Journal of Rural Studies 37 (2015) 75e84
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Rural Studies
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jrurstud
The abandonment of traditional agricultural landscape in Slovakia e
Analysis of extent and driving forces
k a, Jana Spulerov
c, Tibor Lieskovský d, Peter Koleda e,
Juraj Lieskovský a, b, *, Peter Beza
a
c, Matthias Bürgi b, Urs Gimmi b
Marta Dobrovodska
2, 949 01 Nitra, Slovakia
Institute of Landscape Ecology SAS, Akademicka
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
c
nikova 3, 814 99 Bratislava, Slovakia
Institute of Landscape Ecology SAS, Stefa
d
Department of Theoretical Geodesy, Slovak University of Technology, Radlinsk
eho 11, 813 68 Bratislava, Slovakia
e
Soil Science and Censervation Research Institute, Gagarinova 10, 827 13 Bratislava, Slovakia
a
b
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history:
Received 6 June 2014
Received in revised form
20 October 2014
Accepted 18 December 2014
Available online 30 December 2014
Traditional agricultural landscapes (TAL) in Slovakia represents a mosaic of unique small-scale arable
fields and permanent agricultural cultivations such as grasslands, vineyards and high-trunk orchards,
which did not change during the collectivization of agriculture from the 1950s to the 1980s. After the
change to a market-oriented economy in 1989, the management of these valuable structures decreased
rapidly. The aim of this study is to investigate the distribution of TAL in Slovakia and to analyse the
driving forces behind their accelerated abandonment. The study was conducted at two scales, i.e.
country-wide and in three case-studies. 3013 TAL polygons encompassing 44,464 ha were mapped from
aerial photos, recording basic characteristics such as land-cover composition or degree of management. A
detailed field study concerning the attitude of local people to the management of TAL was conducted in
three case study areas. The results from the country-wide mapping shows, that 50% of the TAL area is
regularly managed, 34% is partly abandoned, and 16% is abandoned. Abandonment occurs most intensively on steep slopes and on less fertile soils. The distance from settlements is important in the case of
TAL with dispersed settlements and TAL with arable land and grasslands. Interviews at the case study
level showed that financial profit is the main factor, which would motivate the local people to farm the
TAL. Around 30% of respondents showed no interest in management. Local farmers identified the
financial instruments in agriculture, in the form of unfavourable subsidies and the financial inaccessibility of modern tools and machinery as the main barriers in ideal management, together with an
inadequate market and the weak support of local government. In addition, there are other cultural
factors that play a role in their abandonment such as changes in the rural culture, attractivity and diversity of other ways of living, lack of successors, health and age constraints, as well as a number of
persisting problems regarding unresolved land ownership in some areas.
© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Land-use change
Post-socialist countries
CAP
Cultural landscape
1. Introduction
The disappearance of traditional agricultural landscapes is an
ongoing process, accompanying the general trend of agricultural
abandonment in Europe (Feranec et al., 2010; Gerard et al., 2010;
MacDonald et al., 2000; Rey Benayas, 2007) and especially in
post-socialist countries (Alcantara et al., 2012; Baumann et al.,
* Corresponding author. Institute of Landscape Ecology SAS, Akademick
a 2, 949
01 Nitra, Slovakia.
E-mail address: [email protected] (J. Lieskovský).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2014.12.007
0743-0167/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2011; Griffiths et al., 2013; Kuemmerle et al., 2008; Prishchepov
et al., 2013). Traditional agricultural landscapes (TAL) are defined
as those landscapes that have a distinct and recognisable structure
which reflects clear relationships between the composing elements
and which are of high significance for natural, cultural and/or
aesthetical values (Antrop, 1997), or as landscapes with preserved
traditional sustainable agricultural practises and conserved biological diversity (Harrop, 2007). In Slovakia, TAL are described as
agricultural ecosystems that consist of mosaics of small-scale
arable fields or permanent agricultural cultivations such as grasslands, vineyards and high-trunk orchards or early abandoned plots
76
J. Lieskovský et al. / Journal of Rural Studies 37 (2015) 75e84
et al., 2010). The
with a low succession degree (Dobrovodska
Slovakian TAL are characterised by the following features: (a) preserved small scale structure of plot division; (b) presence of original
forms of anthropogenic relief (balks); (c) unchanged land use
during the collectivization of agriculture (1949e1989); (d) the use
of some traditional agricultural technologies.
