An assessment of the causes and consequences of agricultural land abandonment in Europe

ABSTRACT

The agriculture sector is the principal source of income for around 20% of the EU-26 population, which live in predominantly rural regions that would be devastated without its contribution. Moreover, the combined agricultural and food sector forms an important part of the EU economy, accounting for 15 million jobs (8.3% of total employment) and 4.4% of GDP. The 12 million active farmers across Europe today, have an average farm size of about 15 ha, and are expected to meet the needs of 500 million Europeans. In addition, they are also expected to promote a sustainable and balanced development of their land, also in areas where production conditions are difficult. Yet, despite the relevance of the sector, the use of land for agriculture purposes is not very sustainable. Among other issues, there is a serious problem in respect of the abandonment of agricultural land. Based on the perceived need for research on this topic, the aim of this paper is to examine the causes and consequences of agricultural land abandonment, outlining its social, economic and environmental impacts, as well as the implications for territorial integration.     

Integrated assessment of agricultural policies with dynamic land use change modelling

With about half of its territory being farmed, agriculture is the main land use in the European Union (EU). As over 10% of the total EU manufacturing output comes from the agri-food sector, it also is an economic factor of great importance. Moreover, EU policy in this sector has far-reaching consequences ranging from the EU's status as a global trade partner to landscape preservation and development. The LUMOCAP Policy Support System is targeted towards policy makers in the European Commission (EC) and its Member States (MS) and aims to provide support in the field of sustainable agricultural and rural development. To this end it incorporates an integrated model with socio-economic and bio-physical processes, operating at different spatial scales. For supporting integrated assessment, a large number of policy levers is included as inputs for these models and outputs are transformed into policy-relevant social, economic and environmental indicators. The whole system is framed in a flexible, modular and easy to use software package that is useable for process experts and policy-analysts alike.This paper describes the integrated model, the individual models and a first calibration of the system. It demonstrates the system's behaviour for typical scenario runs and concludes with a reflection on the current status of the system and some recommendations for further development.     

Farm size and land-use policy: An oregon case study

Farmland conversion has become an important public policy issue in the United States and in many other countries. An important part of policy considerations in farmland protection programs is the minimum parcel size for farm-related land divisions and dwelling units. The rationale for establishing size thresholds varies considerably among jurisdictions. This article reviews the policies and criteria used in the United States and several other countries, discusses the policy implications of different types of objectives, and presents the results of a case study in Oregon. The case study was the first attempt by an Oregon county to articulate a set of measurable criteria to quantify a definition of commercial agriculture for land-use applications. The criteria and data base used in the model provide a systematic procedure to process permit applications in an objective, consistent manner. The ordinance was adopted in February 1988 and has worked successfully since that time. The article summarizes permit activity under the new ordinance and comments on its effectiveness.     

Use of Radar Remote Sensing (RADARSAT) to Map Winter Wetland Habitat for Shorebirds in an Agricultural Landscape

Many of todays agricultural landscapes once held vast amounts of wetland habitat for waterbirds and other wildlife. Successful restoration of these landscapes relies on access to accurate maps of the wetlands that remain. We used C-band (5.6-cm-wavelength), HH-polarized radar remote sensing (RADARSAT) at a 38° incidence angle (8-m resolution) to map the distribution of winter shorebird (Charadriiformes) habitat on agricultural lands in the Willamette Valley of western Oregon. We acquired imagery on three dates (10 December 1999, 27 January 2000, and 15 March 2000) and simultaneously collected ground reference data to classify radar signatures and evaluate map accuracy of four habitat classes: (1) wet with 50% vegetation (considered optimal shorebird habitat), (2) wet with > 50% vegetation, (3) dry with 50% vegetation, and (4) dry with > 50% vegetation. Overall accuracy varied from 45 to 60% among the three images, but the accuracy of focal class 1 was greater, ranging from 72 to 80%. Class 4 coverage was stable and dominated maps (40% of mapped study area) for all three dates, while coverage of class 3 decreased slightly throughout the study period. Among wet classes, class 1 was most abundant (about 30% coverage) in December and January, decreasing in March to approximately 15%. Conversely, class 2 increased dramatically from January to March, likely due to transition from class 1 as vegetation grew. This approach was successful in detecting optimal habitat for shorebirds on agricultural lands. For modest classification schemes, radar remote sensing is a valuable option for wetland mapping in areas where cloud cover is persistent. Also, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA     

Trends in food production and nitrous oxide emissions from the agriculture sector in India: environmental implications

We studied trends in food production and nitrous oxide emissions from India's agricultural sector between 1961 and 2000. Data from Food and Agricultural Statistics (FAO) have been gathered covering production, consumption, fertilizer use and livestock details. IPCC 1996 revised guidelines were followed in studying the variations in N₂O-N emissions. Results suggest that total N₂O-N emissions (direct, animal waste and indirect sources) increased ~6.1 times from ~0.048 to ~0.294 Tg N₂O-N, over 40 years. Source-wise breakdown of emissions from 1961–2000 indicated that during 1961 most of the N₂O-N inputs were from crop residues (61%) and biological nitrogen fixation (25%), while during 2000 the main sources were synthetic fertilizer (~48%) and crop residues (19%). Direct emissions increased from ~0.031 to ~0.183 Tg. It is estimated that ~3.1% of global N₂O-N emissions comes from India. Trends in food production, primarily cereals (rice, wheat and coarse grains) and pulses, and fertilizer consumption from 1961–2000 suggest that food production (cereals and pulses) increased only 3.7 times, while nitrogenous fertilizer consumption increased ~43 times over this period, leading to extensive release of nitrogen to the atmosphere. From this study, we infer that the challenge for Indian agriculture lies not only in increasing production but also in achieving production stability while minimizing the impact to the environment, through various management and mitigation options.     

