Land Use and the Causes of Global Warming

Global watming through the enhanced greehouse effect is one of the major and most uncertain forces of global environmental change presently facing the earth. This book is a guide to the scientific and policy debate concerning the roles of agriculture, forestry and other activities leading to global warming. The influence of land use on the greehouse effect is important, not only in terms of net emissions of greenhouse gases, but also in the potential to reduce emissions through changing land use policies.

Land Use and the Causes of Global Warming reviews the global emissions of greenhouse gases from land use sources, highlighting the undertainties in estimating both the magnitude of the fluxes and the scale of land use change. Policies of afforestation, policies to encourage the halting of deforestation and changing management pravctices in agriculture are all examined from the perspectives of feasibility, cost and equity. The authors illustrate how all land use policies are multi-objective but that the reduction of grenhouse gas emissions must be a key element in forestry and agriculture policy on a global bais. This is an invaluable book for all thoe in the climate change research community, environmental scientits, economists and social scientits in research institutions.