GLP is a global research community advancing understanding of land system change. It brings together scientists, practitioners, and partners to collaborate across disciplines and share knowledge about how land systems are changing, from local contexts to broader global patterns. Through meetings, working groups, regional nodes, and other member-led initiatives, the community fosters ongoing exchange that advances the field of land system science.
Our Approach to Land System Science
Land system science examines how human activities and environmental processes interact across landscapes and over time. It brings together and integrates insights from the social, environmental, geographical, and computational sciences to understand the drivers, processes, and consequences of land use and land-cover change, how changes in one place are connected to those in others, and what these dynamics mean for ecosystems and the living world as well as for human systems and societies. GLP advances this work by supporting collaboration and synthesis across regions and research traditions, helping connect place-based research to broader patterns and to the questions that shape the field.
Open Science Meetings
GLP’s Open Science Meetings (OSMs) are the flagship gathering of the global community. Held every 2–4 years, they bring together researchers, practitioners, and partners for a week of in-person exchange on emerging research, methods, and frontiers in land system science. OSMs provide a key forum to share work, strengthen collaborations, and expand networks across regions and disciplines, while fostering exchange across career stages. They also offer an important moment for the community to connect, reflect on emerging directions, and help shape shared scientific and community priorities for the years ahead.
Working Groups
GLP’s Working Groups bring members together around focused research questions and collaborative synthesis aligned with the programme’s science priorities. Initiated and led by members, they provide a structured space to coordinate activities, share knowledge, and develop joint outputs across regions and disciplines. Working Groups are a core mechanism through which the community advances shared priorities and strengthens connections with related research and practice communities, contributing to the continued development of land system science. To see a list of all working groups and participate, become a member of GLP today. It is free and open to all!
Nodal Offices
Nodal Offices are regionally based hubs that help connect and grow the GLP community in different parts of the world while supporting locally grounded activity. Each office develops initiatives suited to its context, among them workshops, events, and networking opportunities aligned with GLP's mission and science priorities, and may focus on themes of particular relevance to their region. Together, Nodal Offices strengthen regional engagement and link local initiatives with the broader global network of land system science. GLP currently has nodal offices in the United States, Latin America (Argentina), Europe (Germany), China (Beijing), Japan, and Taipei.
Early Career Network
The Early Career Network (ECN) connects emerging researchers to the global land system science community and to one another. Led by early career members, it creates space for learning, exchange, and new connections through mentorship, events, and collaborative activities, while providing resources and support tailored to early career researchers. Open to all GLP members, the ECN offers a pathway for engagement in the programme and aims to build the next generation of leaders in land system science.
As it grows, the ECN is developing new member-led initiatives, from seed grants to collaborative programming, designed to support early career researchers to connect, lead, and shape the future of land system science within GLP.
The ECN is open to all members of GLP, so join today to start participating!