Soil conservation policy in the United States

Soil conservation has been a matter of federal natural resource policy for over a half century in the United States. A variety of federal programs have been undertaken to encourage soil conservation. There are goals which are essential to these programs, and there are related ancillary programs with different goals which often have had an impact on the extent to which the central soil conservation objectives have been effectively implemented. This article analyzes four aspects of federal soil conservation goals and programs: the evolution of the constellation of soil conservation goals, the problems with goal implementation, implementation effectiveness, and the appropriateness of the implementation and administration of federal goals.     

Agricultural and non-agricultural settlements for drought-afflicted pastoralists in Somalia

The severe drought of 1973–1975 in Somalia had major impacts on pastoral populations, many of whom moved into specially established camps where food, water and medical assistance were provided by the government and international agencies. At the end of the drought it was decided to settle the remaining 120,000 people in six settlements, three of which were agricultural and three oriented towards fishing. This paper analyzes these settlements, with particular attention paid to agricultural systems, organization and socioeconomic characteristics. Some of the problems facing the settlements included their location, administrative structure and relative overemphasis on social services as opposed to development of production and income generating activities. It is shown that the socioeconomic viability of settlements would be enhanced if careful studies were undertaken beforehand and if a diversified development strategy were employed.     

AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION PROGRAM: AN EVALUATION1

The Agricultural Conservation Program (ACP), is undergoing a new, rigorous evaluation to determine its effectiveness in conserving the Nation's agricultural soils and waters. ACP deals with many types of conservation practices, but the focus here is on the evaluation of soil and water related practices. ACP has depended heavily on the State and private forestry services, Soil Conservation Service, and the Cooperative Extension Services, for technical expertise. Thus, the process is an evaluation of the effectiveness of a “team of agencies,” as well as of the program itself. Results of the evaluation have helped to develop new thrusts which have moved ACP further into the position of treating the total conservation problem. Phase I has its limitations. It did not address the impact of wind erosion, water quality, change in productive capacity, soil quality, wildlife habitat, off site and farm income impacts. It does show that ACP has and is doing a very good job in meeting its stated purposes. It is clear that ACP's effectiveness can be improved with more and better advanced planning and more intensive use of soil maps, the USLE, and other scientific tools. ACP is headed in this direction.     

农业气象灾害分析网络服务系统

以大量翔实的农业气象灾害资料为基础,结合实时农业气象灾情分析,在ｗｉｎｄｏｗｓＮＴＳｅｒｖｅｒ网络环境下,研制出具有网络功能的农业气象灾害分析服务系统,系统在Ｉｎｔｅｒｎｅｔ的ＮｅｔｓｃａｐｅＮａｖｉｇａｔｏｒ或Ｅｘｐｌｏｒｅｒｔｏ览器下运行,简便实用．系统以灾害服务为宗旨,体现了信息量大、服务迅速的特点。内容包括农业气象灾害类型库、逐年农业气象灾害评判库、实时农业气象灾害分析及灾情服务流程．     

Adsorption–desorption behavior of atrazine on agricultural soils in China

Adsorptionanddesorptionareimportantprocessesthataffectatrazinetransport,transformation,andbioavailabilityinsoils.Inthisstudy,theadsorption–desorptioncharacteristicsofatrazinein three soils (laterite, paddy soil and alluvial soil) were evaluated using the batch equilibrium method. The results showed that the kinetics of atrazine in soils was completed in two steps: a “fast” adsorption and a “slow” adsorption and could be well described by pseudo-second-order model.In addition,the adsorption equilibrium isotherms were nonlinear and were well fitted by Freundlich and Langmuir models. It was found that the adsorption data on laterite, and paddy soil were better fitted by the Freundlich model;as for alluvial soil,the Langmuir model described it better. The maximum atrazine sorption capacities ranked as follows: paddy soil > alluvial soil > laterite. Results of thermodynamic calculations indicated that atrazine adsorption on three tested soils was spontaneous and endothermic. The desorption data showed that negative hysteresis occurred. Furthermore, lower solution pH value was conducive to the adsorptionofatrazineinsoils.Theatrazineadsorptioninthesethreetestedsoilswascontrolled by physical adsorption, including partition and surface adsorption. At lower equilibrium concentration, the atrazine adsorption process in soils was dominated by surface adsorption;while with the increase of equilibrium concentration, partition was predominant.