Assessing the risk of farmland abandonment in the EU

An expert panel of European scientists in fields related to land abandonment (bio-physical / land suitability, farm structure, farm economics, land market, regional development, socio and economic factors in rural areas) were tasked to identify main drivers of farmland abandonment in Europe. Two sets of criteria for assessing the risk have been suggested: Low farm stability and viability was estimated through drivers on ‘low farm income’ (D2), ‘lack of investments on the farm’ (D3), ‘farm-holder’s age’ (D4), ‘farm manager qualifications’ (D5), ‘low farm size’ (D8), ‘commitments taken by farmers in specific management scheme’ (D9). Negative regional context was estimated through indicators on ‘weak land market’ (D1), ‘low population density and remoteness’ from market opportunities and services (D7). Each of these drivers was calculated individually; an assessment was done to provide relevance and robustness of results, corresponding maps were produced. The results suggested a first group of powerful drivers (policy relevance, analytical soundness, data availability and robustness) composed of: ‘weak land market’ (D1), ‘low farm income’ (D2), ‘low density population and remoteness’ (D7). The second group of drivers with ‘lack of investments on the farm’ (D3) and ‘farm-holder’s age’ (D4) were policy relevant but reliability was lower when using European datasets. The third group of drivers (‘farm manager qualifications’ (D5), ‘low farm size’ (D8), and ‘commitments taken by farmers in specific management scheme’ (D9)) showed some deficiencies in analytical soundness and/or data reliability. They were not further used in the analysis. In order to produce a risk indicator of ‘farmland abandonment’, composite indices were developed based on Principal Component Analysis carried-out on the normalised values of the individual drivers. The normalisation procedure was performed at two different levels: (a) EU27 level as an attempt to elaborate a risk index covering EU27 in an homogeneous manner; and (b) MS level. For the composite indices, further analysis was done at NUTS2 level to relate those flagged with higher risk to the holding’s farm-types. It results that extensive and traditional farming systems with high proportions of permanent crops or permanent grasslands are the most frequent farm-types found in NUTS2 at risk.JRC.H.4-Monitoring Agricultural Resource

Assessment of capacity for ecosystem services in agricultural areas, focusing on areas with natural constraints (ANC)

The aim of the ecosystem service assessment of ‘Areas with natural constraints’ (ANC, Articles of Council Regulation (EU) 1305/2013) at European level is to gain insight into the current status of ecosystem services (ES) supply, to develop a classification system based on ES supply, and to evaluate the performance of the scheme. The report shows the actual status of nine ecosystem capacities in less favoured agricultural areas compared to agricultural areas out of the scheme. The comparison covers three aspects of ecosystem capacities: (1) the quantitative level, (2) the relationships (trade-offs and synergies) among capacities and (3) the level of multi-functionality. Furthermore some examples are presented for comparison and classification of administrative units regarding to the ecosystem capacities of their less favoured areas. The methodology can be applied for the areas with natural constraints when their delineation will be ready. It can contribute to the evaluation of the performance of the ANC scheme as well as to its better targeting.JRC.H.4-Monitoring Agricultural Resource

Validation and Improvement of High Nature Value Farmland Identification - National Approach in the Walloon Region in Belgium and in the Czech Republic

The concept of High Nature Value (HNV) farmland has been evolving over the last fifteen years in Europe. In the European Union this has been closely linked to the aim of integrating environmental concerns in the Common Agricultural Policy. The idea that nature values, environmental qualities, even cultural heritage are linked to or dependent on farming, also underlies and supports the concept of a multifunctional 'European model of farming which provides benefits beyond food production. The objective of this study is to better identify and characterise HNV farmland at national level (the Walloon Region in Belgium) with a Farm System Approach based on FSS statistical data and specific national surveys, taking into account the whole farm with the total agricultural area and its characteristics. The methodology is built on two different approaches: the natural zones approach and the farm system approach. The natural zones approach uses spatial data to define agricultural zones with a verified high biodiversity interest, based on a reference biodiversity layer for the Walloon Region (WR) called the principal ecological structure (SEP). The farm system approach analyses the farm structure and farming practices on the basis of data available in the WR agricultural database. In the first step relevant variables have been selected to calculate the HNV indicators for the farm system approach at NUTS 5 level: 1) crop diversity and grassland presence, 2) extensive practices, and 3) landscape elements. In the second step the three indicators were combined to calculate the HNV score. In the third step the areas delimited through the farm system approach were overlaid with a map resulting form the natural zones approach. In the last step HNV farmland was analysed with regard to prevailing trends in farming practices and production types with the aim of identification of farming systems which might be associated with HNV farmland occurrence in the WR in Belgium. The analysis of spatial distribution of HNV farmland delimited in the study shows that 91% of the HNV farm system zone identified in the study is located in Ardenne, Fagne and Fammenne. The dominant farming system types are grazing livestock system specialised in milk or meat production, depending on the region. The average livestock density is less than 2.0 LU/ha. Over 60% of UAA is used as permanent grassland. The strength of the Farm System Approach methodology is the possibility of producing a map at the NUTS 5 level with an accurate description of the farm systems. The methodology can be improved by crosschecking the results with regional experts and getting feedback on the thresholds and the weighting of the indicators. The weaknesses of the Farm System Approach methodology are mainly due to the way agricultural practices are modelled. The lack of comprehensive and reliable data on landscape elements and grassland management hampers further validation of HNV farmland identification results. A development of additional relevant surveys is therefore recommended. An attempt at assessing the applicability of the FSA for HNV farmland identification was undertaken for the Czech Republic. Statistical data on farming practices are still incomplete and insufficient to build the methodology similar to the Walloon Region FSA. Conversely, biodiversity and habitat data are abundant and of high quality and currently are the best datasets for HNV farmland identification in the Czech Republic.JRC.H.5-Rural, water and ecosystem resource

