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Peatlands drained for agriculture are among the most intensive sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the land-use sector. Policy decisions on the most effective strategies to reduce GHG emissions in line with Paris Agreement goals, alongside strategies that can halt any ongoing soil and biodiversity losses, are hindered by a lack of understanding on how proposed mitigation measures are likely to be received by the farming sector. Research has identified effective GHG reduction measures, but successful on-farm adoption of these measures is contingent upon farmer perceptions of the relative practicality of implementing the measures, and the economic impact that adoption will have on the farm business. In this study, Best–Worst Scaling, a discrete choice survey method, was utilised to elicit expert (climate change, policy and biodiversity) and farmer opinion on the relative effectiveness, practicality and level of economic cost of mitigation measures that can reduce GHG emissions at the farm level. The method enabled individual mitigation measures to be ranked by effectiveness (expert opinion), practicality and economic cost (farmer opinions). There were no measures ranked as both effective and practical, or effective with low cost, but there were measures ranked by farmers as practical and low cost to implement. These included: more effective nutrient management, reduced or no tillage, the installation of buffer zones, increased fossil fuel efficiency and the optimisation of irrigation systems. The strong divergence of 'effective' measures on the one hand, and 'practical' and 'economic' measures on the other, highlights the major challenges involved in reducing high GHG emissions from agricultural organic soils. Resolving these challenges will require a combination of financial mechanisms to compensate farmers for higher costs and/or reduced yields, engagement and advice to support farmers in adopting changes in management practice, and agricultural innovation and adaptation to maintain overall food production and economic viability. If these challenges are overcome, more sustainable landscape management on agricultural lowland peat could make significant contributions to achieve national and international climate change targets. • Agricultural peatlands have high carbon emissions because of drainage practices. • Expert and farmer perceptions on emission reduction mitigation measures was captured. • Wetter farming measures were identified as essential for emission reductions. • No measures explored ranked as both effective and practical, or effective with low cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Agroforestry, relative to conventional agriculture, contributes significantly to carbon sequestration, increases a range of regulating ecosystem services, and enhances biodiversity. Using a transdisciplinary approach, we combined scientific and technical knowledge to evaluate nine environmental pressures in terms of ecosystem services in European farmland and assessed the carbon storage potential of suitable agroforestry systems, proposed by regional experts. First, regions with potential environmental pressures were identified with respect to soil health (soil erosion by water and wind, low soil organic carbon), water quality (water pollution by nitrates, salinization by irrigation), areas affected by climate change (rising temperature), and by underprovision in biodiversity (pollination and pest control pressures, loss of soil biodiversity). The maps were overlaid to identify areas where several pressures accumulate. In total, 94.4% of farmlands suffer from at least one environmental pressure, pastures being less affected than arable lands. Regional hotspots were located in north-western France, Denmark, Central Spain, north and south-western Italy, Greece, and eastern Romania. The 10% of the area with the highest number of accumulated pressures were defined as Priority Areas, where the implementation of agroforestry could be particularly effective. In a second step, European agroforestry experts were asked to propose agroforestry practices suitable for the Priority Areas they were familiar with, and identified 64 different systems covering a wide range of practices. These ranged from hedgerows on field boundaries to fast growing coppices or scattered single tree systems. Third, for each proposed system, the carbon storage potential was assessed based on data from the literature and the results were scaled-up to the Priority Areas. As expected, given the wide range of agroforestry practices identified, the carbon sequestration potentials ranged between 0.09 and 7.29 t C ha−1 a−1. Implementing agroforestry on the Priority Areas could lead to a sequestration of 2.1 to 63.9 million t C a−1 (7.78 and 234.85 million t CO 2eq a−1) depending on the type of agroforestry. This corresponds to between 1.4 and 43.4% of European agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Moreover, promoting agroforestry in the Priority Areas would contribute to mitigate the environmental pressures identified there. We conclude that the strategic and spatially targeted establishment of agroforestry systems could provide an effective means of meeting EU policy objectives on GHG emissions whilst providing a range of other important benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peri-urban ecosystems especially peri-urban agriculture play an important part in multiple dimensions of both rural and urban sustainability and resilience. Yet such ecosystems on which diverse services depend are not given the commensurate concerns like city themes, and thus the lack of understanding about the interdependence characteristic within ES variation and the driving mechanism of socio-environmental factors limits effective ecological policymaking and urban-rural planning. In this study, we provided a framework revealing the complicated relationship of ecosystem services in a peri-urban area in southern Shanghai, China which is dominated by agricultural landscapes. Our findings stem from a combination of mapping quantification, statistical approaches and GIS-based techniques. The results showed that the provisioning services show trade-offs to some extent with regulating and cultural services. Six distinct ecosystem service bundles are identified and they are shaped by numerous site-specific characteristics which foster the orientation of ecosystem service management toward multifunctionality. We concluded that the spatially explicit information with GIS-based trade-off analysis is an efficient way to uncover the complicated relationships among various ecosystem services. The optimization of land cover forms and landscape characteristics is required for the sustainable management of agricultural landscapes. Ecosystem service bundles incorporating landscape features and differentiated perceptions of local residents provide rich evidence for the formulation of sustainable cultural land management strategies. They should be regarded as an indispensable element in developing both city and rural planning and multifunctional management. [Display omitted] • The spatial distribution patterns of multiple ESs were explored in a peri-urban town in southwestern Shanghai. • Six distinct bundles highlighted different spatial co-existence of the ecosystem services. • Numerous site-specific characteristics have distinct influences on the occurrence of ES bundles. • It is crucial to consider environmental characteristics in landscape planning for cultivating multifunctionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes continues to be a key challenge in the European Union (EU). However, to date the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which is central for addressing this issue, has proven ineffective in improving biodiversity outcomes. In contrast to solutions that focus on individual policies or measures, we take a holistic approach to explore changes in the broader governance system for biodiversity conservation. For this purpose, we draw on a set of four theoretical, ideal-typical scenarios which represent alternative governance approaches and used them to stimulate discussion about the acceptability of contrasting governance approaches among a broad range of actors in three case study areas in Germany and Sweden. Our results highlight that acceptability of alternative governance approaches is shaped by a large variety of factors. Additionally, despite differences between the views and interests of different stakeholder groups, our findings show universal support for governance approaches that fundamentally differ from the status quo approaches. Thus, evaluating and addressing acceptability of alternative governance approaches needs to consider the preferences of many different stakeholders and requires a more holistic perspective. We therefore argue that designing a potentially widely acceptable alternative governance solution for biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes requires a blend of different governance approaches. We outline principles that can guide the design of such a blended governance approach and discuss key challenges arising from the suggested changes for both practitioners and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assessment of visual landscape quality remains a tantalizing goal for geographers. Methods to evaluate landscape views proliferate, with increasing use made of both quantitative and qualitative techniques. Reproducibility of these methods is often claimed by researchers but is rarely tested. Landscape quality assessment is so often tailored to a location that little thought is given to its potential portability. In response to this challenge, we have taken a visual landscape quality method previously