Abstract
Large areas of agricultural land have been abandoned or are at risk of being abandoned such as small scattered fields and pastures in forest-dominated landscapes are unsuitable for modern mechanized agriculture and cost-efficient grazing. These areas have therefore become unprofitable to cultivate and graze. Spruce planting has been seen as the obvious alternative on these lands but is today questioned from landscape points of view. Now most abandoned land is left for natural afforestation. This study aims to compare the profitability in use of abandoned or marginal agricultural land in Swedish forest districts for spruce planting, natural birch afforestation, or organic beef cattle grazing large pasture-forest mosaics. The pastures consist of remaining semi-natural pastures, abandoned and marginal agricultural land, and adjacent forest land. Calculations of contribution to land, management, and risk suggest that, given present supports and environmental payments, organic beef production with herds of more than 20 suckler cows in large pasture-forest mosaics could be more profitable than forestry, except for in the most fertile areas of southern Sweden, where spruce planting has the highest contribution. Future tree breeding progress and possible decrease of livestock-related support and environmental payments would however increase the competitiveness of resumed afforestation relative to beef production.
Highlights
IntroductionSouth of the mountain areas, Sweden is dominated by forest in which there is scattered agricultural land at the most fertile spots
Sweden’s land area consists of 69% forest, 8% agricultural land, 3% built up areas, and 20% mires, heath, and bare rocks etc., mainly located in the mountain areas in the northern part of the country [1].South of the mountain areas, Sweden is dominated by forest in which there is scattered agricultural land at the most fertile spots
The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that organic suckler cow-based beef production grazing on large pasture-forest mosaics can be more economically profitable than afforestation and reforestation, together defined as forestry, and profitable enough to expand on abandoned and marginal agricultural land and forest land
Summary
South of the mountain areas, Sweden is dominated by forest in which there is scattered agricultural land at the most fertile spots. The abandonment of agricultural land has occurred mainly in already forest-dominated districts [2]. The reason is that small arable fields and pastures, scattered in forest-dominated landscapes [6], are unsuitable for modern mechanized agriculture and traditional ways of cost-efficient grazing. They have become unprofitable to cultivate and graze when wages have increased relative to the prices of agricultural products [7,8,9]. Of the remaining Swedish agricultural land there is 1.1 million hectares (Mha) in the forest districts (0.9 Mha arable land and 0.2 Mha semi-natural pasture) and
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