Agriculture production as a major driver of the earth system exceeding planetary boundaries

TY - JOUR

T1 - Agriculture production as a major driver of the earth system exceeding planetary boundaries

AU - Campbell, Bruce Morgan

AU - Beare, Douglas J.

AU - Bennett, Elena M.

AU - Hall-Spencer, Jason M.

AU - Ingram, John S.I.

AU - Jaramillo, Fernando

AU - Ortiz, Rodomiro

AU - Ramankutty, Navin

AU - Sayer, Jeffrey A.

AU - Shindell, Drew

PY - 2017

Y1 - 2017

N2 - We explore the role of agriculture in destabilizing the Earth system at the planetary scale, through examining nine planetary boundaries, or “safe limits”: land-system change, freshwater use, biogeochemical flows, biosphere integrity, climate change, ocean acidification, stratospheric ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosol loading, and introduction of novel entities. Two planetary boundaries have been fully transgressed, i.e., are at high risk, biosphere integrity and biogeochemical flows, and agriculture has been the major driver of the transgression. Three are in a zone of uncertainty i.e., at increasing risk, with agriculture the major driver of two of those, landsystem change and freshwater use, and a significant contributor to the third, climate change. Agriculture is also a significant or major contributor to change for many of those planetary boundaries still in the safe zone. To reduce the role of agriculture in transgressing planetary boundaries, many interventions will be needed, including those in broader food systems.

AB - We explore the role of agriculture in destabilizing the Earth system at the planetary scale, through examining nine planetary boundaries, or “safe limits”: land-system change, freshwater use, biogeochemical flows, biosphere integrity, climate change, ocean acidification, stratospheric ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosol loading, and introduction of novel entities. Two planetary boundaries have been fully transgressed, i.e., are at high risk, biosphere integrity and biogeochemical flows, and agriculture has been the major driver of the transgression. Three are in a zone of uncertainty i.e., at increasing risk, with agriculture the major driver of two of those, landsystem change and freshwater use, and a significant contributor to the third, climate change. Agriculture is also a significant or major contributor to change for many of those planetary boundaries still in the safe zone. To reduce the role of agriculture in transgressing planetary boundaries, many interventions will be needed, including those in broader food systems.

KW - Aerosol loading

KW - Biogeochemical flows

KW - Biosphere integrity

KW - Chemical pollution

KW - Climate change

KW - Diversity

KW - Freshwater

KW - Land-system change

KW - Nitrogen

KW - Ocean acidification

KW - Ozone depletion

KW - Phosphorous

U2 - 10.5751/ES-09595-220408

DO - 10.5751/ES-09595-220408

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85032676098

SN - 1708-3087

VL - 22

JO - Ecology and Society

JF - Ecology and Society

IS - 4

M1 - 8

ER -