developed for Wales, UK (Swetnam et al., 2017) and tested its transferability to quite different landscapes in Iceland. We outline the methodological considerations required, demonstrate its successful application with a report on our pilot field investigations and provide a checklist for others wishing to transfer landscape quality metrics from one place to another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural landscapes affect regional development and competitiveness in a way far beyond the production of agricultural commodities. However, comprehensive assessments of the relevant cause-effects between agricultural landscape and regional competitiveness are complex and they require a range of ecological, economic and social aspects to be considered. This study proposes an stakeholder-based ‘Analytic Network Process’ applied in nine European case-study areas in order to assess the role of economic actors, ecosystem services, socio-economic benefits and regional competitiveness in the agricultural landscape system. The results reveal that agricultural food production is still perceived as a major element for creating value from landscapes. However in some case studies, the importance of non-marketable, socio-cultural and environmental public good-type ecosystem services outweighs the importance of agricultural production. Region-specific variations of cause-effect relationships are discussed and a range of drivers, related to biophysical conditions, land-use patterns, agricultural management and remoteness are identified. Our study reveals the perception of non-monetary services and their impact on regional competitiveness and provides considerations on entry points for rural policies promoting landscape valorisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considerable increases of farmland prices have led to discussions as to whether stronger interventions in farmland markets are necessary or not. However, altered or new interventions in farmland markets should be based on previous analyses of factors causing price differences. To give more insight in the German farmland market, a general spatial model of standard farmland values for arable land in the federal state North Rhine-Westphalia is estimated using municipal level cross-section data. Results indicate high competition for arable land. Urban sprawl and livestock production are the main price drivers. In Germany, a set of legal regulations exists that reinforce these price-increasing impacts and, hence, have counterproductive effects on interventions aiming to reduce price increases. Therefore, it should be more effective and efficient to alter existing regulations that reinforce the price-increasing impacts instead of creating new regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voluntary incentive programs are widely used to generate conservation actions on private land. Although there is a growing body of research about factors that influence landholder participation in incentive programs, studies generally conceptualise landholders in agricultural landscapes as owner-occupier, farming individuals or families. Few studies have considered participation by absentee landholders and fewer still have recognised group landholders (e.g. non-government organisations or community groups) as potential incentive program participants. We examined participation in a conservation stewardship tender (reverse auction) in South Australia to identify the diversity within participants, and particularly to evaluate the extent of participation by absentee landholders and groups. A diverse set of landholders participated, where nearly a quarter of participants were absentee landholders, and a small component were groups. Although small in number, groups were shown to be important because they were likely to offer larger land areas in the stewardship tender. With very little known about how absentee and group landholders may differ from their counterparts, further research is recommended to inform incentive program design. We recommend that incentive programs consider landholder diversity in order to achieve effective conservation in agricultural landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cropland diversity was the focus of this work to support regional policy in a land planning perspective for the development of both the agriculture and renewable energy sectors. Considering the Capitanata region (South of Italy) as a case study, the land share-out in agricultural crops have been assessed by using two different approaches: a) multi-year census data and b) land use/land cover digital maps through GIS assisted techniques. In the first case, the smallest land unit was the administrative municipality while in the second, it was the cell of a grid having a regular sized mesh (3 km) superimposed to the digital map. The share of the cultivated surfaces among the main crop categories was computed with reference to the region as a whole and its geographical sub-regions, the latter statistically determined according to the main characters in their crop composition. Thereafter, the Shannon’s Diversity Index was applied to the crop share of cultivated areas. Finally, a potential scenario of possible land use changes due to the introduction of energy crops was presented, according to defined land conversion criteria, in order to improve the crop spatial diversity, particularly in those sub-regions where lower diversity levels were previously detected. An attempt in describing and explaining the dynamic traits of cropland diversity was performed. The essential elements resulting from the analysis were: 1) The stronger the environmental constraints, the narrower is the crop choice and the consequent crop diversity. 2) By eliminating the link between support payments and production, the EU-CAP “decoupling” scheme had positive effects in terms of cropland diversity. Further reinforcing effects are probably expected by strengthening the CAP rural development and the agro-environmental measures. The “greening” scheme applied in the last CAP programming period (2014–2020) is probably acting in the same direction. 3) Through a simulated new planning scenario, a limited but well-targeted agroenergy land conversion may produce a significant improvement in cropland diversity even though not necessarily translated in a lower environmental burden due to agriculture, at least immediately. Diversification is the sign of a progressive reorientation of agriculture towards a multifunctional activity that combines producing quality food, maintaining rural livelihoods and landscapes, promoting environmental stewardship, preserving biodiversity, establishing a better agro-ecosystem functioning. In this respect, the scope of the work was to provide a planning case study at regional scale in order to promote a reconciling approach between productive and ecological services of agriculture, coming from a diversified and multifunctional agricultural system made of both food- and energy-crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many countries have implemented laws and planning instruments to preserve farmland on the urban fringe. This paper aims at a better understanding of the governance changes in peri-urban farmland protection following decentralisation processes in France and Italy. We compare the implementation of farmland protection instruments in the two city regions of Montpellier and Rome. From a governance perspective, we highlight the practical issues of effectiveness and social acceptability arising from power devolution, different forms of governance, and the potential conflicts when planning control shifts to lower-than-regional bodies. Our analysis is based on qualitative methods. Primary data were collected through document analysis, participant observation and in-depth interviews aimed at understanding local stakeholders’ practices and points of view on access to farmland, housing and building rights. We find that around Rome and Montpellier, decentralisation has produced multiple decision-making authorities and increased the complexity of procedures. Despite more regulatory constraints in agricultural areas, farmland conversion has persisted. However, decentralisation processes have also changed ways of governing and favoured local alternative initiatives for farmland protection and farming development on the urban fringe. New modes of governance involve public local authorities, farmers’ representative bodies (Montpellier) and civil society organisations (Rome). In both cities, they have a positive but limited impact on the effectiveness of farmland protection instruments. Their social acceptability varies, depending on who is really included in the participation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional vineyards in Spain are being upgraded to trellis vineyards. A key question is to what extent the transition to trellis vineyards is compatible with the environmental preservation goals in Special Protection Areas. This paper presents a GIS-based model to assess the suitability of Special Protection Areas for the development of trellis systems. The model was applied in a Special Protection Area for steppe birds in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain, a region with the largest concentration of vineyards in the world. The model includes three components: (1) a vineyard structure analysis, (2) an analysis of habitat fragmentation, and (3) a suitability analysis. The results showed that 50.9% of the study area, including 82.1% of the existing vineyards, was classified as suitable for transition to trellis systems. In the remaining unsuitable areas an increase in trellis systems should be avoided. The model is a stepping stone for improving the sustainable land use development of Mediterranean agricultural landscapes. Further