Agricultural and nature preserving land use The EU accession
and sustainable (value preserving) agriculture provides very strict
requirements towards the Hungarian agriculture. As a result of the
Common Agricultural Policy of the EU (launched in 1992), similarly
to Western Europe it is necesarry also in Hungary to analyse the
non-productive functions of agricultural areas. It became clear,
that agricultural production and nature preservation cannot be
separated spatially.
Slide 3
Agricultural and nature preserving land use Essence of the
developed models: Revival of the biotope network which became a
victim of large-scale farming, as well as the so-called green
passages greean areas, protective belts, riverside strips, living
hedges, forest belts, treelines, etc.
Slide 4
World map of arable land, percentage by country
Slide 5
Agricultural land use
Slide 6
Agricultural and nature preserving land use In Hungary three
types of land use is reasonable: 1. Protective (water, soil, nature
and landscape protecting) land use. 2. Extensive, production aimed
land use in areas that have relatively disadvantageous properties.
3. Intensive, production aimed land use considering the
advantageous agroecological potential, land use potential and the
aspects of landscape management.
Slide 7
Land use zone system Area/ function Other land use StatusNature
protection objectivesobjects 1. PROTECTIVE None Total reserve
(preferably state owned) Protection of species, biocenosises,
biotopes, and the natural balance. Plant and animal species and
habitats on the list of the protected 2. UTILIZATION LIMITED BY
PROTECTION PRIORITIES Limited Water protection, Landscape
protection, Protected landscape elements Protection of natural
resources (soil, water, plant and animal species). Surface waters
and their side areas, ground waters, soils, swamps, wetlands, dry
grasslands, natural forests. 3. UTILIZATION Functional and
considering nature protection objectives Agricultural landscape
Maintenance of the landscape character and preservation of its
ecological functions. Living hedges, forest belts, treelines, plot
borders fine structures.
Slide 8
Land use zone system (land use pyramid) Categories of the
nature preserving and agricultural zonation: I. Nature protecting
core zones: Exclusiveness of the nature protecting function, total
prohibition of other land use activities, or their total
subordination to the protective purpose. II. Protective zones,
puffer zones: Landscape fostering, nature and enviroment protecting
farming, with environmental, employment, cultural and recreational
functions. III. Transitional zones Ecological and other extensive
farming methods with the stronger enforcement of agricultural
production + protective and other functions with unharmed biotope
network systems.
Slide 9
IV. Agricultural zones: Agricultural production functions are
primary, but only with the enforcement of the principles of the
integrated, environment friendly farming. Areas withdrawn from
cultivation: Urbanization, consumption-servicing, infrastructural
and industrial functions. Land use zone system (land use
pyramid)
Slide 10
Slide 11
Land use zones
Slide 12
Land use zone system (land use pyramid) The first three
category of the zone system is the target field of suports. The
fourth zone is in the market competition category and includes the
areas with the best productive potential.
Slide 13
Land use zone system (land use pyramid) The aim of the strategy
is to integrate land use and nature preservation, to determine the
intensity of use and protection and their proportion in conformity
with the properties of the given landscape. Industrial farming
moved the category borders of the land use pyramid drastically
upwards, concentrating almost exclusively to the production- aimed
functions. Our task is to move these borders downwards, reducing
the area of intensive land use, and insisting proper land use
intensity and farming system in every category.
Slide 14
Lands suitable for agricultural production in Hungary
Slide 15
Principles of practical implementation 0.5-1.5 million ha could
be withdrawn according to the drawn up land use concept;
forestation and grass covering are necessary as well as the
transformation towards an extensive, ecological direction. These
are usually production sites which have not belong originally to
the plough land use type either. Therefore, maintaining the
plough-land land use type is not reasonable. As a result of this
step, the area of plough-land decreases and part of it primarily on
protected areas switches to ecological (biological) farming. Areas
withdrawn from field cultivation might serve the formation of the
biotope network system, they have to end up partly in grass, garden
and forest land use types.
