concept underpins deforestation regulation (e. g. EU deforestation rules), carbon accounting, REDD+, supply-chain traceability and land-sector climate targets.
Why it matters
Land-use change is one of the largest controllable sources of emissions and the leading driver of terrestrial biodiversity loss, making its measurement and prevention central to climate and nature goals. **Note:** Candidate 1593 ("Land use, land-use change and forestry") merges into the existing live-site AFOLU entry rather than this one.