Land Systems Vulnerability

Land‐change science is an interdisciplinary field that seeks to understand the dynamics of the land system as a coupled human‐environment system (CHES). A CHES is one in which the societal and biophysical subsystems of the land system are so intertwined that the system's condition, function, and responses to a perturbation depend on the synergy of the two subsystems. The global change research community and development practitioners increasingly recognize the need to address the adverse consequences of changes taking place in the structure, and function of the biosphere and the implications for human wellbeing. This chapter presents an overview of the book, which integrates knowledge of the vulnerability of land systems to multiple stressors in Asia. The book is divided into three sections, namely ‘Hazards and Vulnerability’, ‘Modeling and Impact Assessment’, and ‘Institutions’.