Traditional agricultural landscapes are valuable from an
aesthetic, natural, cultural-historical, economic and social point of
nkova
et al., 2011). The importance of the link between
view (Bara
the traditional agricultural landscapes and biodiversity is recognised at the European level, referring to the term “High Nature
Value farmland” under the current rural development regulation
(EU/1257/99). Many of the habitats that are valued for high biodiversity across Europe are the direct result of traditional agricultural
practises established during agricultural expansion (Bignal and
McCracken, 2000; MacDonald et al., 2000) (for Slovakia see
, 2006; Kanka and Stefunkov
, 2011; Kolla
r et al., 2012).
(Imrichova
a
Special types of anthropogenic relief forms created by long term
cultivation, often offer unique habitats of regionally rare vegetation
tova
, 2011; Ru
(Babicov
a and Gerha
zi
ckov
a et al., 1999; Spulerov
a
et al., 2015) or invertebrates (Dankaninov
a and Gajdos, 2012;
Kosuli
c and Hula, 2013). The positive effect on landscape diversity
mova
et al. (2013);
and on visual quality was recognized by Sla
and Dobrovodska
(2009).
Stefunkov
a
Traditional landscapes are changing with increasing speed, and
valuable cultural heritage is lost (Van Eetvelde and Antrop, 2004).
Terraced agricultural fields, as a defining feature of Mediterranean
traditional landscapes (Frederick and Krahtopoulou, 2000; French
and Whitelaw, 1999; Grove and Rackham, 2003; Price and Nixon,
2005), have played an important social and economic role for
many centuries. However, since the 1950s, these regions have been
considered of little economic interest, and this has led to the
abandonment of villages and farms. The resulting collapse of stone
walls and agricultural terraces has caused erosion (Arnaez et al.,
2011). In Greece, the abandonment of extensively cultivated land
and traditional management practises, were caused by the economic collapse of agricultural activities by the mid-20th century
and triggered a dramatic decline in numbers of farms and fields in
terraced landscapes (Petanidou et al., 2008; Tzanopoulos et al.,
2011). Continuous decline of extensively cultivated permanent
grassland has been observed in most European countries, e. g.
Switzerland (Schlup et al., 2013), Germany (Hoffmann et al., 2012),
Norway (Ode Sang and Tveit, 2013), and Sweden (Cousins and
Eriksson, 2008). In Central-Eastern Europe, the farmland environment is more extensively managed than in Western Europe and a
large proportion of people still live in rural areas and generate
different conditions for biodiversity (Cremene et al., 2005;
Tryjanowski et al., 2011). The opening of the EU market to former
socialist countries has triggered the abandonment of marginal land
(Bell et al., 2009; Kuemmerle et al., 2008; Palang et al., 2006; Palang
€li-Sepping, 2012) and has led to a decline in biodiversity,
and Soova
depending on small-scale production (Stoate et al., 2009).
The general development of the agricultural landscape in
k and
Slovakia is characterized by the following processes (Beza
nyi, 2012; Kanianska et al.,
Mitchley, 2014; Izakovi
cov
a and Oszla
2014): (1) Collectivization during the communism era: with the
establishment of cooperatives (dominant farms), the grouping of
small parcels into large intensively managed blocks, and the use of
machinery and chemicals. This process had originated in the lowlands in the 1950s and moved later to the mountainous regions. (2)
The change from a planning regime to a market economy after
1989, leading to a general decline in agriculture due to lack of
governmental support, land restitutions and the changed lifestyle
due to the introduction of democracy. (3) Entrance into the EU in
2004: the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy
(CAP) significantly contributed to a widespread restoration of
farming activities on large-scale fields. Before collectivization, the
traditionally managed agricultural landscape covered more than
half of the Slovak area. Fragments of TAL survived predominantly
on steep slopes, less fertile soils and closer to the built-up areas
(Lieskovský et al., 2013). The period of collectivization was followed
by an extensive phase of agricultural abandonment, particularly
during the transition to the market-oriented economy. Overall, the
TAL area was reduced to less than 1 percent of Slovakia (Spulerov
a
et al., 2011). Facing the disappearance of traditional agricultural
landscapes in Slovakia, we wanted to collect information about
their present state, distribution, and the driving forces behind their
accelerated abandonment after the transition to a market-oriented
economy. Our aims were to: (1) map the distribution and degree of
management of TAL in Slovakia, (2) analyse the geographical preconditions of abandonment (slope, soil fertility, accessibility,
isolation), (3) analyse the driving forces behind the TAL abandonment in three case studies areas.
