Land systems play a critical role in conflict, as both causes of conflict and as victims of conflict. Competition for land resources is a major cause of conflict ...SkiptomaincontentOurScienceSciencePlanThemesScience-PolicyInterfaceonLandCommunityToolsScienceforActionLanduseandconflictLandsystemsplayacriticalroleinconflict,asbothcausesofconflictandasvictimsofconflict.Competitionforlandresourcesisamajorcauseofconflictbetweenandwithinnationsandtherecanbesignificantimpactsonlandfromviolentconflicts.Violentactivitiessuchasbombingandforestburningcanbeadirectforceoflanddegradationandlandusechange(Witmer,2015),butusuallyoccuracrosssmallspatialandtemporalscales.Moresignificant,butalsomorecomplex,istheindirectforcesandimpactsoflandchangethatfollowthemassmovementofpeopleandthecollapseofstatesandeconomiesduringandafterconflict.McNeely(2003)summarizesconflictashavingrestorativeordegradingenvironmentalimpactsthroughtheprocessesof:i)exclusionofactivitiesfromwithinconflictzones;ii)increasedorinefficientnaturalresourceusetosupportmassmigrationsduringconflict,andiii)thecollapseofeconomiesandinstitutionsduringandafterconflict.Morethan80%ofarmedconflictssince1950haveoccurredinbiodiversityhotspots,particularlyintropicalforestareas(Hansonetal.,2009),suggestingthatconflicthashadsubstantialimpactsontropicalbiodiversity.Massmigrationintosettlementstypicallyincreasespressureonnearbynaturalresources,butalleviatesresourceusepressureinareaspeoplehavefledtoavoidviolence.Forexample,resourceuseandbiodiversityimpactshavereducedsincetheestablishmentofthedemilitarizedzonebetweenNorthandSouthKorea(Kim,1997)becauseoftheexclusionofpeople.Insub-SaharanAfrica,GlewandHudson(2007),estimatethat35,000haoftimberwasrequiredtosupportrefugeesgeneratedbyconflictbetween1990-2005;it’sunlikelythistimberwasharvestedsustainably.Ordway(2015)demonstratethespatiallyexplicitnatureofconflict-drivenmassmigrationanddeforestationandreforestationinRwanda.Localconflictsandthebreakdownoflong-standinginstitutions,suchasbetweenthe