research is needed to include wider socio-economic and environmental consequences of modernizing viticulture practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of socio-economic changes on land use on the period 1846–2009 are studied in village of Ochotnica (105 km 2 ) and the Jaszcze and Jamne catchments in the Polish Carpathians. The analysis of maps, aerial photos, historical and census reports indicates that during the investigated period the forest area in Ochotnica increased by 77% and in the Jaszcze and Jamne catchments by 29% and 43%, respectively and cultivated land decreased by 94% in both catchments. The population density increased from 33 to more than 50 people/km 2 , while employment in agriculture decreased from 98% to below 30%. The analysed period shows diverging trends of land use, referring to the three stages of socio-economic development in the Polish Carpathians. Until World War II, agricultural land contribution was the highest throughout the history of human activity. After World War II, a communist maintenance system of the land use structure was inherited from the past. A free market economy, introduced after 1989, forced the largest increase in forest area since the first colonisation of the Gorce Mountains. In contrast to the mid-mountains of Western Europe, a decrease in population density did not accompany forest expansion, nor did a dominance of small farms in the ownership system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has shown that the reform of the CAP which broke the link between subsidies and production (the decoupling reform) has had little effect on farmers’ demand for land under the SPS (Single Payment Scheme) system. For this reason, in the conditions of the SPS, there is petrifaction of the structure of agricultural land, and an upward trend in prices on the market for agricultural land should not be expected to continue in the long term. Under the conditions of the SAPS (Single Area Payment Scheme), which applies in the EU-12 new Member States, the position in the market for agricultural land is different. However, most research carried out in Europe relates to the SPS system, where marginal changes in the value of land are identified as a result of the incidence of agricultural policy, as well as quantitative and qualitative attributes of particular properties. Under SAPS, these issues have not been sufficiently investigated. The authors have attempted to fill that gap, constructing a two-dimensional and multilevel econometric model for land prices in a leading agricultural region of Poland based on a sample of 653 transactions in the years 2010–2013. The aim is to determine how policy, as well as various quantitative and qualitative features, including location factors, affect the prices of land under SAPS. The results indicate, among other things, the key importance of the functional type of rural areas – properties in agrotouristic areas gained 43% higher prices on average than those in agricultural areas. Another finding of interest is that LFA and agro-environmental payments decapitalise the value of land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategic and legislative documents concerning the EU’s rural development policy emphasise the link with territorial cohesion. Long-term identification of the countryside with agriculture, however, ushered in a focus on this sector in the rural development policy. This has been also further emphasised by the policy inclusion into the Common Agricultural Policy in 2007. The aim of this paper is to assess the socio-economic characteristics of the municipalities, within which subsidies of the rural development policy were localised. The analysis includes the most important tools in terms of financial allocation. These tools are divided into the agricultural and non-agricultural allocations, for the period of 2004–2013. The results of the analysis indicate close interconnections and a targeting of agricultural tools on farmland and municipalities with characteristics of the supported sector. Non-agricultural tools were marginal in financial terms and diversified with respect to their focus. The relationship of the provided subsidies with the socio-economic level of the supported municipalities was not entirely clear. The dominant part of the rural development policy was therefore not implemented in line with the objectives of the socio-economic dimension of territorial cohesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural land abandonment is a policy challenge, especially for areas with unfavorable conditions for agriculture and remote and mountainous areas. Agricultural abandonment is an important land use process in many world regions and one of the dominant land use change processes in Europe. Previous studies have shown that abandonment can have both positive and negative effects on several environmental processes, influenced by location and scale. Preferred policies and management of these areas are debated given concerns for the loss of (traditional) agricultural landscapes and potential impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. We present a European-scale impact assessment of the possible effects of agricultural abandonment, based on eight indicators that are on the forefront of the agricultural abandonment debate. Using a multi-scale modelling approach, we expect between 71.277 and 211.814 km 2 of agricultural abandonment in 2040. Impacts on the indicators and trade-offs between the impacts are spatially variable. A typology of typical trade-off bundles at a 1 km 2 resolution resulted in four typical trade-off clusters. All clusters identified are characterized by a loss of agriculture-related values, such as agro-biodiversity and cultural heritage. For two clusters, this was accompanied by positive effects on indicators such as carbon sequestration, nature recreation and mammal habitat suitability. Overall, our results indicate that location and scale are key to assess the trade-offs originating from agricultural abandonment in Europe. Identification of typical trade-offs bundles can help to distinguish potential desirable outcomes of agricultural abandonment and assist in targeting measures to areas that face similar management challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assessment of agriculture at a regional scale is necessary to better guide regional agricultural planning. To improve the contribution of agriculture to sustainable regional development, assessments must take account of the locations and diversity of cropping systems. We have therefore developed a method based on a set of multi-scale indicators to assess the contribution of agriculture to the sustainable development of regions, and its evolution over time. This method can identify: i) sustainability issues, ii) relevant indicators that will provide information on impacts at the field scale, iii) a method to aggregate indicators, iv) data on cropping systems, and v) a database containing spatial units to analyse the whole region. Application of this method to Guadeloupe (2004–2010) enabled the definition of ten issues and 16 indicators, with three procedures to aggregate information from 36 cropping systems allocated to 11,908 fields between 2004 and 2010. Economic, social and environmental sustainability was poor in 2004, with high dependency on subsidies (47.3 M€ yr −1 ), low agricultural added value (48.5 M€ yr −1 ), low employment (only 1799 workers), significant risks of crop contamination and pressure on water quality. The total value of subsidies and the risks of river pollution tended to decrease between 2004 and 2010 because of a reduction in intensive banana cropping systems. In parallel, we were able to see that sugar cane, the most widespread crop in Guadeloupe, made only a small contribution to employment and food self-sufficiency during the studied period. The spatial representation revealed that improvements have been seen in southern Guadeloupe due to reductions in banana cultivation. This method was therefore helpful in identifying the most critical agricultural development issues and helping to highlight areas where relevant agricultural land use policies could be formulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Genil River Basin (southern Spain), agriculture is the greatest pressure on freshwater demand. Furthermore, water degradation caused by soil erosion is becoming a key environmental concern. This study aims to assess the water-related impacts of agriculture combining the use of an ecohydrological model (SWAT) with a spatiotemporal water footprint assessment to evaluate the current status of streamflow (blue water), soil water (green water) and the assimilability of sediments by streamflow (grey water footprint). The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) requires farmers to adopt certain agricultural practices that are beneficial for the environment. Such practices could affect the conditions of available land and water resources. Because of the importance of applying the best land management practices for the maintenance of sustainable water resources, the study also infers probable water availability and water pollution level changes under different post-2013 CAP scenarios. The Genil streamflow is highly regulated, and, as a result, it is hard to discern significant changes (p < 0.05) under the proposed scenarios. However, there is a shift with afforestation measures from unproductive (i.e., direct soil evaporation) to productive water (i.e., evapotranspired water from agricultural and natural areas, excluding non-growing periods) consumption. The probability of annual evapotranspiration from natural areas being greater in afforestation scenarios than in the baseline scenario is 0.70 to 0.88, whereas the likelihood of soil water evaporation