2. Methods
2.1. Country-wide mapping of traditional agricultural landscape
abandonment rates
A country-wide inventory of TAL was performed for all of
Slovakia through a combination of methods using both visual in et al.,
terpretations of aerial photos and field surveys (Dobrovodska
2010). The TAL polygons were identified on aerial photos (taken in
2007) according to the following criteria: (1) land use did not
change since the time of agricultural collectivization (pre-collectivization land use was identified from historical topographic
maps), (2) polygons are not overgrown by trees, e.g. less than 50%
woody vegetation cover, (3) polygon area is larger than 5000 m2,
(4) mosaic structure consist of more than 5 fields. For each polygon,
the following characteristics were registered: intensity of management, proportion of land cover classes, percentage of non-forest
vegetation cover, shape and position of land parcels towards the
slope and the presence of visible forms of anthropogenic relief. The
intensity of management was evaluated based on the coverage of
the managed plots within the site. Polygons were categorized as
follows: (1) Regularly managed mosaic (more than 70% of managed
plots within the site), (2) Occasionally managed or partly abandoned mosaic (30e70% managed plots in the site), (3) Mostly
abandoned mosaic, overgrown by shrubs and trees (less than 30% of
managed plots in the site).
Based on the presence of characteristic land use elements, we
distinguished four classes of TAL (Spulerov
a et al., 2011): 1) TAL
with Dispersed Settlements, (2) TAL of Vineyards, (3) TAL of ArableLand, Grasslands and Orchards, (4) TAL of Arable-Land and Grasslands (Fig. 1).
2.2. Analyses of geographical factors affecting abandonment
Based on field research, the literature inventory and considering
data availability, we chose four geographical factors with potential
impact on TAL abandonment: slope steepness, soil fertility, accessibility and isolation. Slope steepness was derived from a digital
elevation model, which was interpolated from the civil contour
maps at a scale of 1: 10,000, provided by the Geodetic and Cartographic Institute in Bratislava. Soil fertility was interpreted from a
national soil map of Bonited Pedo-Ecological Unit data according to
D
zatko (2002). Soil fertility was calculated as a function of soil type,
slope steepness and aspect, soil depth, skeletal content and climate
region, and is expressed in terms of soil production potential
J. Lieskovský et al. / Journal of Rural Studies 37 (2015) 75e84
77
Fig. 1. Types of traditional agricultural landscapes. Top, left: Traditional Agricultural Landscapes of Vineyards; Top, right: Traditional Agricultural Landscapes with Dispersed
Settlements; Bottom, left: Traditional Agricultural Landscapes of Arable-land and Grasslands; Bottom, right: Traditional Agricultural Landscapes of Arable-land, Grasslands and
Orchards.
indicated on a 100 scale (0 for unfertile soils, 100 for the most fertile
soils).
We interpreted accessibility as the walking distance from the
TAL mosaic to the nearest settlement. For the analysis we used the
VARCOST module for IDRISI software. We incorporated the effect of
, 2008) and different land cover types that
topography (Danielisova
could either have a barrier effect (buildings, rivers), could reduce
the walking speed (meadows, fields, forests), or could facilitate
walking (paved roads, paths, bridges, etc.). The speed coefficients
for different surfaces were derived from empirical experience and
, 2011; Soule and Goldman,
from published sources (Mezníkova
1972). Isolation was evaluated as the distance by car from the TAL
mosaic to the regional capital city, making use of the “Cost grow”
algorithm, incorporated in the COST module (Eastman, 2003) for
IDRISI software. It was calculated similarly to accessibility, but
speed coefficients for roads were adjusted for the use of a motor
vehicle.
Average values for the geographical factors were extracted for
each TAL polygon. Then, the average values with standard deviations were calculated for each group of TAL types in different
degrees of management. For significance estimates we used the
weighted t-test. Our null hypothesis was that the degree of management makes no difference in the means of analysed factors and
the differences of means are caused by high variability of the data.
To incorporate the effect of the different sizes of the TAL polygons,
the observations were weighted by the polygons size. To do this, we
used R statistics software and the package “weights”.
2.3. Case study analyses of driving forces behind the TAL
abandonment
Three study areas were selected in the western, middle and
eastern part of Slovakia (Fig. 2), where different types of TAL
remained. The selection was based on available information on TAL
k et al., 2010; Krn
distribution from previous research (Beza
a
cova
et al., 1997; Stefunkov
a and Petrovic, 2011).
€tý
The first case study is the traditional vineyard village of Sva
Jur, located 14 km north-east/west of Bratislava, the capital of
Slovakia (Fig. 1, top, left). The village is located on the Small Car ní
pathians foothills and lowlands of the Podunajska
zina with an
altitude of 130e370 m a.s.l. Small and narrow striped vineyards had
formed the traditional agricultural landscape several centuries ago.
