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April 15, 2026Nature CommunicationsOpen Access

Europe’s land take and the loss of nature and cropland to artificial surfaces

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Authors

ZVZander Samuel VenterBCBálint CzúczAKAnne Linn Kumano-Ensby

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Overview

Analysis reveals significant habitat and cropland loss in Europe due to artificial surface expansion, emphasizing urgent mitigation needs.

Key Points

  • The research aims to quantify the extent of land take in Europe and its consequences for natural land and cropland.
  • Utilized high-resolution satellite data to assess land cover changes from 2018 to 2023.
  • Calculated annual rates of natural and semi-natural land and cropland loss.
  • Identified main land-use drivers contributing to land take.
  • Europe lost 912 km² of natural land cover and 588 km² of cropland annually due to land take.
  • Norway and Estonia show the highest per capita land take rates.
  • Grasslands are disproportionately affected, with land take nearly five times higher than other ecosystems.

Cite This Study

Venter et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69df2bcae4eeef8a2a6b0c17https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-71931-w
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