Low Input Farming Systems: an Opportunity to Develop Sustainable Agriculture - Proceedings of the JRC Summer University - Ranco, 2-5 July 2007

The concept of sustainability applied to agriculture developed mainly as a result of growing awareness of negative impacts of intensive farming systems on the environment and the quality of life of rural and neighbouring communities. Intensive farming systems are based on genetically uniform crops and livestock breeds, vulnerable to pests and diseases. High yields are obtained through dependency on external inputs (especially fossil energy, fertilizers and pesticides) which can cause decreased air, water, soil and food quality. Intensification and specialisation also bring about landscape changes, resulting in its homogenisation and destruction of traditional landscape elements and, consequently, loss of habitats. Marginal areas, on the other hand, are threatened with cessation of agricultural practices and land abandonment. All these factors also lead, directly or indirectly, to the loss of biodiversity. Lewandowski et al. defined in 1999 sustainable agriculture as ¿the management and utilization of the agricultural ecosystem in a way that maintains its biological diversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality, and ability to function, so that it can fulfill ¿ today and in the future ¿ significant ecological, economic and social functions at the local, national and global levels and does not harm other ecosystems¿. The search for sustainability of agriculture inevitably leads to the exploration of the potential of Low Input Farming Systems (LIFS) to achieve this goal. Within this context, the European Commission Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability and SOLAGRO organized a Summer University ¿Low Input Farming Systems: an Opportunity to Develop Sustainable Agriculture¿ which took place on 2-5 July 2007 in Ranco (Italy). The programme of the Summer University has been drawn to reflect the diversity of Low Input Farming Systems in Europe and the complexity of factors currently impacting on European agriculture. This report contains the papers which were presented at the meeting as well as final conclusions, summarizing the main points of the discussions which suggested possible lines of future research and policy options which might support LIFS in EuropeJRC.H.5-Rural, water and ecosystem resource

Delimitations of Rural Areas in Europe Using Criteria of Population Density, Remoteness and Land Cover

This report aims to improve current delimitations of rural areas in Europe as a support to statistical descriptions by introducing the criteria of peripherality/remoteness and ¿natural (non-artificial) area¿ in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) typology. In 1994, the OECD developed an easy concept to identify rural and urban areas based on the population density of a geographical unit. This scheme proved to be highly sensitive to the size of the geographical area and the classification of the thresholds. Over the years, endeavours have been made to review and improve the OECD approach and also alternative methodologies have been proposed. The current methods based solely on population distributions, do not allow for detailed and quantified geographical analysis and do not reflect two main characters differentiating rural from urban areas: the ¿natural¿ (non-artificial) surface and the accessibility/remoteness. In this study, a new rural typology has been developed by integrating the peripherality index and the land cover indicator in the OECD methodology. The analyses were carried out at Local Administrative Unit (LAU 2) level for EU-27and then aggregated at NUTS3 and NUTS2.The methodology applied is flexible and the thresholds of accessibility or land cover implemented can easily be modified to fit-for-purpose.JRC.H.5-Rural, water and ecosystem resource

Case Study - France, Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Conservation (SoCo Project)

This Technical Note 'Case Study ¿ France' is part of a series of case studies within the ¿Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Conservation¿ (SoCo) project. Ten case studies were carried out in Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom between spring and summer 2008. The selection of case study areas was designed to capture differences in soil degradation processes, soil types, climatic conditions, farm structures and farming practices, institutional settings and policy priorities. A harmonised methodological approach was pursued in order to gather insights from a range of contrasting conditions over a geographically diverse area. The case studies were carried out by local experts to reflect the specificities of the selected case studies.JRC.DDG.J.5-Agriculture and Life Sciences in the Econom

