Engman Felicia, Kortekaas Ester, Brandimarte Luigia, Mazzoleni Maurizio
Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, Stockholm, Sweden.
Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Sci Rep. 2025 Aug 5;15(1):28520. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-14713-6.
Anthropogenic climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of droughts, which accelerate land degradation, harm ecosystems, and threaten water security and livelihoods. However, the global impact of prolonged droughts on land cover changes remains poorly studied. This research analyses precipitation data to identify drought conditions and compares them with land cover datasets. The analysis explored three analytical dimensions, over the period 1992-2021: country level, income level, and climatic level. Results show a strong connection between droughts and land cover changes, with low-income countries experiencing the most significant changes. In drought-prone areas, trees, cropland, and sparse vegetation are the most impacted, with correlations stronger than in unaffected regions. This study provides valuable insights into the complex relationship between global drought events and land cover changes, varying across regions and economic contexts, and highlights the mitigating role of proactive strategies such as sustainable land management and adaptation measures.
人为气候变化正在增加干旱的频率和严重程度，这加速了土地退化，损害了生态系统，并威胁到水安全和生计。然而，长期干旱对土地覆盖变化的全球影响仍鲜有研究。本研究分析降水数据以识别干旱状况，并将其与土地覆盖数据集进行比较。该分析在1992年至2021年期间探索了三个分析维度：国家层面、收入水平和气候层面。结果表明干旱与土地覆盖变化之间存在紧密联系，低收入国家经历的变化最为显著。在易旱地区，树木、农田和稀疏植被受到的影响最大，其相关性比未受影响地区更强。本研究为全球干旱事件与土地覆盖变化之间的复杂关系提供了有价值的见解，这种关系因地区和经济背景而异，并强调了可持续土地管理和适应措施等积极策略的缓解作用。
