Land Use and the Spread of Humans

Population growth and the spread of humans over centuries have impacted land use significantly and are the main reason for the state of our planet. The global population has tripled since 1950. Humans have not changed our demands for virgin resources and consumption despite the increase in population density. Human spread has cause severe deforstation and thereby an enormous release of carbon from wild nature that has been put into agricultural land over the last few centuries. The land surface is dominated by agriculture and especially meat production has changed nature, biodiversity and the climate. This chapter gives scientific insights into the change of land use, deforstration and human cultivation of the surface of the planet.