%0 Report
%9 IIASA Research Report (Reprint)
%A Heilig, G.K.
%C IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria
%D 1994
%F iiasa:4072
%N 4
%P 831-859
%T Neglected Dimensions of Global Land-Use Change: Reflections and Data
%U https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/eprint/4072/
%V 20
%X The author questions the conventional approach to studying global land-use changes, which is focused on agriculture-related alterations driven by population growth. He argues the need to abandon the oversimplified model of a linear relationship between population growth, increase in food demand, and agricultural expansion and intensification, leading to deforestation and land-cover modification. There are numerous other types of land-cover modification, such as those caused by shifts in lifestyles and food preferences, man-made catastrophes, wars, urban infrastructure expansion, changes in industrial production, fossil resource exploration, and modes of transportation. The author presents FAO data which indicate that a significant proportion of arable land worldwide is cultivated for lifestyle-related products, such as stimulants, sugar, and tobacco. A review of historical trends also shows that changes in land-use patterns were frequently linked to changes in lifestyles.