2 Landscape Change in Europe
29
2.4 Drivers of Landscape Change
Plieninger et al. (2016) identified five groups of underlying drivers of landscape
change: political/institutional (e.g. agricultural and forest policy, spatial development
policy and property rights); economic (e.g. structural changes in agriculture, prices
for agricultural products, market growth and commercialisation); technological (e.g.
modernisation of society and land management, such as introduction of mineral
fertiliser and tractors; Jepsen et al. 2015); cultural (e.g. demography, attitudes and
behaviour); and natural/spatial (e.g. climate, topography and spatial configuration).
It is important to note that these different types of drivers are usually combined
(Plieninger et al. 2016). Here, we describe some of the most frequently mentioned
ones.
2.4.1 Political and Institutional Drivers
Political and institutional factors, such as policies that regulate agriculture, forestry
and spatial development, land reforms and property rights, appear as the dominant
drivers of change in various studies (e.g. Jepsen et al. 2015; Munteanu et al. 2014;
Prishchepov et al. 2012).
On a broad political and institutional scale, Jepsen et al. (2015) reviewed narratives
on the drivers of land use change to provide a broad storyline of the succession of the
main land management regimes in Europe in the last two centuries. They described
two main regimes after World War II that were to have an important impact on
land use across Europe. These two regimes help scholars understand the frequently
mentioned East–West dichotomy (Kuemmerle et al. 2016; Levers et al. 2015; van
Vliet et al. 2015): in Western Europe, the industrialisation regime; in Eastern Europe,
the establishment and subsequent collapse of the collectivisation regime (Jepsen
et al. 2015). The industrialisation regime in Western Europe was characterised by the
introduction of new technologies and the adoption of commercial farming specialised
in crop or livestock production oriented towards the global market (Jepsen et al. 2015).
In the Eastern European countries, there were two distinct phases. The first phase
was the collectivisation regime between 1945 and 1991, characterised by major land
reform and the establishment of large collective and state farms and centrally planned
intensification of agriculture (Jepsen et al. 2015). The second phase was characterised
by the collapse of these collectivisation regimes and the consequent dismantling of
the collective farm structure, as well as the state-supported, capital-intensive socialist
farming model. Here, the intensity of farming practices persisted, but according to
commercial premises. Since then, two trends have been observed in Central and
Eastern Europe: on the one hand, the acquisition of former state and collective farms
by large agro-businesses and, on the other hand, the orientation towards subsistence
farming or the abandonment of the most marginal land (Jepsen et al. 2015).
29
2.4 Drivers of Landscape Change
Plieninger et al. (2016) identified five groups of underlying drivers of landscape
change: political/institutional (e.g. agricultural and forest policy, spatial development
policy and property rights); economic (e.g. structural changes in agriculture, prices
for agricultural products, market growth and commercialisation); technological (e.g.
modernisation of society and land management, such as introduction of mineral
fertiliser and tractors; Jepsen et al. 2015); cultural (e.g. demography, attitudes and
behaviour); and natural/spatial (e.g. climate, topography and spatial configuration).
It is important to note that these different types of drivers are usually combined
(Plieninger et al. 2016). Here, we describe some of the most frequently mentioned
ones.
2.4.1 Political and Institutional Drivers
Political and institutional factors, such as policies that regulate agriculture, forestry
and spatial development, land reforms and property rights, appear as the dominant
drivers of change in various studies (e.g. Jepsen et al. 2015; Munteanu et al. 2014;
Prishchepov et al. 2012).
On a broad political and institutional scale, Jepsen et al. (2015) reviewed narratives
on the drivers of land use change to provide a broad storyline of the succession of the
main land management regimes in Europe in the last two centuries. They described
two main regimes after World War II that were to have an important impact on
land use across Europe. These two regimes help scholars understand the frequently
mentioned East–West dichotomy (Kuemmerle et al. 2016; Levers et al. 2015; van
Vliet et al. 2015): in Western Europe, the industrialisation regime; in Eastern Europe,
the establishment and subsequent collapse of the collectivisation regime (Jepsen
et al. 2015). The industrialisation regime in Western Europe was characterised by the
introduction of new technologies and the adoption of commercial farming specialised
in crop or livestock production oriented towards the global market (Jepsen et al. 2015).
In the Eastern European countries, there were two distinct phases. The first phase
was the collectivisation regime between 1945 and 1991, characterised by major land
reform and the establishment of large collective and state farms and centrally planned
intensification of agriculture (Jepsen et al. 2015). The second phase was characterised
by the collapse of these collectivisation regimes and the consequent dismantling of
the collective farm structure, as well as the state-supported, capital-intensive socialist
farming model. Here, the intensity of farming practices persisted, but according to
commercial premises. Since then, two trends have been observed in Central and
Eastern Europe: on the one hand, the acquisition of former state and collective farms
by large agro-businesses and, on the other hand, the orientation towards subsistence
farming or the abandonment of the most marginal land (Jepsen et al. 2015).