A proposal for simplifying and increasing the value of local to global land degradation monitoring

Authors: Herrick, Jeffrey; Bestelmeyer, Brandon; Hoover, David; Toledo, David; Webb, Nicholas

Submitted to: Drylands
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/27/2025
Publication Date: 4/25/2025
Citation: Herrick, J.E., Bestelmeyer, B.T., Hoover, D.L., Toledo, D.N., Webb, N.P. 2025. A proposal for simplifying and increasing the value of local to global land degradation monitoring. Drylands. 2(e8):1-7. https://doi.org/10.1017/dry.2025.4.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/dry.2025.4

Interpretive Summary: The alternative land degradation monitoring framework presented in this paper addresses four limitations of the current approach used to report on Sustainable Development Goal 15.3, land degradation neutrality, which relies on indicators of land cover, primary productivity (NPP) and soil carbon stocks. First, these indicators often do not reflect local understanding of land degradation and recovery. Second, global land cover categories are too broad. Third, land degradation and recovery within land cover types is often uncorrelated, or even negatively correlated, with NPP indicators. Perhaps the most widely cited example is woody species invasion of grasslands, which often results in an improvement in NPP indicators (including satellite-based “greening”), but is associated with degradation in many ecosystems, including much of southern and eastern Africa. Other examples include the replacement of heavily fertilized and often irrigated annual monocultures with more diverse polyculture farming systems, including perennials. Another concern is the difficulty of calculating the indicators. The framework proposed here allows for the definition of degradation hierarchies based on states, which can be as broad or as narrow as required for the monitoring objective. Unique classifications can be defined for different regions and even different landscapes allowing, for example, perennial cropland to be ranked above a highly degraded grassland. The proposed framework will allow for more accurate reporting at national scales, and more useful information at the local levels at which land degradation is addressed through improved management and restoration.

Technical Abstract: Land degradation is reducing biodiversity and crop yields, and exacerbating the impacts of climate change, throughout the world. Monitoring land degradation is required to determine the effectiveness of land management and restoration practices, and to track progress toward reaching land degradation neutrality (LDN). It is also needed to target investments where they are most needed, and will have the greatest impact. The most useful indicators of land degradation vary among soils and climates. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) selected three widely accepted land degradation indicators for LDN: land cover, net primary production (NPP) and soil carbon stocks. In addition to non-universal relevance, the use of these indicators has been limited by data availability, especially for carbon. This article presents an alternative monitoring framework based on the definition and ranking of states in a degradation hierarchy. Unique classifications can be defined for different regions and even different landscapes allowing, for example, perennial cropland to be ranked above a highly degraded grassland. The article concludes with an invitation to discuss the potential value of this approach and how it could be practically implemented at landscape to global scales. The ultimate objective is to support decision-making information at the local levels at which land degradation is addressed through improved management and restoration while providing the information necessary for reporting on progress toward meeting goals.