Slide 16
Agricultural suitability For judging the suitability for
agricultural production 15 indexes (terrain, soil and climate
parameters) are used, Environmental sensitivity was assessed based
on 13 indexes (soil, water, etc.).
Slide 17
Environmental characteristics and environmental sensitivity
values 1. Slope angle 2. Soil value number 3. Golden crown value
(Gc/ha) 4. Soil type and sub-type 5. Physical type 6. Water
management characteristics of the soil 7. pH and lime condition of
the soil 8. Organic matter content (t/ha) 9. Thickness of the
productive layer (stone, gravel, ground water) (cm) 10. Energetical
agricultural potential (t/ha) 11. Climatic agricultural potential
(t/ha) 12. Maize production climate suitability value 13. Wheat
production quality climate value 14. Wheat production quantity
climate value 15. Barley production climate suitability value
Slide 18
Environmental characteristics and environmental sensitivity
values 1. Areas under natural protection in Hungary 2. Planned
areas of ECONET 3. Suggested sensitive natural areas 4. Ramsari
areas 5. Internationally significant bird habitats 6. Important
areas for endangered bird species (pcs. species) 7. Degree of
erosion 8. Physical soil type 9. Clay mineral quality 10. pH and
lime condition of the soil 11. Organic matter content (t/ha) 12.
Subsurface water protection areas 13. Surface water protection
areas
Slide 19
Agricultural suitability Soil sections of Hungary can be put on
a scale of 0-99 indicating agricultural suitability and a scale of
0-99 indicating environmental sensitivity. The creators of the
study elaborated a land use zone system, where: areas under 100
value are suggested to be in the protective zones, Areas between
100 and 125 in the extensive agricultural zones, Areas above 125 in
the intensive agricultural zones.
Slide 20
New land use zone system (1. scenario)
Slide 21
New land use zone system (2. scenario)
Slide 22
New land use zone system (3. scenario)
Slide 23
Characterization of arable-lands within the new land use system
Most of the areas withdrawn from the arable-land soil use type is
transferred into grassland it is reversible in case of changing
conditions, demands 50% of the current 4.5 million ha plough-land
has outstanding agricultural potential, 10% is situated in
environmentally sensitive areas. There are intensive plough-lands
on the 3.2 million ha area with highest agricultural potential and
lowest environmental sensitivity.
Slide 24
Distribution of extensive and intensive arable lands in the new
land use zone system
Slide 25
Characterization of forests within the new land use system
Currently: 1.8 million ha forest (19.1% proportion) long term
plans: 2.6 million ha (28%) 80% of the forest area is economic 15%
is protective and 2% is public welfare aimed
Slide 26
Distribution of forest in the new land use zone system
Slide 27
Characterization and utilization of grasslands within the new
land use system 20% of the grasslands is situated in hills and
mountains, most of the grassland in Hungary is on the Great Plain
(1.1 million ha, 12%) High-quality, intensive grassland: 50,000 ha,
extensive, weak potential grassland 550,000 ha, 350,000 ha of this
has soil protection function there is no economically utilizable
grass yield.
Slide 28
Characterization and utilization of grasslands within the new
land use system Production-aimed grassland use: approx. 1 million
ha, 25% of that is intensive (livestock sites), 40-45% is
semi-intensive, 30-35% is extensive (transition protective
grassland, puffer area) Grasslands surrounded by forests (size:
below 50 ha, total area: couple of thousand ha, in hills and
mountains) Grasslands situated in the valleys of mountains and
hills (hundreds of ha of pastures)
Slide 29
Characterization and utilization of grasslands within the new
land use system Decrease of the livestock grasslands and pastures
are hard to sustain (changes in agricultural subsidies concerning
grazing livestock, rural development) Under-grazing: decrease in
the number of grazing animals migration of plant species not
characteristic in pastures Approx. 550,000 ha grassland is resown,
and treated with artificial fertilizers flora is poor Extensive bio
livestock farming on protected areas (guaranteed chemical free
pastures) (Hungarian grey cattle)
Slide 30
Characterization and utilization of grasslands within the new
land use system Establishment of transitional grasslands:
forestation max. 15,000 ha/year protection against erosion,
deflation Areas of new grasslands: areas with the lowest
agricultural potential and the highest environmental sensitivity
(788,000 ha plough-land, but the forestation of the current 533,000
ha grassland is expected)
Slide 31
Distribution of grassland in the new land use zone system
Slide 32
Land use types in the new land use system
Slide 33
Nature protection land use characteristics of the mountain and
hill areas, wetlands and swamps The survival of grasslands
surrounded by forests can be ensured by the regional organizations
of nature protection. The regionally differentiated funding of
grazing would highly contribute to the preservation of the current
landscape structure of the country (including the natural values).