The majority of these vineyards were intensified after the
and Petrovi
communist collectivization in the 1950s (Stefunkov
a
c,
2011). The vineyard character of the landscape has been fading
since the 1990s due to new trends in the landscape, i.e. abandon€tý Jur became part of the periment and urbanisation. Recently Sva
urban area of the capital, with intensive commuting, significant
increase of housing and service sector activities, while agricultural
activities have been reduced (Lieskovský et al., 2013). Today, one
single farm is intensively managing most of the vineyards, whereas
individual traditional farmers became rare.
ova
. It represents a
The second study area is the town of Hrin
relatively large area of dispersed settlements in the central part of
the Slovakian mountains (Fig. 1, top, right) and forest (predominantly mixed forest) dominates the landscape (approximately 70%
of the cadastral area). The agricultural landscape mainly consists of
a mosaic of arable land, grasslands and non-forest vegetation. Here,
78
J. Lieskovský et al. / Journal of Rural Studies 37 (2015) 75e84
Fig. 2. Distribution and degree of management of traditional agricultural landscape types in natural-settlement nodal regions of Slovakia and location of the three case study areas
(1. Bratislavsko-metropolitný, 2. Zahorský, 3. Podunajský, 4. Trnavský, 5. Ponitriansky, 6. Dolnohronsko-dolnoipelský, 7. Povazský, 8. Turciansko-liptovsko-oravský, 9. Pohronský, 10.
sský, 14. Dolnozemplínsky, 15. Hornozemplínsky). Circle size represents the area of TAL found in a region.
Gemersko-novohradský, 11. Spisský, 12. Kosický, 13. Sari
collectivization did not take place and parcels remained relatively
small (Mojses and Petrovic, 2013). The agricultural land is managed
in traditional way by families or by the local association of individual farmers (individually owned and managed fields but with
common rules). As a consequence, terraces and banks with trees
k
and bushes still shape parts of the agricultural landscape (Beza
and Mitchley, 2014).
Tepli
The third study area is Liptovska
cka (Fig. 1, down, left),
located in the Low Tatra Mountains. The landscape structure is
significantly influenced by highland character of the area, where
coniferous forest prevails (84% of the cadastral area), covering the
et al., 2013). The agricultural area consists
upper part (Fazekasova
of mountain meadows and pastures which cover steep slopes
adjacent to the compact village. The agricultural landscape is
unique due to its preserved terraces and stone walls which separate
and Dobrovodska
, 2009) and which
grassland parcels (Stefunkov
a
characterize, to a large extent, the TAL up to now. Changes during
the late communist period (1970s) are related to the establishment
of one single dominant farm, and the conversion of arable land to
intensive grasslands while traditional landscape forms (terraces
and stone walls) have been maintained. The majority of agricultural
land is now managed by one single farm, focused on large scale
mowing and grazing and includes also TAL.
We performed interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research
in each of the case studies, including detailed mapping of the area,
the study of landscape changes and landscape management, and
ecological analysis focussing on biodiversity and socio-economic
k and Mitchley, 2014). To
analyses (Lieskovský et al., 2013; Beza
achieve the most accurate information about the development of
the TAL, changes in landscape management and the relevance of
these changes to nature and the local community, we applied a
participatory approach based on the following three methods:
- Semi-structured interviews with 5e10 local key stakeholders
(mostly local farmers and decision makers) in each case study
area. The interviews focused on obtaining qualitative information on landscape change, the related underlying driving forces
and specifically the impact of agricultural policies on the
farmers' livelihood and farm management in local landscapes.
- Questionnaire survey with local inhabitants. 5% of the permanent residents at each case study (Sv€
atý Jur e 230 respondents,
ova
e 382 respondents, Liptovska
Tepli
Hrin
cka e 119 respondents). The data was collected through a face-to-face survey conducted in 2010, either at home of local residents or at
their workplace. The questionnaire included mostly predetermined options or categories and was facilitated by interviewers. To ensure the representativity research we sampled
the population according to age and education quotas.
Furthermore, the interviewers were instructed to cover all main
inhabited districts of the study areas, that was important
ova
with dispersed settlement. The overall
especially in Hrin
sample was divided into recent farmers (who farmed in the
2000s), farmers from earlier time periods (who farmed in the
1970s, 1980s, 1990s), non-farmers, potential farmers (someone
in the family was a farmer) and all respondents. The questions
were related to the perception of TAL and biodiversity, TAL
management (including recent problems and barriers), role of
managing subjects, personal and family attitudes and challenges
towards farming on TAL, land use and preference of activities in
the landscape. Some of the responses provided from this questionnaire, like perception of TAL, attitudes towards or barrier in
J. Lieskovský et al. / Journal of Rural Studies 37 (2015) 75e84
farming on TAL, uncover public perception about the recent
farming on TAL in Slovakia. Other issues rather contribute to
description and understanding of social site-specific features in
particular study areas.