being lower is 0.60. Evapotranspiration in natural areas increases by about 521% from September to May under afforestation measures compared with the baseline scenario, whereas soil water evaporation decreases by 30% in winter. The grey water footprint and water pollution level decrease by 19% and 9%, respectively, with the highest streamflow conditions under afforestation as opposed to current conditions. However, water pollution levels of suspended solids greater than 1 indicate that the river flow is not capable of assimilating the existing sediment loads. Since land use changes and agricultural practices have a major impact on water resources, the post-2013 CAP reform can provide environmental benefits for water allocation and mitigation of water pollution. However, further efforts are required to better align the policy goals of the CAP and the Water Framework Directive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many major agricultural regions worldwide are experiencing drastic landscape transformations. Examining the complex links among agricultural landscape dynamics (ALD), land use and land cover (LULC) change, socioeconomic development and government planning is pivotal to enhance the efficiency of agricultural landscape management. With a case of the Ningbo region (China), this paper employs the structural equation modeling (SEM) to quantify and compare the relationships between ALD and economic transition as well as the mediating LULC factors in different spatial planning zones. ALD are quantified by time series remotely sensed imageries and a set of landscape metrics; and economic transition is described by a set of indicators from three aspects (globalization, decentralization and marketization). Results show that ALD present similar trend in the two spatial planning zones between 1979 and 2013. However, the magnitude of ALD is larger in the non-urban planning zone. In particular, agricultural landscapes change into the fragmented, irregular, decreased, and isolated patterns at a more rapid pace. Economic transition drivers and LULC mediators differ remarkably between the two spatial planning zones. For the urban planning zone, economic transition influences ALD through construction land morphological changes and water body spatial density increases. For the non-urban planning zone, economic transition influences ALD through forest morphological changes and construction land spatial density increases. In addition, the relative importance of ALD determinants differs between the two spatial planning zones. Marketization plays a more critical role in driving ALD in the urban planning zone, while decentralization has a stronger impact on ALD in the non-urban planning zone. It is argued that land use master plan for agricultural landscape protection should be implemented in the non-urban planning zones and land use plan in the two spatial planning zones should be integrated. This study contributes to the understanding of the complex mechanism of ALD in response to economic transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abandonment and conversion of cultural agrarian landscapes are major drivers behind the loss of ecosystem services in Europe. One incentive for land-use conversion is the higher (private) economic return from industrial mono-functional crops relative to traditional multi-functional ones. However, conversion of cultural agrarian landscapes can involve high direct and indirect costs to society through the loss of ecosystem services. Using as a case study the traditional vineyards surrounding the Doñana National Park, South-West Spain, this research has three objectives: i) to measure soil erosion impacts from the conversion of traditional vineyards in biophysical and economic terms, (ii) to identify drivers of change behind the loss of traditional vineyards, and iii) to assess the applicability of economic instruments to protect traditional vineyards. Our results suggest that uprooting of traditional vineyards is an important driver behind the siltation of the marsh in the Doñana National Park, which in turns involve socio-environmental costs in terms of loss of ecosystem services and cultural values. Subsidy reform to reward management practices that sustain ecosystem services and eco-labelling of vine-derived products are pointed at as promising economic instruments to slow down or reverse abandonment or conversion of traditional vineyards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recreational hunting may be important to the shaping of the agricultural landscape. Land owners who hunt or lease out hunting rights have an incentive to promote landscapes that contain wildlife biotopes, which may serve wider societal values, such as landscape aesthetics, biodiversity, and preservation of valued and/or threatened animal and plant species. Recreational hunting may thus contribute to preserve and enhance landscape multifunctionality. Yet, little is known about the importance of hunting interests in motivating such landscape management. In this article, we seek to shed light on these issues on the basis of data from a nationally representative survey of Danish landowners. Our findings show a mixed picture of the role of recreational hunting in supporting multifunctional landscapes. We observe a broad swathe of landscape changes for multifunctionality cross properties with different forms of hunting utilization and non-hunted properties. The likelihood of such landscape changes is higher on holdings that are hunted by the owner or where the hunting is leased out, than on properties where the owner lets family or friends hunt for free or where there is no hunting. Non-hunted holdings are smaller and have a less varied land use pattern than larger, hunted holdings. Yet, some of their production characteristics appear to favor multifunctionality and they feature a high intensity of landscape changes that favor multifunctionality. In terms of policy implications, our results indicate that support for multifunctional landscapes should emphasize a broader focus on the interests and identity of different types of landscape managers in information and advisory services and stimulate owners of smaller holdings to cooperate across holdings and see their holding in a broader landscape context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the significant amount of literature on the concept of spatial, ecological, and social embeddedness in the Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) research, this study describes the main dynamics related to the involvement of non-conventional farmers in their collective ideas and actions. With a comparison between two European regions: Sardinia and the Community of Madrid, the paper identifies different styles of behaviour among organic producers, whether or not supervised by a control body, and highlights the differences and similarities regarding their ideas about how alternative agriculture has an impact on the environment as well as society. Eco-economies and ecopreneurship are also considered. The aim is to see if, and to what extent, these ideas have a collective character, going beyond the limits of the single farm to reach a regional scale and, thus, if there is a basis for the development of future food-related planning policies. Through the information provided by semi-structured interviews, farmers have been divided into categories according to their degree of embeddedness, described through the main themes that emerged during the interviews. Every farmer has been included in only one category according to his or her main preference, which does not imply the ab-sence of a positive attitude towards other categories. The study aims to contribute to the understanding of how AFN values and methods can boost the improvement of biodiversity and landscape conservation through collective actions which have the power to boost and develop rural initiative at a regional scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigated youth access to agricultural land under customary land tenure in Ghana. Using Techiman Traditional Area as a case study, the study applied multiple sampling techniques in a multi-stage sampling process to select the study communities and respondents. A total sample of 455 youth respondents and 23 elders were covered in twenty peri-urban and rural communities. The study revealed that irrespective of whichever mode (market or non-market) the youth employed to access agricultural land, in rural or peri-urban areas, there were constraints to their land sizes. Majority of the youth, both indigenes and migrants, held small land sizes of 1–3 acres for farming purposes. The underlying causes were two-fold: demand-related such as high cost of accessing land and competition from residential developers and supply-related such as unwillingness of the elders to release land and increasing scarcity of productive family land, among others. It is thus the conclusion of the paper that more research should be conducted across the country into youth access to agricultural land under customary tenure as a means of formulating an evidence-based youth agricultural land access policy for the country. There is also the need for public education of customary authorities to sensitize them on the need for making land accessible to the youth for agricultural purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the optimal use of financial resources for agricultural land conservation in the Alberta Capital Region, Canada. All elements of the analysis are spatially explicit, including estimation of benefits and budgets from a choice experiment with Capital Region residents, assessed farmland value and list price data on conservation costs, and priority targets for conservation. The performance and efficiency of four targeting criteria are evaluated and compared for alternative budgets that are derived from the benefit study, applied to two sets of data on costs. The results show considerable interest in farmland conservation in the Alberta Capital Region: we estimate that a one-time increase in property taxes or rent that would generate $CAD 17.6 million would be acceptable to 75% of the population. Willingness to pay for conservation was highest for land used for commercial vegetable production, located near to primary highways and outside of city limits. However, the difference in willingness to pay to conserve such land generally does not offset the higher costs of that type of land, and efficient use of limited conservation funds would result in the targeting of lower-cost grazing lands located further from the main population centres. As expected, the branch-and-bound optimization (OPT) and benefit-cost ratio targeting (BCRT) provide more efficient use of conservation funds than either benefit targeting (BT) or cost targeting (CT). