Changing environmental characteristics of European cropland M.M. Bakker a,⇑ , E. Hatna b , T. Kuhlman c , C.A. Mücher d a Land Dynamics Group, Wageningen University and Research Centre, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands b Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, Institute for Management Research, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9108, 6500 HK Nijmegen, The Netherlands c Agricultural Economics Research Institute (LEI), Wageningen University and Research Centre, P.O. Box 29703, 2502 LS Den Haag, The Netherlands d Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands article info Article history: Received 16 August 2010 Received in revised form 7 March 2011 Accepted 31 March 2011 Available online 29 April 2011 Keywords: Arable land Cropland Land use Land cover Landscape Land degradation abstract The spatial configuration of agricultural systems is continuously changing in response to changes in demand for agricultural goods, changes in the level of competition between different land use activities, and progress in agricultural technology. This may lead to a change in the location of agricultural systems and consequently to a change in their average environmental characteristics. This paper explores the change in environmental characteristics of cropland (horticulture and field crops) over the years 1950, 1990 and 2000, for Western and Eastern Europe, using basic descriptive statistics. Underlying mecha- nisms are explored with logistic (interaction) regression analysis. We find that in both Eastern and Western Europe, crop cultivation shifted away from cities. In Western Europe cropland became situated on shallower soils, steeper slopes, and drier and less accessible areas. Probable reasons are that technical progress reduced the importance of traditional constraints such as drought, poor soils, and distance from markets, so that crop farmers were allowed to move to warm and sunny areas where potential productivity is highest. In addition, cropland probably lost some of its competitive power to grassland and nature. In Eastern Europe cropland concentrated on deeper soils and flatter terrain from 1990 onward. Here, the abandonment of the central planning system and a more flexible land market must have allowed a shift of cropland towards more suitable locations. Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Environmental characteristics of cropland such as topography, soil type, and climate are important because of their influence on production and environmental problems such as soil erosion, con- tamination, salinization, and compaction (Baudry, 1989; Bakker et al., 2008). These characteristics, in addition to accessibility and proximity to markets, reflect the cumulative result of past and present choices made by land users (Abler et al., 1971). Ideally, cropland is located on fertile, well-drained, workable soils, in level areas, with favourable climate conditions during the growing sea- son, and with good access to markets (Grigg, 1984). These favour- able environmental characteristics often do not coincide: Warmer areas have a higher potential yield, but are also more prone to water deficits; south-facing slopes receive maximum solar radia- tion but are often dry and erosion-prone; areas near markets are often dissected by infrastructure, etc. Thus farmers have to make choices, and these are guided by the means they have to overcome constraints. Furthermore, in areas where land resources are scarce, crop farmers must compete with other land users. For instance, dairy farmers have roughly similar environmental preferences as crop farmers, but property developers and conservationists may also claim areas that are suitable for crop cultivation, albeit for different reasons. Economic theory suggests that land will be used for that purpose which brings the greatest benefits to the owner (Fujita, 1989). This means that urban development will outcompete agri- culture, and within the agricultural sector market gardening will normally outcompete arable farming. Consequently, when urban areas or the horticultural sector grow, arable farming will, in accor- dance with Ricardo’s and von Thünen’s 19th-century land-use the- ories, be pushed towards more marginal areas. In situations of land scarcity, the relative benefits of different land use practices deter- mine which land use wins the competition for the best locations. Average environmental characteristics of cropland are the re- sult of these processes acting simultaneously: farmers select what they consider to be the most suitable locations to grow crops, and meanwhile compete with other land users for land. These location- selection processes were modified by major changes that took place in Europe after the Second World War. First, continuing progress in agricultural technology (fertilizers, biocides, drought- and disease-resistant crops, irrigation technology, machinery, etc.) reduced the costs of many constraints (Tilman et al., 2002), and allowed cultivation of previously unsuitable land. Also, technological advances in transport and refrigeration dramatically 0308-521X/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2011.03.008 ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +31 03174 82420/19000. E-mail address: Martha.Bakker@wur.nl (M.M. Bakker). Agricultural Systems 104 (2011) 522–532 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Agricultural Systems journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/agsy