Identification of High Nature Value Farmland in France through Statistical Information and Farm Practices Surveys

The Concept of High Nature Value (HNV) farmland has been evolving over the last fifteen years in Europe. In the European Union this has been closely linked to the aim of integrating environmental concerns in the Common Agricultural Policy. The idea that nature values, environmental qualities, even cultural heritage are linked to or dependent on farming, also underlies and supports the concept of a multifunctional 'European model of farming' which provides benefits other than food. The 'High Nature Value farming' idea thus ties the preservation of biodiversity and wildlife value of the countryside to the need to safeguard the continuation of farming in certain areas with maintenance of specific farming systems associated to the long-term management of these areas. The work presented in the report aims at better identifying and characterising HNV farmland at national level (France) with a farm system approach based on FSS statistical data and specific national surveys, taking into account the whole farm with the total agricultural area and its characteristics. In a first step relevant variables have been selected to calculate the “crop diversity” indicator at NUTS 5. In a second step the crop diversity indicator has been combined overlaid with other data sets from other surveys (“Grassland” Survey and “Forestry” Survey) to build “the landscape elements” and “the extensive crops and grasslands” indicators. In a third step these three indicators have been weighted to calculate a final score and draw maps at municipality scale (NUTS 5).JRC.H.5-Rural, water and ecosystem resource

Analysis of Farmland Abandonment and the Extent and Location of Agricultural Areas that are Actually Abandoned or are in Risk to be Abandoned

Farmland abandonment (FLA) can be defined as the cessation of agricultural activities on a given surface of land and not taken by another activity (such as urbanisation or afforestation). This process attracts the attention of policy-makers both at national and EU level, in particular within the context of the Rural Development Policy. And, considering its importance in environmental and socio-economic terms, it is necessary to better understand the geographic distribution and strength of farmland abandonment trends in the EU-27, and to develop indicators to identify the most important farmland abandonment tendencies. The first aim of this study was to establish the state of the art concerning farmland abandonment (definition, type) and methodologies for identifying/quantifying this phenomenon (dataset, period of analysis, scale). Then, it was about contributing to a new definition of Less Favoured Areas by assessing the driving forces of farmland abandonment and preparing the guidelines for agri-environmental indicator Nr 14 [COM2006 (508final)] by evaluating the state and risk of farmland abandonment. The proposed methodology was based on two main elements: the variation of the UAA and the definition of rural areas. After identifying clear definitions for each variable, the way to consider the main flows of land use changes was studied. Due to a lack of accurate data at the appropriate scale, farmland afforestation could not be separated from the flow of FLA and the flow from farmland to sealed soil was estimated based on the hypothesis that it was mainly located in urban areas where the population density is high or increases very fast. The methodology was tested in three of the main agricultural countries in the EU-27 in terms of surface (France, Spain and Poland). Then, five regions were chosen to cover different contexts where a high level of FLA was observed and interviews of experts and stakeholders completed the study. Based on the results on the main causes of FLA, indicators of risk were proposed and recommendations were formulated to improve the methodology and datasets.JRC.H.5-Rural, water and ecosystem resource

Addressing Soil Degradation in EU Agriculture: Relevant Processes, Practices and Policies - Report on the project 'Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Conservation (SoCo)'

Agriculture occupies a substantial proportion of the European land, and consequently plays an important role in maintaining natural resources and cultural landscapes, a precondition for other human activities in rural areas. Unsustainable farming practices and land use, including mismanaged intensification as well as land abandonment, have an adverse impact on natural resources. Having recognised the environmental challenges of agricultural land use, the European Parliament requested the European Commission in 2007 to carry out a pilot project on "Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Conservation through simplified cultivation techniques" (SoCo). The project originated from a close cooperation between the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) and the Joint Research Centre (JRC). It was implemented by the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) and the Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES). This report presents the findings of a stock-taking of the current situation with respect to soil degradation processes, soil-friendly farming practices and relevant policy measures within an EU-wide perspective. This overview includes the results of the survey on the national/regional implementation of EU policies and national policies, a classification of the described soil degradation processes, soil conservation practices and policy measures, and finally the outcome of the Stakeholder Workshop which took place on 22 May 2008 in Brussels.JRC.J.5-Agriculture and Life Sciences in the Econom

Agri-Environment Cluster. Progress Report (October 1999 - September 2000).

Abstract not availableJRC.(SAI)-Space Application Institut