- Workshops with key stakeholders (2 meetings in each case
study with 15e20 participants at each meeting representing the
main professional, economic and sectional interests in the study
areas). The meetings were scheduled at the beginning and at the
end of the project. In the first meeting, we established contacts
with the key stakeholders and informed them about the project
research and its objectives. From the second meeting, which
included discussions between the research team and stakeholders and among stakeholders themselves, we obtained
feedback from participants concerning the results presented. A
group deliberation provided background information and
opinions, especially about problems in agricultural management
that are useful in order to improve our knowledge of the social
preferences in the study areas (Wilson and Howard, 2002).
3. Results
3.1. Country-wide mapping of abandonment rates
A total of 3013 TAL sites (44,464 ha) were identified across all of
Slovakia based on aerial photo interpretation and 626 TAL sites
were validated in the field. 50% of the total TAL area is regularly
managed, 34% is partly abandoned, and 16% is abandoned (Table 1).
TAL of arable land and grassland show the highest rates of abandonment (32%) while the majority of TAL with dispersed settlements and TAL of vineyards remained regularly managed (59% and
58% respectively).
The spatial distribution of TAL (Fig. 2) reveals that TAL with
dispersed settlements are most preserved and managed in central
Slovakia, but show high rates of abandonment in the Ponitriansky
region. Traditional vineyards occur in warmer southern regions and
their abandonment occurs in Dolnohronsko-Dolnoipelský,
horský and Kosícký regions. The largest proportion of traditional
Za
orchards is abandoned in the Dolnozemplínsky region. TAL of
arable land and grasslands were not preserved in the western part
of Slovakia. Most of them are abandoned in southern Slovakia, the
highest percentage of which is managed in the north part of central
Slovakia.
3.2. Geographical factors affecting abandonment
The effect of slope steepness on abandonment is the most significant, i.e. TAL located on steep slopes are more likely to be
abandoned (Table 2). This is valid for all TAL types, except for TAL of
arable land, grassland and orchards, where the results are not significant. The effect of fertility is similar, but in the opposite direction: the TAL located on more fertile soils are less likely to be
abandoned. This effect is less significant than the effect of slope for
TAL of arable land, grassland and orchards and TAL of arable land
and grasslands. The two factors slope steepness and fertility are not
79
independent, as soils on steeper slopes tend to be less fertile (correlation coefficient ¼ 0.61). Less accessible areas are more likely
to be abandoned, however this effect was not shown in the case of
abandoned vineyards and partly abandoned TAL of arable land and
grasslands. Isolated TALs are significantly more likely to be abandoned, except in the case of TAL with dispersed settlements, where
the partly abandoned polygons are less isolated than managed
polygons.
3.3. Case study analyses of driving forces behind the TAL
abandonment
The attitude of local inhabitants (farmers and non-farmers
together) towards farming on TAL was investigated in all three
case studies. “Financial profit” was found to be the highest moti€tý Jur, where
vation to continue managing TAL, especially in Sva
financial issues were mentioned by more than 65% of the respondents (Fig. 3). The relative importance of this factor decreases
towards the eastern parts of Slovakia, where financial profit was
ova
and 40% in
mentioned by almost 50% of the respondents in Hrin
Teplicka. Other motivational factors are much less
Liptovska
important and they were rarely mentioned by more than 10% of the
respondents. Acquiring “better technology” was ranked second
while differences among the study regions are reversed compared
to financial profit 20% of the respondents in Liptovsk
a Teplicka
would be motivated to manage TAL with better technology, while in
€tý Jur this factor was mentioned in less than 5% of the reSva
spondents. “Better health and younger age” to be able to perform
farming activities together with “help from the community” is
€tý Jur and Liptovska
Tepli
motivating for 10% of people in Sva
cka;
ova
do not perceive these factors as
however the inhabitants in Hrin
such significant. Finally, we must acknowledge the fact that about
30% of the respondents in all regions did not acknowledge any
motivation having no interest in farming on TAL at all.
At the same time, we analysed responses that identified the
barriers to TAL management that were provided by the recent
farmers (farming in 2000e2010). Similarly to the previous question, the farmers perceived insufficient financial instruments in
agriculture as the main barrier in the management of TAL. As
additional significant barriers, the farmers identified the inadequate market and the weak support of local government. For the
€tý Jur
above mentioned issues, the highest rates were reached in Sva
ova
(about 90% of responses mentioned them as barriers)
and Hrin
Tepli
while for farmers in Liptovska
cka, these barriers were slightly
less significant (70e80% of responses).
