Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Border areas represent crucial, yet underexplored, potential sources of cultivated land, a region largely overlooked in global cropland analyses. Using high-frequency time-series (2001-2020) satellite data and interpretable machine learning model, here we conduct the global-coverage analysis of the patterns, drivers, and consequences of cropland changes in the borderlands. Our findings revealed that approximately 17% of global cropland was located in border areas, with a notable acceleration in land reduction during the 21st century. Most of the lost croplands were converted into grasslands (~67%) and forests (~32%). Climate and socio-economic factors collectively influenced changes in border cropland. A decrease in border cropland intensified species richness by increasing net primary productivity (NPP). These contrasting trends—declining cropland alongside rising biodiversity—underscore the need for future assessments to consider their implications for food security and sustainable development in border areas. Croplands located at border areas decline by around 17% from 2001 to 2020, converting to grasslands and forests and intensify species richness and biodiversity recovery, based on high-frequency time-series satellite data
Authors: Chiwei Xiao, Yi Wang, Zhiming Feng, Songhua Huan, Zilong Yue, Josep Peñuelas, Meinan Zhang, Hongwei Dong, Chaoyang Wu
Institutions: Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Centre for Research on Ecology and Forestry Applications, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Southwest University
Language: English
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,490
OpenAlex ID: W7106499073