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drainage and loss of wetland sites is a major problem of the agricultural landscape, as it reduces the landscape’s ability to retain water, nutrients, matter, and minimize erosion. With this in mind, the issue of the ability of wet sites to retain radionuclides and contaminated water in the case of a radiation accident was studied. In 2013, field research examined the occurrence of wetland retention sites in the emergency planning zone (EPZ) of the Temelín nuclear power plant (NPP; Czech Republic). As data sources, wetland biotopes (European network Natura 2000) were considered; in addition, retention features were field mapped, i.e. landscape elements of a wetland nature not normally considered nationally significant for conservation. Within the emergency zone, 2854.7 ha of wetland biotopes were registered and 318.9 ha retention features mapped. Density of retention sites (in ha/km 2 ) per cadastre (local administrative units) was used to represent their spatial distribution within the zone. For an assessment of possible revitalization measures, leading to an increase in the landscape’s retention ability, spatial changes in the area of retention sites between 2013 and the mid-19th century, a period before extensive drainage of landscape occurred and a simplification of its structure, were mapped. Historic land maps (The Imperial Obligatory Imprints of the Stable Cadastre) were used as a basis of information on the occurrence and area of fens and wet meadows (4771.5 ha). For spatial comparisons of drained and undrained landscape in the past and present, the density of retention sites per cadastre was calculated. In the mid-19th century, 80% of cadastres had a density of retention sites exceeded 5 ha/km 2 ; in 2013 only 40% of cadastres achieved this. In the most part, drained areas of the zone belong to the central part (around the power plant), as well as the EPZ’s eastern and south-eastern regions. From the density maps of retention sites, as well as from the stable cadastre imprints, it is possible to identify areas and retention features suitable for wetland restoration, thus leading to an increase in the retention capacity of the landscape in terms of water and radionuclide retention. Suggestions as to how to restore and turn retention features into semi-natural wetlands, as well as integrating small wetlands into an agriculture landscape are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several iconic coastal and fjord landscapes in Northern Norway have undergone natural spontaneous regrowth of abandoned agricultural areas and pastureland. At the same time, recent public discourse has assumed that such regrowth may taint tourists’ and outdoor recreationists’ perceptions of rural areas. Consequently, this in situ multilingual study in the archipelago of Vesterålen investigated this assumption. The results revealed that tourists’ and visiting recreationists’ foremost interest was in pristine rural areas that seemed devoid of human presence or activity. At the same time, roughly half of the visitors enjoyed seeing working farms. The enquiry displays preference ambivalence about the combination of “cultural” and “natural” elements of the rural landscape. The investigation also illustrates a disparity between foreign tourists’ desire for lush deciduous vegetation and Norwegian visitors’ fondness for a more open agricultural seaside with grassland and shrubland and just a few scattered trees, as the study area had appeared some decades earlier. Moreover, some implications of land use policy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural vegetation enhances the value of agricultural landscapes for people and wildlife. However, the role of anthropogenic versus topographic factors in driving the extent of natural vegetation cover within agricultural lands at large spatial scales remains unexplored. I assessed the influence of anthropogenic and topographic variables on the extent of agricultural mosaics with high natural vegetation cover in the country of Turkey where a large extent of natural and semi-natural vegetation is maintained by traditional agriculture. GIS layers depicting human land use, elevation, slope, roads and population data were obtained and summarized at two spatial scales, within provinces and for 100 km 2 grid cells covering the country’s entire agricultural land area. Average farm size was also obtained at province level. Hierarchical Partitioning was conducted to determine the independent effect of anthropogenic and topographic variables on the variation in agriculture with high natural vegetation. Slope had the largest independent effect on the variation in the proportion of agricultural mosaic with high natural vegetation cover. The extent of agricultural and settlement area also explained much of the variation in natural vegetation across both grid cells and provinces. The proportion of natural vegetation increased as human population and road density decreased across grid cells and as average farm size decreased across provinces. These results suggest that while topography is the primary driver of natural vegetation cover within agricultural mosaics in Turkey, the pressures associated with urban development and agricultural industrialization may also influence the cultural and wildlife value of agricultural landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For quantitative water management, fine analysis of spatial and temporal interactions between cropping systems and water resources helps identify time and site-specific withdrawal situations. However, it is a methodological challenge to provide fine-resolution analyses at the scale of large watersheds used for crises management. In this study, we present a methodology based on multiple methods and mixed sources of information to finely model an agricultural landscape (AL) that represents the spatial distribution of cropping systems. Our approach is based on progressively hybridizing databases and local actors' and experts' knowledge to produce a spatially explicit and dynamic model. The Land Parcel Identification System database, which resulted from the European Common Agricultural Policy, is crucial for our method since it provides the spatial and temporal basis of our model (i.e., geographic delineation of islets and information about crop sequences). Local knowledge is used to identify factors determining spatial distribution of cropping systems and to build a generic model that simulates farmers' crop-management strategies. The model was qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated using a multi-agent simulation platform (MAELIA). We asked local experts on quantitative water management to evaluate the ability of the platform to reproduce intra- and inter-annual dynamics at different levels when using our model of the AL as input. The experts were satisfied with the results; they validated the predicted dynamics of the variables, and some discussed the objectivity of the values. We discuss the method’s contribution to current challenges in modeling large agricultural areas and the associated tradeoffs. The approach is promising for policy makers who wish to develop integrated, locally adapted land-management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address multifunctional land-use management, and as a response to societal expectations with regard to agriculture and well-being in rural spaces, one of the aspects in need of particular attention in the current research is the spatial expression of the landscape attractiveness. Current knowledge about the attributes of landscape that are most highly appreciated, and the ways that individual differences may influence landscape preferences, is still incomplete, particularly for complex agricultural landscapes in the Mediterranean. The aim of this paper is to provide an assessment, including quantitative and qualitative approaches, of user-based landscape preferences in the Mediterranean region of Alentejo, Southern Portugal. To allow for the spatial expression of these preferences and the evaluation of the impact of changes to land-use, specific land cover classes have been used as the basis for our survey. The results are aimed at adding to the body of research literature on the diversity of the landscape attributes that are valued by different user groups and at contributing to informed decision-making processes when resolving land-use issues in the region being studied. To attain this objective, a photo-questionnaire was conducted to identify preferred land cover classes and the land cover qualities that landscape users appreciate most. The study shows that the way that landscape is used is a significant factor influencing the preferences, following a clear functional demand pattern. Not