Exploring Landscape Suitability of Land-Use Change—A Geospatial Approach to Assess Benefits for Society and Nature

Le résumé fourni par la source

Agricultural intensification is increasingly putting pressure on biodiversity, aquatic environments, and the climate, with impacts varying by landscape vulnerability. Integrated approaches that account for spatial variation and optimize multifunctionality are essential for sustainable land management under competing demands. This study applied high-resolution farm and geographical data within a simple, easily replicable geospatial method to assess single and multiple benefits across selected indicators, Environment, Climate, Nature, Economy, and Policy, when implementing a land-use change, exemplified by a theoretical beef system at the landscape scale, where the required land area was estimated to meet a predefined production goal. Agricultural fields were selected in an accumulative, stepwise manner, beginning with those most suitable according to the five indicators, until the target land area was reached. Prioritizing the most suitable fields revealed synergies between Climate and Nature indicators, as well as between Nature and fields with low economic value. While targeting multiple benefits (three or more indicators) reduced the total area selected and associated national-scale gains, it increased per-hectare benefits and maintained significant local advantages. This study demonstrates that integrating multiple indicators into land-use prioritization can enhance per-hectare benefits and maintain substantial local advantages, even when national-scale gains decline. The proposed method provides a practical, transparent tool for identifying multifunctional land-use opportunities and initiating dialogue with stakeholders, supporting more sustainable and context-sensitive land management under competing demands.

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