Factors affecting the persistence of traditional agricultural landscapes in Slovakia during the collectivization of agriculture

Collectivization of agriculture (1950s-1970s) was one of the most important periods in landscape development in Slovakia. Traditionally managed agricultural landscapes, that covered more than half of the Slovak territory, were transformed into large-scale fields and only fragments of traditional agricultural landscapes survived. We mapped the remaining traditional agricultural landscapes using aerial photos and historical maps. We then statistically analyzed the various geographical factors and their influence on the transformation process of traditional and collectivized fields, i.e., slope steepness, soil fertility, distance from settlements and isolation from regional capital cities. The comparison was performed using classification tree analysis. We constructed a set of decision rules that explain why fields were managed traditionally or collectivized. Our findings show that traditional agricultural fields were more likely to persist on steep terrain, less fertile soils, and on locations that were closer to the settlements, but more isolated from the regional capital cities. Steepness played the most important role: small-scale fields located on steep areas were not accessible to heavy machinery and therefore, frequently survived the collectivization. We show that the selected geographical factors are good explanatory variables for the collectivization of arable fields and orchards. For vineyards and grasslands, however, the explanatory power of the selected geographical factors is lower, and we suspect that other factors, not depicted in the analysis play an important role

Multiscale socio-ecological networks in the age of information

Interactions between people and ecological systems, through leisure or tourism activities, form a complex socio-ecological spatial network. The analysis of the benefits people derive from their interactions with nature—also referred to as cultural ecosystem services (CES)—enables a better understanding of these socio-ecological systems. In the age of information, the increasing availability of large social media databases enables a better understanding of complex socio-ecological interactions at an unprecedented spatio-temporal resolution. Within this context, we model and analyze these interactions based on information extracted from geotagged photographs embedded into a multiscale socio-ecological network. We apply this approach to 16 case study sites in Europe using a social media database (Flickr) containing more than 150,000 validated and classified photographs. After evaluating the representativeness of the network, we investigate the impact of visitors’ origin on the distribution of socio-ecological interactions at different scales. First at a global scale, we develop a spatial measure of attractiveness and use this to identify four groups of sites. Then, at a local scale, we explore how the distance traveled by the users to reach a site affects the way they interact with this site in space and time. The approach developed here, integrating social media data into a network-based framework, offers a new way of visualizing and modeling interactions between humans and landscapes. Results provide valuable insights for understanding relationships between social demands for CES and the places of their realization, thus allowing for the development of more efficient conservation and planning strategies

Computation of anti-erosion effects of vineyards based on field erosion measurement :case study from Vráble viticultural district (Sovakia)

This paper describes the evaluation of the anti-erosion effect of vineyards, represented by the universal soil loss equation (usle), cover- management factor (c factor), and support practice factor (P factor). the calculations are based on measured soil loss data. The erosion and deposition rates were evaluated from aboveground vineyard poles as their exposure lengths change between the year of vineyard plantation and the year of measurement. The lengths increased on the erosion areas, because the soil had been washed away. On the deposition areas the poles had been covered by soil, so the exposed lengths for aboveground poles decreased. The measurements were taken in Horný ohaj vineyards, which belong to the vráble viticultural district. The calculations were based on a comparison between the measured erosion, and the erosion modelled with usle model. The cover management factor was evaluated for ploughed vineyard. Different c factor values were substituted to the usle until the root mean squared error between measured and modelled data was minimal. The support practice factor for hoed and rotavatored vineyard was calculated simultaneously. The cover-management factor was determined to 0.692. The support practice factor for ploughed vineyard is 1.000, for hoed vineyard is 0.586, and for rotavatored vineyard is 0.719.354

Computation of anti-erosion effects of vineyards based on field erosion measurements – case study from the Vráble viticultural district (Slovakia)