only are there differences between land managers as producers and others as consumers, but the appreciated land cover qualities and land cover preferences also differ from one consumer group to another. Knowledge regarding the preferences of specific groups can inform landscape management at different levels of governance in such a way that multi-functionality may be more successfully attained. Moreover, certain particularities with regard to the preferred landscapes in the region being studied are discussed in comparison with the results of earlier studies from other regions. In this regard, this paper puts great weight on the importance of territorial contextualization in regard to making general assessments concerning landscape preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perceived stewardship is an important factor driving people’s landscape preferences, and there is a need for landscape planning and monitoring tools to address this characteristic in landscape management. The European Landscape Convention emphasizes landscapes as perceived by people, so the political pressure to develop indicators suitable for monitoring landscape qualities related to perception has increased. This paper presents the results from a study that uses eye-tracking to explore what it is in the agricultural landscape that people look at when asked to evaluate stewardship. In the study, photographs of Swedish agricultural landscapes were shown to 19 respondents while their eye movements were recorded, and after each picture they were asked to evaluate the landscape in terms of stewardship using a 7-point Likert scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landscape is defined by the European Landscape Convention as “ an area perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors ”. Many efforts have been devoted in addressing the core concepts on which this definition roots: perception and interaction of men and nature, but when coming to large (continental) scale assessments, the latter prevail on the former. This paper aims at presenting a framework for a measurable landscape awareness indicator as a key link to the public demand for a specific type of landscape: the agricultural landscape. This is a necessary effort to complement more physically based assessments, which include as well the impact of human activities on landscapes. The analysis is carried out at different levels of governance: EU and regional, using an example from the Alentejo region in Portugal and EU wide databases, and addresses conceptual and practical questions: what type of societal landscape awareness can be monitored and by whom (e.g., individuals, specific social groups, society as a whole); what are the landscape dimensions that should be assessed; what are the limitations imposed by data-related constraints. By applying the methodology to build composite indicators to map landscape societal awareness, the paper shows the regional and local meaning of indicator approaches developed at European level, presents developments for downscaling to regional level, while introducing the social component to support sound policy development for European rural landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural landscapes deliver multiple, highly valued goods such as cultural amenities, biodiversity conservation and climate stability. These goods are often delivered as side-effects of farmers' production decisions driven by broad-scale, supranational changes in agricultural, trade or other policies. Human well-being is thus affected in ways not taken into account in these macro-policy decisions. To avoid this policy failure, there is a growing demand for the valuation of broad-scale changes in public goods by the general public. For this purpose, context-rich valuation scenarios at this broad scale need to be developed which are empirically-based, policy-relevant and understandable by the general public. In this way, respondents are focused on actual trade-offs rather than invited to give symbolic reactions. This paper presents and discusses a valuation framework developed to fulfil these criteria. The approach is based on a typology of Macro-Regional Agri-Environmental Problems (MRAEP). Each MRAEP is defined by: (1) prevailing farming systems and agricultural landscapes; (2) current levels of public-good delivery; (3) expected direction of land-use change; and (4) expected effects of such change on public-good provision in each macro-region. Multivariate analysis of EU-wide data on agricultural landscapes and farming-systems led to identify thirteen macro-regions in the EU. Current public-good provision was described using public-good indicators. Only those public goods that are expected to change or could be improved by available policy options (core public goods) were used to generate choice alternatives for survey respondents. The paper ends by discussing innovative elements in the proposed approach, achievements, shortcomings and possible policy uses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landscape assessment methods have traditionally valued the landscape through a panel of experts with little or no participation of the population. However, after the adoption of the European Landscape Convention (ELC), the perception and the participation of the population has played an increasingly important role in landscape evaluation and planning. In this regard, the goal of this paper is to develop a model able to evaluate and integrate both the objective and subjective landscape factors into a new concept: the Preservability. This model, as well as selecting and classifying the landscape attributes according to the bio-geographic features of the study area i.e., Ricote Valley (Region of Murcia, Spain), includes two online surveys: one to assess the populatiońs landscape preferences and the other to obtain the specific weight of each objective and subjective landscape factor from a panel of experts. These landscape factors were incorporated into a GIS. To obtain the best model, the Preservability was assessed from three different approaches: objective, objective-weighted and weighted. The final results demonstrate how the Preservability weighted method returns different thresholds appropriate to the landscape attributes, the population’s perceptual preference and the protected areas. The different thresholds allows for priority areas to be identified for protection, as well as the adoption of appropriate management and planning strategies according to the landscapes characteristics, current state and uniqueness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban sprawl is a major challenge on the way to sustainable land use as highlighted by the International Year of Soils 2015. Because of increasing awareness of this threat in Europe, there is an urgent need to monitor urban sprawl and to guide European policy development. We found considerable sprawl in Europe at three scales with highly affected regions in the centre and along the Mediterranean coast using recently available consistent data across Europe from the European Copernicus programme. Based on our results, we propose a European de-sprawling strategy, including the implementation of targets and limits, and a set of concrete measures to control urban sprawl and to use land in a more resource-efficient way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 1940 and 2000, nearly 10 million housing units were constructed throughout California. This increased interaction between human and natural communities creates a number of significant socio-ecological challenges. Here we present a novel spatially explicit model that allows better characterization of the extent and intensity of future housing settlements using three development scenarios between 2000 and 2050. We estimate that California's exurban land classes will replace nearly 12 million acres of wild and agricultural lands. This will increase threats to ecosystems and those presented by wildfire, as the number of houses in 'very high' wildfire severity zones increases by nearly 1 million. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary cities are threatened by urban development decreasing the overall environmental quality and fragmenting natural and agricultural landscapes. As a result of this fragmentation the number of Non Urbanized Areas (NUAs) present in urban contexts is dramatically decreasing. These areas include cultivated land, Abandoned Farmlands, Grassland, Woods and Shrubs that are often located at the peri-urban cities' fringes. Among NUAs, farmlands and other forms of urban and peri-urban agriculture provide all three major categories of ecosystem services, provisioning, regulating and cultural services. Recently, New Forms of Urban Agriculture (NFUA) have gained increasing attention from researchers for their promising multifunctionality. Incorporating NFUA into the urban environment will thus improve the sustainability of cities, taking advantage of the multiple benefits and services they can provide. This paper presents a method for the characterisation of NUAs in terms of their physical, ecological and social features. These areas are analysed with different criteria and related indicators structured according to a GIS-based Multi Criteria Suitability Model. The proposed model checks the suitability of transformation of the NUAs toward NFUA, thereby enhancing their ecological and social function as well as accessibility and overall connectivity. Different scenarios of spatial configurations for NFUA have been explored with a sensitivity analysis on the values of used indicators. The method was tested for the municipality of Catania, south Italy, an urban context characterised by a relevant shortage of public green spaces and services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We