Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface and Acknowledgements
- 1 An introduction to agro-ecology
- 2 Agricultural support and environmentalism
- 3 Environmental impacts of agriculture
- 4 Principles behind agri-environment schemes
- 5 Farm conservation planning
- 6 Habitat management
- 7 The management of agricultural wastes
- 8 Low-impact farming systems
- 9 Landscape and farmscape ecology
- 10 The future of agri-environmental systems
- Glossary
- References
- Index
9 - Landscape and farmscape ecology
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 December 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface and Acknowledgements
- 1 An introduction to agro-ecology
- 2 Agricultural support and environmentalism
- 3 Environmental impacts of agriculture
- 4 Principles behind agri-environment schemes
- 5 Farm conservation planning
- 6 Habitat management
- 7 The management of agricultural wastes
- 8 Low-impact farming systems
- 9 Landscape and farmscape ecology
- 10 The future of agri-environmental systems
- Glossary
- References
- Index
Summary
Introduction
How big are the average farm and the average field? Well obviously that depends on the type of farm, which in turn is related to its location. Within Europe, low-productivity upland farms have historically covered vast expanses of open, often communally grazed hill and mountain, while on the more fertile soils of the lowlands smaller mixed farming enterprises have been based on fields enclosed by hedges and walls. In contrast, in North America the larger farms are often associated with the flat mostly arable prairies. Farm sizes not only vary with geography but have also changed over time with historic human events; European colonisation, feudalism and land-ownership legislation have often been important factors. These have often worked in combination, because feudal overlords were attracted by the more fertile lowland areas, which were able to support more of a peasantry based on large manorial farms and small tenanted plots. In addition, cultural traditions of inheritance such as dividing the family farm equally between all siblings, or alternatively all the land passing to the oldest male child, have also influenced farm sizes. These factors have resulted in striking regional variation in farm size, for example in the United States (see Figure 9.1) and also in Europe where the average farm size is only 14 ha, while in the United Kingdom as a whole it is 77 ha and in Scotland 123 ha.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Agri-Environment , pp. 162 - 179Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2007