Soil erosion is a global environmental problem and a pervasive form of land degradation that threatens land productivity and food and water security. Some of the biggest sources of sediment in catchments are cultivated and abandoned lands. However, the abandonment of cultivated fields is not well-researched. Our study assesses the level of degradation in cultivated and abandoned lands using a case study in South Africa. We answer three main questions: (1) What is the extent of crop field degradation on used, partly used, and abandoned fields?

How land is used is connected to some of the most important issues of our time: sustainable development, economic development, reducing territorial inequalities and the rights of future generations, to name but a few. There is growing recognition that a wide range of policies shape how land is used and managed beyond that of land use and environmental planning systems.

Short-term land rental agreements such as the traditional conacre system in Northern Ireland offer flexibility between the landowners and the farmers renting the land. However, the uncertainty of tenure linked to such short-term land rental systems does not allow for farmers renting the land to make longer-term investment planning and decisions, particularly around sustainable land management practices. Long-term tenancy agreements have been identified as a viable option to cope with short-term uncertainties and improve the environmental management of the land.

Active volcanic islands are particularly vulnerable to multi-risk natural hazards, many of which are anticipated to become more severe as a result of climate change. It is crucial to create and put into action adequate risk mitigation plans based on comprehensive long-term hazard assessments that include nature-based solutions in order to improve societal safety on these islands. Herein, we study the case of Tenerife.

Ecological restoration is an important implement to avoid land degradation and improve the sustainability of ecosystems. As a spatial definition of ecological restoration, ecological restoration space (ERS) is recognized to have a positive impact on the environment. However, its spatiotemporal pattern and magnitude of contribution to ecosystem services (ESs) remain uncertain. In this study, an ecological restoration trajectories model was developed to investigate the spatiotemporal pattern and evolution of ERS.

There is an urgent global need for the ecological intensification of agricultural systems to reduce negative impacts on the environment while meeting the rising demand for agricultural products. Enriching grasslands with floral species is a tool to promote diversity and the associated services at higher trophic levels, and ultimately, to enhance the agricultural landscape matrix.

Grain Scale Management (GSM) is a crucial factor in ensuring national food security. However, in countries facing rigid resource constraints and complex land tenure relationships, the strategy of promoting large-scale grain management through land management rights transfer may not be sustainable. Therefore, based on the traditional agricultural division of labor theory, we analyze the mechanism and rationality of Agricultural Production Socialization Services (APSS) with scale characteristics to promote GSM and propose a new approach to GSM with empirical evidence from China.

Cattle grazing has been a historic use of rangelands in Utah since pioneer settlement in the mid-1800’s. Wright fishhook cactus is a small globose cactus endemic to an area of 280,000 ha in south–central Utah and was listed as endangered in October of 1979, by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). By 2010, concerns were expressed that soil compaction in proximity to the cactus posed a threat to this species, though there were no empirical data to support such concerns.

The financing issue is increasingly becoming a key problem for brownfield remediation in public land ownership, and Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode is considered a potentially effective solution. However, some barriers impede the utilization of the PPP mode into brownfield remediation projects in the situation of public land ownership. By taking China as an example, the study investigates the barriers when the PPP mode is used in brownfield remediation projects to deal with financing dilemmas. Specifically, 39 original barriers are first obtained from existing related literature.

Given the increasing need for residential and economic development and also for the improvement of the living environment, for food and energy production, we should reflect on the use of agricultural lands. Even if the citizens and the regional government are rediscovering the multiple services provided by agricultural lands, we observe that the agricultural landscape in Wallonia (the southern part of Belgium) is in a precarious situation, especially at the edge of the cities.

Amid the epoch of global overpopulation, the agroforestry system can intervene as a novel practice that can safeguard agricultural sustainability, provide a means of livelihood, yield ecological benefits, and contribute to household food security. However, the adoption of sustained agroforestry practices requires an understanding of both farmers’ personal characteristics and perceived statuses, constituting a difficult task to anticipate, analyze, and visualize. To this end, it is crucial to understand and identify the most significant factors driving the adoption of agroforestry.

In 2019, residents of the rural district of San Rafael Comac in the municipality of San Andrés Cholula, Mexico, challenged the implementation of the 2018 Municipal Program for Sustainable Urban Development of San Andrés Cholula (MPSUD), a rapacious urban-planning policy that was negatively affecting ancestral communities—pueblos originarios—and their lands and traditions.