examined the preferences for transformations of a mountain landscape. [•] We valued externalities associated with ski and health spa resorts. [•] Past choices of living conditions and actual choices are related. [•] We found similarities between mountain and urban inhabitants attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We assess the effects of climate change on landscapes on the local level using GIS. [•] The two case studies belong to the most valuable heritage landscapes of Belgium. [•] Vulnerability maps indicate that the heritage landscapes are threatened. [•] Adaptation maps show where possible adaptation measures can be applied in the field. [•] To be effective, adaptation maps should be added to the landscape management plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The abandonment of farmland has become a widespread phenomenon in post-socialist countries that have seen revolutionary changes in their economic systems. The phenomenon is notable in vineyard areas, where abandonment leads to the loss of the unique character of vineyard landscapes. This paper assesses the extent of vineyard abandonment in Slovakia and analyses the driving forces behind it. We used statistical and Corine Land Cover data to map the change in vineyard areas in Slovakia and analyse the pressure of underlying driving forces. Special attention was paid to small-scale, traditionally managed vineyards that were not changed by agricultural collectivisation and are now considered to be traditional agricultural landscape structures. These areas were mapped using Google Earth aerial photography combined with field research. A case study of the Svätý Jur area provided a detailed analysis of the changes, driving forces and perceptions of local residents. This area is representative of a historical vineyard area that has been deeply affected by the country''s political and economic transformations. We found that over the past 20 years almost half the vineyard area in Slovakia has been abandoned or converted to arable land. The import of cheap grape must and wines, increased production costs and insufficient agricultural subsidies have made viticulture unprofitable. Local farmers perceive financial instruments and an inadequate market as limiting factors for farming, together with weak support from local government and the expansion of unsuitable housing. While 65% of local people said they would engage in viticulture if it was more profitable, 31% showed no interest in farming at all. Abandonment of the vineyards is continuous process resulted from the economical and cultural changes after the transition to market-oriented economy. Government support should be directly aimed to protection and management of traditional small scale vineyards and their historical, cultural, biodiversity, and aesthetical values. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Traditional nationwide agri-environmental policy measures are not always efficient to ensure the provision of environmental services that would match peoples’ preferences. This study suggests a landscape value trade (LVT) scheme to be locally implemented so as to ensure the supply of agricultural landscape attributes demanded by local citizens. The feasibility of LVT, a ‘user-financed’ payment for environmental services (PES) scheme, is analysed in a local case from the southern part of Finland. We examine the disposition of both landowners (sellers) as well as residents (buyers). Of the landowners 43% were hesitant towards LVT, and for improvement of most of the attributes they demanded compensation exceeding their expenses. To examine the preferences of buyers for certain landscape attributes and also the existence of heterogeneity, we employed a random parameters logit (RPL) model with interactions. Buyers’ preferences were found to be spatially heterogeneous, and transaction costs are therefore expected to significantly determine the performance of LVT. However, a LVT plan that would incorporate the most significant landscape attributes, i.e. the presence of grazing animals, water buffer zone management in a natural state and the renovation of production buildings, was evaluated to be feasible to put into practice, while the aggregate benefits were almost twice as high as the anticipated costs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in Europe suggests support for a “greening” of production related payments, however, the loss of set-aside and the increasing freedom to respond to market prices raises doubts on the actual consequences for farm-related ecology. Voluntary Agri-Environmental Schemes (AES) are believed to play a key role in the conservation of ecological attributes of farming landscapes. Nevertheless, the options proposed within these schemes are directed beyond a single objective and the level of participation remains low. This paper presents a fine-grained approach for examining the behavioural intentions of farmers within a catchment with regards to the moral consideration of specific ecological aspects of farming, such as the preservation of birdlife. The findings indicate that most farmers hold strong values towards birds living on their land and have incorporated this within their decision-making. Nevertheless, very few respondents intend to participate in these schemes in the future and this is due to some misinterpretations of the underlying ecological requirements for providing suitable habitats and bird population trends. In addition, the stated need by farmers for more measures focused on bird conservation implies a requirement for increasingly directed financial rewards and for proposing guidance that fits within current farm management. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The importance of the landscape as a tourism asset is well known, and the significance of perceptions of landscape is increasingly being recognized in policy and planning, in Europe thanks largely to the implementation of the European Landscape Convention. The abandonment of agricultural land is one of the ongoing processes of landscape change that are having a profound impact not only in Norway – the subject of this article – but across Europe. The article presents the findings from a study of perceptions of stewardship in Norwegian agricultural landscapes and the ways in which perceived stewardship is linked to landscape preference. The results of the study show that there are differences between landscape professionals and the general public with regards to the perception of stewardship and cues used for assessing stewardship, and suggests that stewardship is a stronger factor in shaping the general public''s preferences. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to the European Landscape Convention and need for methods to assess and monitor landscape change processes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Land use practices directly influence the provision of ecosystem services from agrarian landscapes, and are thus key factors for the development of environmental policy programs. This study analyzes farmers’ decision-making processes with respect to land use in a South Korean watershed, based on the theory of planned behavior. Decisions between cultivation of rice, annual or perennial crops, and between organic and conventional farming were compared among farmers as a function of their attitudes toward the following ecosystem services: biomass production, prevention of soil erosion, improvement of water quality, and conservation of plants and animals. Results show that decisions to plant perennial crops are most often accompanied by positive attitudes toward ecosystem services, whereas no differences were found between organic and conventional farming. In addition, latent class analysis reveals that positive attitudes toward ecosystem services are most likely held by farmers with high income, showing that financial means are key determinants of farmers’ environmental attitudes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Diversification of the farm income base represents a cornerstone of the European model of multifunctional agriculture (MFA) and rural development (RD) alongside the objectives of enhancing competitiveness and the sustainability of agriculture. A knowledge gap exists as to how farmers’ decisions to engage in non-agricultural activities, or to continue farming at all, is affected by landscape characteristics and the farm''s location in the urban–rural system. This paper presents the results of research concerning the impact of spatial factors on diversification activities and farm abandonment. Based on a survey conducted among 147 farms in a case study area in Eastern Germany, spatially explicit data on farmers’ diversification activities and exit strategies were analysed using two spatial typologies that classify rural attractiveness and farm location on an urban–rural gradient. Results show that while rural attractiveness positively affects the farmers’ decision-making to diversify activities, the degree of urbanisation encourages farm holders to continue farming activity, i.e., the proximity and accessibility to urban consumer markets. Diversification rather seems to be associated with rurality and touristic development and not so much with the proximity to urban consumer markets. