The influence of land-use change and landscape dynamics on the climate system: relevance to climate-change policy beyond the radiative effect of greenhouse gases

TLDR

Land‑use impacts on climate cannot be adequately quantified with the usual metric of global warming potential. The authors propose a new metric, regional climate change potential, to quantify human disturbance of the Earth's surface‑energy budget and guide a more inclusive climate protocol. The concept also provides a mechanism to monitor local‑scale environmental changes that could influence biodiversity. Land‑use change affects regional and global climate through the surface‑energy budget and the carbon cycle, with surface‑energy budget effects likely being more important.

Abstract

Our paper documents that land-use change impacts regional and global climate through the surface-energy budget, as well as through the carbon cycle. The surface-energy budget effects may be more important than the carbon-cycle effects. However, land-use impacts on climate cannot be adequately quantified with the usual metric of 'global warming potential'. A new metric is needed to quantify the human disturbance of the Earth's surface-energy budget. This 'regional climate change potential' could offer a new metric for developing a more inclusive climate protocol. This concept would also implicitly provide a mechanism to monitor potential local-scale environmental changes that could influence biodiversity.