Abstract
Soils are under increasing utilization pressure, and soil governance is an important element to maintain soil functions and prevent the degradation of soil quality. However, scientific studies about soil governance are rare. In this paper, we focus on the governance mechanism of land rent. Here, a major theoretical assumption is that landowners have higher incentives to maintain soil quality than leaseholders. By using data for German arable land at the county level, we contrast theoretical assumptions about the relationships between landowners, leaseholders and soil quality with empirical evidence based on correlations between arable land rent prices, rent proportions and yield potential. The main finding is that the empirical data contradict the theoretical assumptions to a large degree, i.e., no clear relationship could be discerned between the three parameters of arable land soil quality, rent price and rent proportion. We discuss possible explanations for the revealed contradictions based on the state of research and highlight the need for future research to better understand the potential of arable land tenancy as a governance mechanism for sustainable soil management.
Highlights
A globally increasing population and a demand for biomass-based food, feed, energy and fiber is causing the intensified use of soils and requires corresponding actions of soil governance [1]
Yield potential is a proxy for the inherent capacity of soil to produce biomass and is taken as an indicator for soil quality [4]
There is a quest for sustainable intensification practices for soil management, which integrates the achievement of the highest productivity levels with the maintenance of soil functions [6,7]
Summary
A globally increasing population and a demand for biomass-based food, feed, energy and fiber is causing the intensified use of soils and requires corresponding actions of soil governance [1]. The current utilization pressure on soils might endanger their quality, i.e., their capacity to maintain their various functions and contributions to ecosystem services such as biomass production, nutrient provisioning and cycling, carbon storage, filtering and storage of clean water, providing habitats for biological activity, and climate regulation [2]. Because of this multifunctional and site-specific nature, soil quality is a complex phenomenon, for which no standardized assessment procedure yet exists [3]. Complementary to our empirical study, we discuss propositions for more comprehensive research activities in the field of soil quality linked to management and governance
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