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The direct benefits of Environmental Stewardship (ES) schemes are well documented in the academic policy literature and include an increase in the stock and quality of field boundaries and associated wildlife; adaptation to climate change; landscape enhancement; improvements in farm soil and water quality and protection of the historic and natural environment. It is argued that the incidental benefits of ES schemes, which capture those benefits to the wider economy and society beyond the scheme''s original remit, are as yet poorly understood and insufficiently recognised in current policy evaluation criteria. This paper describes research which has systematically addressed this evidence gap through the application of sub-regional economic models to capture the direct, indirect and induced effects of a variety of ES schemes beyond the farm gate. Findings reveal the sub-regional income and employment effects of such schemes to be significant, in particular for those schemes rewarding higher standards of environmental management. The implications of the findings for ES policy, its evaluation and rural development are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Prioritizing land units for environmental management and planning is central in any process aiming at the improvement of urban and environmental conditions. In this study, an algebraic method (lattice theory) was applied to data describing the characteristics of ten land units of a landscape of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Consequently, landscape complexity was modeled and land units were prioritized for land management. While most usual mathematical methods for evaluation involve statistical approaches, the lattice-theoretical approach is a completely different, non-numerical algebraic and qualitative method, offering the advantages of: (a) providing three-dimensional representations of a landscape''s complexity; (b) discovering essential structures of data (termed “concepts”) from within landscape data, (c) determining the relative significance (or value) of each criterion and of each land unit for the overall landscape complexity, (d) identifying the land units which are ecologically and geomorphologically more significant for a landscape, (e) mapping landscape complexity and, indeed, mapping total landscape complexity (structural, functional and qualitative) at the land unit level and (f) prioritizing land units in a tropical landscape for strict land management and/or conservation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The promotion of cost–benefit analysis for social and environmental policy choices is much debated. Then, the conception of a valuation method for the non-market benefit of these policies is still of a main research interest. Among direct valuation methods, the choice experiment method (CEM) becomes a highly attractive valuation procedure, in giving at the same time the economic value of the impacts of the different components of the policy as well as the global impact of a policy package. However, the main-effect designed protocol aiming to limit the cognitive burden of scenarios’ evaluation disregards the important question of the existence of substitution or complementary relation between these programmes for their main beneficiaries. Furthermore, the independent valuation and summation strategy developed in CEM opens to overvaluation or under valuation of the willingness to pay values. The aim of this article is to conduct testing of the additivity bias with CEM results. The distribution of the willingness to pay values for possible combinations of landscape programmes aiming to maintain two agricultural landscape attributes as well as one moorland attribute inferred from the earlier CEM survey is compared to results obtained with the sequential contingent valuation procedure for multidimensional policy suggested by . Our empirical results suggest that the additivity bias is not statistically significant in our case, even if specific relation between landscape attributes due to what we call the composition effect is of concern for the population we interviewed. Furthermore, landscape preferences derived from our empirical investigation support the need for more integration of agricultural issues with the local land-use issues. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper extends the debate on corridor effectiveness at regional planning scale, by exploring the contribution to landscape connectivity of a proposed ecological network and the remaining non-urbanized matrix in the Barcelona Metropolitan Region (BMR). Using the Ecological Connectivity Index, we evaluated the expected connectivity loss after the development of the approved urban plans in the region. Thus, we compared the baseline (present-day) and the projected (after planned urban development) connectivity scenarios for total, forest and agricultural habitats. Then, we estimated the mitigation in connectivity loss when successively removing from plans those development sectors included in protected sites, first order corridors, and second-order corridors of the ecological network, and in the rest of land matrix. Estimations were done for all the BMR and for inside versus outside the set of sites currently protected. The ecological network and the rest of matrix contributed equally to mitigating the expected connectivity loss, but while the former was more effective for forest habitats, the latter was especially constructive for croplands. This was due to a heterogeneous distribution of habitats, protected reserves and urban development areas. Still, connectivity preservation within protected sites appeared to be highly dependent on what is going on outside the ecological network, as we observed in particular for agricultural habitats. This result extends at regional scale the statement that no park is an island, but is highly affected by the land use and land cover dynamics of its surroundings. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Peri-urban areas around urban agglomerations in Europe and elsewhere have been subject to agricultural and land use research for the past three decades. The manner in which farming responds to urban pressures, socio-economic changes and development opportunities has been the main focus of examination, with urban demand for rural goods and services representing a driving factor to adapt farming activities in a multifunctional way. Working within the peri-urban framework, this review pays particular attention to the relevance of multifunctional agriculture. Academic discourses and empirical insights related to farm structure and practices beyond conventional agriculture are analysed. Diversification, recreational and environmental farming, landscape management and specialisation, as well as direct marketing are all taken into consideration and discussed within the context of landscape functions. The provision of rural goods and services is contrasted with societal demands on peri-urban agriculture. This review finds that multifunctional agriculture has been commonly recognised in peri-urban areas – a phenomenon that includes a large variety of activities and diversification approaches within the context of environmental, social and economic functions of agriculture. In response to the post-productive, consumption-oriented requirements of the urban society, peri-urban farmers have intensified their uptake of multifunctional activities. Nevertheless, not all multifunctional opportunities are being fully developed when one considers the large and growing urban demand for goods and services provided by agriculture carried out near the city. This paper discusses policy and planning approaches to support multifunctional agriculture in peri-urban areas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In Belgium as in many other countries, agricultural land is under pressure for development of other land uses. This paper presents a method for setting priorities for preservation of land for agriculture. The method is based on a participatory approach through which a value tree is formulated. This results in a list of criteria to define farmland value, which is explicitly linked to the objectives for farmland preservation. The value tree allows the list of criteria to be determined in a structured and consistent way. The participatory process contributes to the development of a shared vision on farmland preservation. The approach also incorporates context specificity, as shown by its application for farmland preservation in Flanders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Planners have long been interested in understanding ways in which land use planning approaches play out on the ground and planning scholars have approached the task of evaluating such effects using a variety of methods. Oregon, in particular, has been the focus of numerous studies owing to its early-adopted and widely recognized statewide approach to farm and forest land protection and recent experiment with relaxation of that approach in 2004 with the passage of ballot Measure 37. In this paper we review research-based evidence regarding the forest and farm land conservation effects of Oregon land use planning. We document the evolution of methods used in evaluating state land use planning program performance, including trend analysis, indicator analysis, empirical models, and analysis of indirect effects on the economic viability of forestry and farming. We also draw on data documenting Measure 37 claims to consider the degree to which Measure 37 might have altered land use and development trends had its impacts not been tempered by a subsequent ballot measure – Measure 49. Finally, we provide a synthesis of the current state of knowledge and suggest opportunities for future research. Common to nearly all of the studies we reviewed was an acknowledgement of the difficulty in establishing causal relationships between land use planning and land use change given the many exogenous and endogenous factors involved. Despite these difficulties, we conclude that sufficient evidence does exist to suggest that Oregon''s land use planning program is contributing a measurable degree of protection to forest and farm land in the state. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]