The intertwined geographies of agricultural land and human settlement in Europe

IF 6 1区社会学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Land Use Policy Pub Date : 2025-03-10 DOI:10.1016/j.landusepol.2025.107527

Jüri Lillemets , Ants-Hannes Viira , Imre Fertő

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Attention of rural policies in Europe is increasingly shifting away from agricultural production towards economic multifunctionality, environmental sustainability, and social development, including the impact of farmland on quality of life. This study examines the relationship between population and agricultural land use in Europe, estimating the proportion of people living at various distances from different types of agricultural land cover across countries and regions in 2006, 2012 and 2018. Our findings reveal that the nearly all of Europeans reside within 10 kilometers of farmland, with vast majority living within 1 kilometer. Overall, the changes during the observed period were neglible. However, there are substantial differences among regions. A more detailed analysis of various agricultural land classes highlights regional disparities that are partly influenced by geological and climatic conditions. Notably, only about half of the variation in the proportion of people living near farmland can be explained by the extent of agricultural land cover, indicating a need for further research. In terms of spatial patterns, Europe can be divided into up to seven distinct groups based on the types of farmland surrounding population.

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欧洲农业用地和人类住区交织在一起的地理位置

欧洲对农村政策的关注正日益从农业生产转向经济多功能、环境可持续性和社会发展，包括农田对生活质量的影响。本研究考察了欧洲人口与农业用地利用之间的关系，估计了2006年、2012年和2018年不同国家和地区与不同类型农业用地覆盖距离不同的人口比例。我们的研究结果显示，几乎所有的欧洲人都居住在农田10公里以内，绝大多数人居住在1公里以内。总体而言，观测期间的变化可以忽略不计。然而，各地区之间存在很大差异。对各种农业用地类别的更详细分析突出了部分受地质和气候条件影响的区域差异。值得注意的是，只有大约一半居住在农田附近的人口比例的变化可以用农业土地覆盖的程度来解释，这表明需要进一步的研究。在空间格局方面，欧洲可以根据周围人口的农田类型划分为七个不同的群体。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Land Use Policy ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES-

CiteScore

13.70

自引率

8.50%

发文量

553

期刊介绍： Land Use Policy is an international and interdisciplinary journal concerned with the social, economic, political, legal, physical and planning aspects of urban and rural land use. Land Use Policy examines issues in geography, agriculture, forestry, irrigation, environmental conservation, housing, urban development and transport in both developed and developing countries through major refereed articles and shorter viewpoint pieces.