Complementary information regarding the reasons behind the
abandonment of TAL in the case studies was found in responses to
two other questions. Farmers were asked about the share of overall
gross household income that comes from agriculture. The results
show a small financial contribution from farming activities to
family income. Over 40% of respondents indicated “No agricultural
ova
with
income” in the three study regions, the worst case in Hrin
more than 60%. Considering the proportion of families engaged in
Table 1
Degree of land use for Traditional agricultural landscape (TAL) types.
TAL with disp.
settlements
Regularly man.
Partly aband.
Abandoned
Total
TAL vineyards
TAL arab. Land, grass.,
orchards
TAL arable land and
grasslands
Total
Count
Area (ha)
Count
Area (ha)
Count
Area (ha)
Count
Area (ha)
Count
Area (ha)
637
587
125
1349
12,540
7120
1431
21,092
120
129
55
304
4483
2244
973
7701
143
82
33
258
861
729
292
1883
332
453
317
1102
4295
5028
4461
13,785
1232
1251
530
3013
22,181
15,123
7159
44,464
80
J. Lieskovský et al. / Journal of Rural Studies 37 (2015) 75e84
Table 2
Geographical factors affecting the abandonment of Traditional Agricultural Landscapes analysed on a country scale (slope - slope steepness in degrees; fertility e soil production potential (in relative scale); accessibility e walking distance to closest settlement (in minutes); isolation e time distance to closest regional capital city by car (in
minutes).
TAL with disp. settlements TAL. vineyards TAL arab. Land, grass., orchards TAL arable land and grasslands Total
Mean slope ± st. dev.
Reg. manag.
Partly aband.
Abandoned
Mean fertility ± st. dev.
Reg. manag.
Partly aband
Abandoned
Mean accessibility ± st. dev. Reg. manag.
Partly aband.
Abandoned.
Mean isolation ± st. dev.
Reg. manag.
Partly aband.
Abandoned.
10.5
11.8
12.9
26.9
24.3
23.1
1.79
4.01
5.02
38.1
33.7
38.5
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
2.9
2.9***
3.1***
8.2
7.7***
7.4***
2.5
6.3***
8.4***
13.8
10.5***
12.6
6.6
8.6
10.2
53.1
43.8
43.0
10.3
13.1
11.9
33.7
37.8
42.8
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
3.2
3.3***
3.0***
15.5
15.1***
14.5***
6.1
8.2**
5.7
17.2
16.2
17.1**
10.5
12.5
10.9
34.0
29.8
35.7
5.1
7.5
7.3
34.5
30.6
44.0
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
4.5
2.8***
4.3
17.9
10.3*
12.9
4.8
6.3**
5.1*
18 1
19.2
19.4*
12,2
13.4
13.8
23.7
22.8
22.0
11.2
10.4
16.0
47.9
46.9
51.0
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
2.8
3.0***
3.1***
7.2
7.2
7.0**
9.5
9.0
9.9***
20.9
20.0
18.0*
10.1
11.9
13.0
31.9
26.9
25.6
5.5
7.7
12.9
39.0
38.6
47.1
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
±
3.5
3.4***
3.4***
15.1
11.6***
11.5***
6.9
8.4***
10.0***
16.9
16.7
17.8***
* significant at p < 0.05; ** significant at p < 0.01; *** significant at p < 0.001.
Fig. 3. Attitude of local inhabitants towards farming on TAL by themselves.
the management of TAL from all responses (Fig. 4) we recorded a
similar continuous decline in all study regions from the 1970s to the
2000s. A drop of 15e20% occurred in the 1990s compared to the
previous period and another drop of 10e15% occurred in the 2000s.
Since the results about landscape management, landscape
changes and driving socio-economic factors in the study areas have
k and Mitchley (2014); Lieskovský et al.
been published in Beza
(2013), here we focused only on detailed interpretation of the
questionnaire survey.
4. Discussion
The country-wide survey provided a unique dataset of TAL in
Slovakia and their abandonment rates. From the geographical factors, slope steepness affects abandonment most significantly. This
confirms the hypothesis that landscape changes remain closely
associated to the geomorphological characteristics of the territories
(Bürgi et al., 2009). Elevation and slope were also found to be the
main geographical factor affecting abandonment in other former
socialist countries, e.g. Ukraine (Baumann et al., 2011), the crossborder triangle of Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine (Kuemmerle
et al., 2008), in selected regions of Romania and Albania (Müller
et al., 2013), the Czech Republic (Oprsal et al., 2013), as well as in
Fig. 4. Percentage of families involved in the management of TAL in different time
periods.
Western Europe (MacDonald et al., 2000). In the case of Slovakia,
the mechanism behind the importance of slope steepness for
abandonment could be the overall increase in the use of heavy
machinery that cannot be used on steep terrain (Hresko et al.,
2010). This was confirmed by the farm managers from the case
study area Liptovsk
a Teplicka, who argued that the use of machinery is difficult, risky and time demanding.
