Patterns and drivers of land use change in selected European rural landscapes
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Patterns and drivers of land use change in selected European rural landscapes. / Kristensen, Søren Bech Pilgaard; Busck, Anne Gravsholt; van der Sluis, Theo; Gaube, Veronika.
I: Land Use Policy, Bind 57, 2016, s. 786-799.Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › fagfællebedømt
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Patterns and drivers of land use change in selected European rural landscapes
AU - Kristensen, Søren Bech Pilgaard
AU - Busck, Anne Gravsholt
AU - van der Sluis, Theo
AU - Gaube, Veronika
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Many of the semi-natural landscape elements found in rural areas, such as woodlots, hedgerows and grasslands, were originally maintained as part of the agricultural system. During the 20th century, they lost most of their functions and were often removed or transformed. Presently, production concerns are less dominant and many landscape and land use changes are undertaken to improve public goods or fulfil personal and family ambitions and values. This paper investigates the patterns of farm-level land use changes that occurred between 2002 and 2012 in three different landscape regions of Europe (peri-urban landscapes, areas with marginal potential for agriculture, post-socialist landscapes) and the drivers behind, based on a questionnaire survey in six study areas. A second objective is to analyse landowners’ decision-making and endogenous factors that are correlated with their engagement in land use changes. Common to all areas is that agricultural production is under pressure due to physical or socio-economic challenges. The results indicate that relatively more nature or landscape features have been added by landowners than removed by them in the six study areas. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that full-time landowners were responsible for the largest proportion of landscape change and that the areas involved differed greatly. The analysis also underlined the variety of European landscapes, as many landscape activities exhibited strong geographical patterns. A multivariate analysis of the relationship between ten farm and landowner characteristics confirmed the geographical diversity, as only a dummy variable representing the geographical location was statistically significant. When location was omitted from the analysis, two factors were significant: farm size and ownership of livestock. In addition, the results suggest that landowners in peri-urban locations were more engaged in landscape activities than landowners in other locations.
AB - Many of the semi-natural landscape elements found in rural areas, such as woodlots, hedgerows and grasslands, were originally maintained as part of the agricultural system. During the 20th century, they lost most of their functions and were often removed or transformed. Presently, production concerns are less dominant and many landscape and land use changes are undertaken to improve public goods or fulfil personal and family ambitions and values. This paper investigates the patterns of farm-level land use changes that occurred between 2002 and 2012 in three different landscape regions of Europe (peri-urban landscapes, areas with marginal potential for agriculture, post-socialist landscapes) and the drivers behind, based on a questionnaire survey in six study areas. A second objective is to analyse landowners’ decision-making and endogenous factors that are correlated with their engagement in land use changes. Common to all areas is that agricultural production is under pressure due to physical or socio-economic challenges. The results indicate that relatively more nature or landscape features have been added by landowners than removed by them in the six study areas. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that full-time landowners were responsible for the largest proportion of landscape change and that the areas involved differed greatly. The analysis also underlined the variety of European landscapes, as many landscape activities exhibited strong geographical patterns. A multivariate analysis of the relationship between ten farm and landowner characteristics confirmed the geographical diversity, as only a dummy variable representing the geographical location was statistically significant. When location was omitted from the analysis, two factors were significant: farm size and ownership of livestock. In addition, the results suggest that landowners in peri-urban locations were more engaged in landscape activities than landowners in other locations.
KW - Case study
KW - Drivers
KW - Europe
KW - Land use change
KW - Landowner diversity
U2 - 10.1016/j.landusepol.2015.07.014
DO - 10.1016/j.landusepol.2015.07.014
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:84982204047
VL - 57
SP - 786
EP - 799
JO - Land Use Policy
JF - Land Use Policy
SN - 0264-8377
ER -
ID: 168651497