The rapid global spread and human health impacts of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, show humanity’s  vulnerability to zoonotic disease pandemics. Although anthropogenic land use change is known to be the major  driver of zoonotic pathogen spillover from wildlife to human populations, the scientific underpinnings of land use induced zoonotic spillover have rarely been investigated from the landscape perspective. We call for interdisciplinary  collaborations to advance knowledge on land use implications for zoonotic disease emergence with a view toward  informing the decisions needed to protect human health. In particular, we urge a mechanistic focus on the zoonotic  pathogen infect–shed–spill–spread cascade to enable protection of landscape immunity—the ecological conditions  that reduce the risk of pathogen spillover from reservoir hosts—as a conservation and biosecurity priority. Read more…