J. Lieskovský et al. / Journal of Rural Studies 37 (2015) 75e84
The second most important geographical factor is soil fertility.
Because of the correlation between fertility and slope steepness in
our case, it is hard to distinguish the singular role of fertility on
abandonment. However, in agreement with studies that consider
soil fertility as an important factor for traditional landscape change
(Sklenicka et al., 2009) and abandonment of agricultural land
(Baumann et al., 2011; Prishchepov et al., 2013), we assume that
fertility plays a role in abandonment of TAL as well. The abandonment of less fertile soils could be driven by the liberalization of
prices after the transition to the market-oriented economy that led
to the lowering of farming product prices and the decreasing
profitability of farming in less productive areas (Bakker et al., 2011).
In the qualitative questionnaire survey the responded stakeholders
confirmed the lack of market access and the difficulty to sell agricultural products from mountain regions after the end of communism era.
Accessibility is significant as a factor influencing abandonment
in the case of TAL with dispersed settlements and TAL of arable land
and grasslands. These two TAL types were typically composed of
arable fields that require more intensive management. Hence,
accessibility plays a more decisive role than in the case of traditional vineyards or orchards. This was confirmed by case study area
€tý Jur where TAL of vineyards are well accessible (peri-urban
Sva
area to Bratislava) even though their abandonment is significant
(Lieskovský et al., 2013). Accessibility has also been found to be an
important factor in abandonment in the European parts of Russia
(Prishchepov et al., 2013) and in Albania (Müller et al., 2013).
We have not found a logical and significant relationship between isolation (distance from the regional capital city) and TAL
abandonment on nation-wide level. We hypothesized that isolated
TAL polygons will be more preserved, because they protect local
farmers from competition with the global-market that lowered
ova
(with
prices of agricultural production. This was a case of Hrin
dispersed settlements), where TAL have remained well managed up
to date, due to some site-specific driving forces behind (discussed
k and Mitchley, 2014). According to Solymosi (2011), the
in Beza
isolation from social and technical modernization processes could
preserve the traditional economy and determine the existence of
traditional cultural landscapes. In Ukraine, the distances to local
markets were positively related to abandonment rates, however,
the overall influence of isolation on abandonment was low
(Baumann et al., 2011). The areas closer to district capitals were
more likely to be abandoned in Albania, but the influence of
isolation was small as well (Müller and Munroe, 2008).
The previous analyses showed large variance in the means of
variables across the different degrees of TAL management. This
could be partly caused by errors in the interpretation of aerial
photos, but it also indicates that the variables considered do not
explain all aspects of the problem. The decision to abandon TAL is
strongly driven by social, cultural and economic driving forces, on
which no consistent data was available to be included in the analyses. We therefore chose the three case study areas to study the
driving forces of abandonment based on questionnaire surveys and
interviews with the keys stakeholders. In the qualitative survey, a
majority of respondents mentioned industrialisation to stand at the
roots of TAL abandonment. Full time farming devoted to the management of the TAL was reduced to part-time farming due to
commuting of the farming household members to the new urban
and industrial centres (Bez
ak and Mitchley, 2014). The newly
developed democratic society offered many other possibilities in
terms of financial sources for living, and thus, agriculture is more
critically evaluated regarding its potential for profit. Financial
support for farming significantly decreased in the 1990s, resulting
in the abandonment of agricultural land (Pazúr et al., 2014), and
more specifically TAL. The change in the subsidies system since
81
1992 drove an intensive decrease in arable land accompanied with
an increase in grasslands and forest in mountainous and hilly regions in Czech Republic (Bicik et al., 2001). The rapid increase in
forest and non-forest vegetation in Slovakia and other postsocialistic countries is well known (Griffiths et al., 2013;
Munteanu et al., 2014; Shandra et al., 2013).
Feedback from the questionnaire survey with local inhabitants
of the three case studies showed the importance of financial support to agriculture, especially in reference to TAL. Before the transition to open-market economy the local farmers were able to sell
some of their products (for example milk, wool, fruit, grape) to state
food production companies. After 1989 those companies collapsed,
or were transformed to private companies (or both). Increased
import lowered the price of local products and small-scale farming
became unprofitable (Lieskovský et al., 2013). Today, the demand
for local products or for products in bio-quality is still relatively low,
as people are not willing (or are not able) to pay more money for
such products. However, with the increasing awareness of health
and environmental issues the role of local markets is slowly
increasing. The production of bio-food for local markets (or for the
markets in countries with high demands for such a products) could
be the one way how small-scale farmers could be adopted to global
market.
