What is the future of abandoned agricultural lands? A systematic review of alternative trajectories in Europe

• Fayet, Catherine M.J. ^[1] ; Reilly, Kate H. ^[1] ; Van Ham, Chantal ^[1] ; Verburg, Peter H. ^[2]
  1. [1] International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Europe Regional Office, Boulevard Louis Schmidt 64, 1040 Brussels, Belgium
  2. [2] Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1087, 1081HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• Localización: Land use policy: The International Journal Covering All Aspects of Land Use, ISSN 0264-8377, ISSN-e 1873-5754, Nº. 112, 2022
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Agricultural land abandonment and its impacts on landscape features have been a striking characteristic of many European rural areas over the last decades. Although previous research identified drivers and environmental impacts of abandonment, few described the post-agricultural abandonment trajectories. However, examining the driving forces leading to different post-agricultural abandonment trajectories is key to understand how alternative uses of these lands can be developed to address the environmental, economic, and social challenges faced in these areas. This paper reviews the literature of the different trajectories observed after agricultural abandonment and the related drivers and processes. Based on the literature evidence, we proposed a novel categorisation of different abandonment trajectories, with their drivers and landscape outcomes. In most reported cases, lands transitioned towards semi-natural landscapes and few returned to different agricultural uses after abandonment. The most common driving force of the landscape trajectory was the absence of land management where secondary succession processes led to semi-natural landscapes. Quality and state of these landscapes were variable. Alternative trajectories were essentially driven by institutional and socio-economic drivers within biophysical constraints and opportunities for (re-)afforestation, re-farming, and multifunctional uses of the land after abandonment. While abandoned lands can bring opportunities to respond to biodiversity and other environmental policy goals, the evidence across case studies suggests that adequate resources with institutional and socio-economic incentives are required to stimulate favourable development, mitigate, potential trade-offs, and support land management.