As a result of the continuous decrease of grazing animals since the
change of regime, the signs of under-grazing are showing on
increasing areas.
Slide 34
Nature protection land use characteristics of the mountain and
hill areas, wetlands and swamps This process leads to the
forestation of the pasture on the long run. Preservation of the
hungarian natural grasslands would not only ensure the subsistence
of a certain part of the population and the maintenance of the
landscape, but also the very rich animal and plant population as
well. Preservation of large grasslands in the vicinity of protected
areas is an important objective. The natural link (green passages)
between these areas should be maintained.
Slide 35
Nature protection land use characteristics of the mountain and
hill areas, wetlands and swamps Forestation of hill and mountain
plough-lands is desirable, because it would increase the area of
forests in territories where they are the most determining plants
of the landscape. Because of the relatively good yield potential,
it will be difficult for the owners to agree with changing the land
use type. Positive regulators might have an important role (funding
of plough-lands exposed to erosion should be terminated and high
forestation fundings should be provided).
Slide 36
Nature protection land use characteristics of the mountain and
hill areas, wetlands and swamps In the majority of the changed
plough-lands forests and tree plantations should be established.
This is a long process (15,000 ha/year). Forestation. Biologically,
tree plantations are not the same as forests. Tree plantations
should be established where the conditions of forestation are not
present (e.g. too deep ground water). In such areas mostly not
local but adaptive tree species can be planted (e.g. acacia, or
black pine).
Slide 37
Reform possibilities of the land use of flood basins The
current land use of flood basins is equally distributed amongst
plough-lands, forests and grasslands (meadows, pastures). Most of
the plough-lands are privately owned. Plough-land cultivation
should be terminated as soon as possible, because these areas are
suitable for the establishment of willow-poplar or oak-ash-elm
gallery forests.
Slide 38
Reform possibilities of the land use of flood basins The
decrease of plough-lands shpuld be started in flood basins.
Economically the maintenance of some of the grasslands in flood
basins is justified. After starting the elimination of flood basin
plough-lands the forest coverage of these areas could be doubled as
a result of the newly plant forests, It is worth to look for new,
sustainable solutions. This objective is served by the follow-up
programme of vsrhelyi-plan, which includes: the improvement of the
current embankments and the increase of the draining capability of
flood basins.
Slide 39
Land use and ownership redistribution possibilities related to
water management (flood and internal water threat) Hungary is
situated in the deepest part of the Carpathian basin. 52% of the
Hungarys territory and two-third of its cultivated land is
threatened by flood and internal water. During the last decades
intensive utilization methods overcame traditional farming and they
were unable to adapt to the hectic water management conditions on
the long run. The risk of flood and intenal water significnatly
decreased yield security. Unsettled ownership conditions and the
significant separation of land use and land ownership result in
improper utilization.
Slide 40
Land use and ownership redistribution possibilities related to
water management (flood and internal water threat) In flood basin
areas the interests of nature protection and flood prevention and
the interests of the agricultural producers are conflicting.
Harmonization of the flood prevention and nature protection
interests is the primary goal, the interest of producers should be
adjusted to that. The best way of utilizing the flood basin areas
is extensive grass management and the establishment of woody
pastures and wetlend habitats. In areas that are involved in floods
the primary objective is the maintenance of natural plants and
indigenous forests.