Accelerated cropland expansion into high integrity forests and protected areas globally in the 21st century

Intact forests and protected areas (PAs) are central to global biodiversity conser-vation and nature-based climate change mitigation. However, cropland encroach-ment threatens the ecological integrity and resilience of their functioning. Using satellite observations, we find that a large proportion of croplands in the remaining forests globally have been gained during 2003-2019, especially for high -integrity forests (62%) and non-forest biomes (60%) and tropical forests (47%). Cropland expansion during 2011-2019 in forests globally has even doubled (130% relative increase) than 2003-2011, with high medium-integrity (190%) and high-integrity (165%) categories and non-forest (182%) and tropical forest bi-omes (136%) showing higher acceleration. Unexpectedly, a quarter of croplands in PAs globally were gained during 2003-2019, again with a recent accelerated expansion (48%). These results suggest insufficient protection of these irreplace-able landscapes and a major challenge to global conservation. More effective local, national, and international coordination among sustainable development goals 15, 13, and 2 is urgently needed.

Automated summary

Intact forests and protected areas are crucial for global biodiversity conservation and nature-based climate change mitigation. However, the expansion of croplands threatens their ecological integrity and resilience. Satellite observations reveal that a significant portion of croplands have been gained in remaining forests globally, particularly in high-integrity forests, non-forest biomes, and tropical forests. The expansion of croplands in forests has doubled in recent years and even a quarter of croplands in protected areas have experienced accelerated expansion. These findings highlight the insufficient protection of these critical landscapes and the urgent need for coordinated efforts among sustainable development goals.