Although the implementation of the CAP (Common Agricultural
Policy) in Slovakia (after 2004) has brought new challenges to
restore farming, it has, unfortunately, had little effect on TAL. TAL
are usually composed of small fields with specific physical conditions and the majority of them did not meet the required criteria in
k and
order to receive support under the CAP 2007e2013 (Beza
Mitchley, 2014). In general, recent schemes of the CAP prioritize
large-scale intensive farming and are not flexible to adapt to local
rural conditions with different environment variables (Fischer
et al., 2012; Fleskens et al., 2009; Renwick et al., 2013). Individual
(family) farming is not addressed by the CAP as well, especially in
Slovakia where a majority of large farms have persisted until now
(Gorton et al., 2008; Mathijs and Noev, 2004) and have received a
significant share of the agricultural support. Due to the reasons
mentioned above, the management of TAL requires additional
effort, including the acquisition of better technologies (e.g. small
tractors, mowers or other equipment that would fit to specific local
conditions and help dealing with farming products), to become
financially beneficial for users. This fact further triggers the abandonment of TAL and remains its key driving force.
Besides financial reasons, there are other factors that have
driven the abandonment of TAL. About 30% of the respondents
cannot find any motivation for farming on TAL. This is perhaps a
more worrying factor than weak financial profit, and raises the
question of the recent position of agriculture in rural areas (Palang
et al., 2006). Here, the integration of small farmers or families in
agricultural landscape management would have potentially beneficial effects (Shucksmith and Rønningen, 2011). Agriculture should
play a central role in rural landscape management in which local
communities are involved. Considering results from other studies
k, Mitchley, 2014; Beza
k et al., 2010
(Lieskovský et al., 2013; Beza
and others) and experience from discourse-based workshops held
in our own study, we assume that the lost interest in farming
mainly concerns the younger generation, which is averse to the
labour- and time-demanding activities on TAL. Scarcity of time is
particularly reflected in the western case study (almost 10% of re€tý Jur), located near the capital of Slovakia, which
spondents in Sva
provides a variety of alternative activities to farming. The lack of
successors in agriculture is a well-known problem (Bruns et al.,
2000; Elbakidze and Angelstam, 2007; Rescia et al., 2012; Trell
et al., 2012) and for older farmers, health-related issues and age
are serious limitations to continuing (10% of the respondents).
82
J. Lieskovský et al. / Journal of Rural Studies 37 (2015) 75e84
Questions of land ownership appeared important after 1989, after
the regime change. Ongoing land restitution caused a return of
some of the collective land to original owners (e.g. the case study of
€tý Jur: (Lieskovský et al., 2013). However, unclear ownership is
Sva
still an important factor in the context of overgrowing of agricultural areas (Burger, 2001; Kuemmerle et al., 2008; Mathijs and
Noev, 2004), as also reflected in the case studies.
5. Conclusion
The majority of traditional agricultural landscapes in Slovakia is
located in the central and north-western part of Slovakia. Today,
only 50% of their total area of 44,464 ha is regularly managed, 34% is
partly abandoned, and 16% is abandoned. Most of the regularly
managed TALs remained in the central part of Slovakia, as the
management declined mostly in north-eastern and western regions of the country. Abandonment predominantly occurs on areas
with steep slopes (driven by increased use of heavy machinery that
is not adapted for steep slopes) and less fertile soils (driven by
decreased profitability of agriculture on less productive areas). The
distance from settlements plays a less important role and the role of
isolation from the regional capital cities remains unclear. Financial
unprofitability is the main triggering factor in TAL abandonment. In
addition, there are other cultural drivers that play a role: changes in
the rural culture, the attractiveness and diversity of other ways of
live, lack of successors, health and age factors. Moreover, there are
still problems with unresolved land ownership.
Similarities regarding weak points in recent agricultural management were found in all study regions and must be emphasized
in the process of preparing new agricultural schemes in Slovakia
(CAP 2014e2020), such as the Rural Development Plan or other
relevant national documents dealing with the landscape development. The adaptation of the CAP has been helpful for large farmers,
however, CAP support is not suitable for small scale farmers.
Improved financial support for agriculture is clearly required to
facilitate sustainable farming and maintain TAL. Otherwise, the
decline in the number of farmers engaged in their management and
the trend of growing numbers of people who are not interested in
farming will not be reversed.
Acknowledgements
This study was prepared within the project “Diversity of agricultural landscape and its ecosystem services”. Grant No. 2/0158/14
from the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic and the
Slovak Academy of Sciences. The cooperation between the Institute
of Landscape Ecology of Slovak Academy of Sciences and the Swiss
Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL was
supported by the Scientific Exchange Programme NMS-CH. The
authors are sincerely grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their
comments and suggestions.
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