This paper describes the evaluation of the anti-erosion effect of vineyards, represented by the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), covermanagement factor (C factor), and support practice factor (P factor). The calculations are based on measured soil loss data. The erosion and deposition rates were evaluated from aboveground vineyard poles as their exposure lengths change between the year of vineyard plantation and the year of measurement. The lengths increased on the erosion areas, because the soil had been washed away. On the deposition areas the poles had been covered by soil, so the exposed lengths for aboveground poles decreased. The measurements were taken in Horný Ohaj vineyards, which belong to the Vráble viticultural district. The calculations were based on a comparison between the measured erosion, and the erosion modelled with USLE model. The cover management factor was evaluated for ploughed vineyard. Different C factor values were substituted to the USLE until the root mean squared error between measured and modelled data was minimal. The support practice factor for hoed and rotavatored vineyard was calculated simultaneously. The cover-management factor was determined to 0.692. The support practice factor for ploughed vineyard is 1.000, for hoed vineyard is 0.586, and for rotavatored vineyard is 0.719. Výpočet protierozního účinku vinic na základě naměřených údajů – případová studie z vinohradnického okrsku Vráble (Slovensko) Vinohrady Vrábelského vinohradnického rajónu, který patří do Nitranské vinohradnické oblasti, jsou vysazené na sprašových půdách Hronské pahorkatiny. Výzkum intenzity půdní eroze a depozice ve vinohradech byl realizovaný v letech 2008 a 2009 na úzkopásových soukromých vinicích v katastru obce Horní Oháj, severovýchodně od města Vráble. V předložené studii je hodnocena míra eroze, respektive protierozní vliv vegetačního krytu a způsobu obhospodařovaní vinohradů, jako hlavní faktor pro erozní modely založené na univerzální rovnici ztráty půdy (USLE ). Protierozní účinek vinic byl hodnocený porovnáním naměřených hodnot intenzity eroze a depozice s hodnotami zjištěnými pomocí erozního modelu půdy USLE . Intenzita eroze a depozice byla měřena změnou nadzemní výšky viničních sloupů způsobenou odnosem půdy na erozní části svahu a akumulací na depoziční části svahu. Do modelu USLE byly vloženy různé hodnoty faktoru vegetačního krytu (C faktor) a vlivů protierozních opatřeni (P faktor), až byla dosažena minimální střední kvadratická chyba mezi naměřenými a namodelovanými údaji. Tímto způsobem byl vypočítán faktor protierozního vlivu vegetačního krytu vinic a zpracování půdy orbou, pomocí rotavátoru a okopáváním. Vinice snižují erozi přibližně o čtvrtinu v porovnání s půdou nechráněnou vegetací (hodnota vegetačního faktoru je 0,692), orbou po spádnici se eroze nesnižuje (hodnota faktoru protierozní opatření je 1,000). Okopáváním lze snížit erozi takměř o polovinu (hodnota faktoru je 0,586), protierozní účinek zpracování půdy pomocí rotavátoru je nižší (hodnota faktoru je 0,719)

Abandonment and Recultivation of Agricultural Lands in Slovakia—Patterns and Determinants from the Past to the Future

Central and Eastern Europe has experienced fundamental land use changes since the collapse of socialism around 1990. We analyzeanalyzed the patterns and determinants of agricultural land abandonment and recultivation in Slovakia during the transition from a state-controlled economy to an open-market economy (1986 to 2000) and the subsequent accession to the European Union (2000 to 2010). We quantified agricultural land-use change based on available maps derived from 30-m multi-seasonal Landsat imagery and analyzeanalyzed the socioeconomic and biophysical determinants of the observed agricultural land-use changes using boosted regression trees. We used a scenario-based approach to assess future agricultural land abandonment and recultivation until 2060. The maps of agricultural land use analysis reveal that cropland abandonment was the dominant land use process on 11% of agricultural land from 1986 to 2000, and on 6% of the agricultural land from 2000 to 2010. Recultivation occurred on approximately 2% of agricultural land in both periods. Although most abandoned land was located in the plains, the rate of abandonment was twice as high in the mountainous landscapes. The likelihood of abandonment increased with increased distance from the national capital (Bratislava), decreased with an increase of annual mean temperatures and was higher in proximity to forest edges and on steeper slopes. Recultivation was largely determined by the opposite effects. The scenario for 2060 suggests that future agricultural land abandonment and recultivation may largely be determined by climate and terrain conditions and, to a lesser extent, by proximity to economic centers. Our study underscores the value of synergetic use of satellite data and land-use modeling to provide the input for land planning, and to anticipate the potential effects of changing environmental and policy conditions

