LAND USE AND LAND CHANGE Classification of Italian Farms in the FADN Database Combining Climate and Structural Information Giuliano Vitali Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Department of Agricultural Sciences / Bologna / Italy Concetta Cardillo INEA National Institute of Agricultural Economics / Rome / Italy Sergio Albertazzi Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Department of Agricultural Sciences / Bologna / Italy Marco Della Chiara INEA National Institute of Agricultural Economics / Rome / Italy Guido Baldoni Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Department of Agricultural Sciences / Bologna / Italy Claudio Signorotti Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Department of Agricultural Sciences / Bologna / Italy Antonella Trisorio INEA National Institute of Agricultural Economics / Rome / Italy Maurizio Canavari Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Department of Agricultural Sciences / Bologna / Italy ABSTRACT Although describing the primary sector of a given country is a common institutional practice, such studies usually offer aggregated information on holding rather than supplying the information required for farm-level simulations. The present study aimed to identify the main typologies of Italian farms from the 2007 database of RICA (the Italian section of the European Union’s Farm Accountancy Data Network). Using a hierarchical strategy driven by climates (5) and slopes (3), farms have been grouped by super-structure, described in terms of the presence and extent of primary activities (live- stock, farmland use). The resulting picture of Italian farms is based on 35 farm types, the most common of which grow low-input orchards (e.g., olive trees). On the plains in warm climatic areas, low-input orchards and arable crops dominate; in hilly and mountainous areas, mixed farms with forage crops, meadows, ovines, and cattle prevail. In more temperate areas, the most common farm type is based on intensive and field crops (e.g., durum and bread wheat). In temperate hilly and mountain areas, mixed farms combining meadows, woods, and cattle become predominant. Keywords: agriculture, land use, Farm Accountancy Data Network, FADN, classification RE ´ SUME ´ Me ˆme si un type courant d’analyse correspond a ` la description du secteur primaire d’un pays donne ´, les donne ´es cumu- latives sur les structures immobilie `res souvent ainsi obtenues sont inade ´quates pour les simulations en milieu agricole. La pre ´sente e ´tude vise a ` de ´terminer les principales typologies des fermes italiennes inscrites dans la base de donne ´es RICA 2007 (la section italienne du Re ´seau d’information comptable agricole de l’Union europe ´enne). Les auteurs ont employe ´ une strate ´gie de hie ´rarchisation base ´e sur les climats (5) et les pentes (3) servant a ` classer les groupes de fermes selon deux niveaux de structures (superstructure et macrostructure), afin de de ´finir une typologie des ba ˆtiments agricoles base ´e sur l’e ´cart entre certains parame `tres comme la superficie utilisable, l’utilisation du terrain, l’unite ´ animale et le type d’agriculture. Mots cle ´s : agriculture, utilisation du terrain, Re ´seau d’information comptable agricole, RICA, classification 228 Cartographica 47:4, 2012, pp. 228–236 doi:10.3138/carto.47.4.1478 http://www.utpjournals.press/doi/pdf/10.3138/carto.47.4.1478 - Friday, June 03, 2016 8:39:19 AM - IP Address:195.34.79.233