Traditional agricultural landscape and their management in less favoured areas in Slovakia

Traditional agricultural landscapes are a mosaic of small-scale arable fields and permanent agricultural cultivations such as grasslands, vineyards and high-trunk orchards. Most of them are threatened by abandonment as they are usually situated in marginal mountain regions with less favourable conditions for agriculture. Our aim was to analyse the distribution of traditional agricultural landscapes in less favoured areas and the effects of the supportive measures of the Common Agricultural Policy, which are oriented towards helping farmers from these areas in maintaining traditional agriculture. Except for traditional agricultural vineyard landscapes, almost all TAL plots are situated in less favoured areas. Most of them are located in mountain areas with less favourable conditions for agriculture. Abandonment of traditional agricultural landscape inside the less favoured areas is significantly higher than in locations elsewhere. The supportive measures of the Common Agricultural Policy do not effectively mitigate this abandonment. If we would like to maintain traditional agricultural landscape in less favoured areas, it is necessary to stop the existing negative trend of abandonment and search for new ways to motivate farmers to continue their traditional farming by adjusting the conditions of the common agricultural policy to benefit small farmers as well

Nationwide indicators reflecting the current problems ofthe agricultural landscape in Slovakia: large agricultural parcels, farm size structure and share of woody vegetation

The main problems of the agricultural landscape in Slovakia are the largest parcels in the EU, the share of agricultural land managed by large agro-holdings, and the low proportion of woody vegetation. The authors have analysed these issues using agricultural beneficiary data and remote sensing products. The parcel size and farm sizes were analysed from agricultural beneficiaries’ data, woody vegetation was analysed from the combined layer of Copernicus products and data from the Land Parcel Identification System. Regarding all three indicators, the situation is more problematic in the lowlands and partially in hilly areas. The proposed indicators could be applied to assess the impact of the new CAP (2023-2027), which supports the reduction of parcel size, improves conditions for small and medium farmers, and improves the share of green infrastructure in agricultural landscapes

Appreciation of landscape aesthetic values in Slovakia assessed by social media photographs

Geolocated photos from google Panoramio are used as a proxy for evaluation of aesthetic values appreciation of different landscape types in Slovakia. We collected the photo’s metadata from years 2005 - 2014 and calculated the density of photos uploaded by unique user per square kilometre. Then we compared the photos density in different landscape types. The most appreciated are subalpine and alpine landscape types. The high photo density was also found in urban landscapes where most of the population live. Outside the urban area, we found that less intensive type of landscapes are visually more attractive. From the abiotic landscape categories the most aesthetically valuable are landscapes in giant highlands and glacial giant highlands. The lowland landscape used intensively for agricultural production is less attractive

Characterizing European cultural landscapes:accounting for structure, management intensity and value of agricultural and forest landscapes

Abstract Almost all rural areas in Europe have been shaped or altered by humans and can be considered cultural landscapes, many of which now are considered to entail valuable cultural heritage. Current dynamics in land management have put cultural landscapes under a huge pressure of agricultural intensification and land abandonment. To prevent the loss of cultural landscapes, knowledge on the location of different types of cultural landscapes is needed. In this paper, we present a characterization of European cultural landscapes based on the prevalence of three key dimensions of cultural landscapes: landscape structure, management intensity, and value and meaning. We mapped these dimensions across Europe at a 1-km resolution by combining proxies on management intensity and landscape structure with new indicators such as social media usage and registered traditional food products. We integrated the three dimensions into a continuous “cultural landscape index” that allows for a characterization of Europe’s rural landscapes. The characterization identifies hotspots of cultural landscapes, where all three dimensions are present, such as in the Mediterranean. On the other hand, Eastern and Northern European cultural landscapes are mostly characterized by only one of the dimensions. Our paper can help to identify pressures to cultural landscapes and thus to target measures for the conservation of these landscapes, to link similar landscapes in different regions, and to inform policy design on the most important characteristics of cultural landscapes at a regional scale