Share Of Land Research Articles

Multilevel life cycle assessment to evaluate prospective agricultural development scenarios in a semi-arid irrigated region of Tunisia

CONTEXTTo design policies for sustainable irrigation planning, public decision-makers need knowledge about the potential environmental impacts of irrigated farming systems. In a previous paper, we proposed to couple Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Agrarian System Diagnosis (ASD) to build the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) of a farming region in a context of data scarcity and farming system diversity. This method was applied to the semi-arid irrigated plain of Kairouan (Tunisia). OBJECTIVESThe aim of the present paper is to demonstrate how this new ASD-based LCA method is used to conduct the impact assessment of this farming region, under current conditions and for two prospective scenarios. METHODSTwo functional units (FU) were used: the area and the gross product generated. Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) was conducted based on a multilevel process, by converting LCI data collected for each cropping/ livestock system into LCIA outputs, which were then consolidated at the farming system (FS) and at the regional scales. Two scenarios, based on observed trends, were assessed: the “agrarian” scenario (driven by a shift from family to corporate farming) and the “hydrological” scenario (driven by a water table drawdown). RESULTSEnvironmental hotspots were identified at each scale: the most impactful FS was the “mixed family farming” (intermediate access to water), because of its large share of land at the regional scale (45%). In this FS, the most harmful cropping system was input-intensive olive groves intercropped with a melon-pepper/ cereal/ tomato rotation, in which most impacts (35%) were attributable to the input-intensive “melon” crop, and more particularly to “manufacture and transport of fertilizer”, including farmyard manure. Globally, the most harmful processes were water and fertilizer use (fertilizer manufacturing and transportation). This downscaling is very useful to inform public policies on the most harmful productions. The impacts in human, ecosystem and resource endpoints increased by 11%, 2%, 9% and 23%, 27% and 40%, for the agrarian and hydrological scenarios respectively. SIGNIFICANCEThese results show that observed trends in farming practices evolution (more irrigation) should be stopped. Our method has three main strengths: i) inter-farms synergies are accounted for in the LCIA, which is essential to promote circularity; ii) thanks to the innovative and multilevel approach, the origins of environmental hotspots can be investigated and later mitigated by future policies; iii) ASD helps to design sustainable scenarios by identifying current trends and regional thresholds (resources, pollution and workforce) that cannot be overcome.

An approach to classify areas for appropriate rainfall-runoff risk management: A case study in Drevenica basin, Slovakia

Best management practices for landscapes include adapting them to rainfall extremes that have an impact on surface runoff. A critical profile (CP) is a location where a path of concentrated surface runoff might enter an inhabited area causing potential damage, e.g. by flooding, water erosion and torrential mudflows. Critical profiles have been determined using modified methodological guidelines for identifying critical points by the T.G. Masaryk Water Research Institute in Prague, 2009. In the model watershed Drevenica (117.27 km2), 27 profiles have been identified, where concentrated flow paths and the boundaries of built-up areas intersect. Four of the profiles have contributing areas of 0.3–10 km2, average slope ≥ 3.5% and the share of arable land ≥40% as well as the critical conditions indicator according to the methodological guidelines and have been verified in terrain. Surveys and analysis also pointed out that another three profiles have indications of erosion runoff during rainfalls of varying intensity. By modifications of the original thresholds, these profiles have been included as critical. The lower threshold for contributing area was reduced to 0.2 km2. A new set of parameters was added by the authors, namely the proportion of land with higher soil erosion risk levels (SERL) 2 to 5, exceeding 20% and threshold surface runoff volume ≥ 6000 m3. Critical profiles with their contributing areas are prime candidates for multi-functional ecological engineering measures.

A Comprehensive Approach to Assess the Impact of Agricultural Production Factors on Selected Ecosystem Services in Poland

The conservation of environmental resources is aimed at ensuring the continuity of ecosystem services for future generations and maintaining ecosystem integrity. Given the extensive reliance of agriculture on the environment, it is crucial to identify factors that impact the quality of ecosystem services (ESs), which can be regulated at large and heterogeneous national or European scales. This research, conducted within the Polish use case of the AGRICORE project, aims to demonstrate the feasibility of establishing indicators depicted in three ES categories, which can be shaped under the actions of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The study was conducted based on national sources, mostly the database of the Central Statistical Office. The analyses of regression showed a significant impact of selected agricultural productivity factors on the key performance indicators (KPIs) assessing the level of selected ESs. The yield of cereal grains, which quantitatively expresses the potential of current crop production, depended to the greatest extent (r = 0.81) on a comprehensive indicator of the agricultural production space suitability, as well as on the rise of the level of nitrogen fertilization (r = 0.68), and also on the reduced share of permanent grassland in the agricultural area (r = −0.53). It was proved that in territorial units, in which the level of nitrogen fertilization per 1 ha was greater, the share of soils with favorable pH > 5.5 was also greater. The gross nitrogen balance had a positive and significant correlation with the level of investment subsidies (r = 0.86), the share of agricultural land in the total area (r = 0.67), and the level of nitrogen fertilization (r = 0.66). Notably, there were positive correlations between the level of environmental subsidies and the increase in forestation (r = 0.68) and also between air quality and the share of cereals in the sowing structure (r = 0.86). Additionally, the impact of agricultural productivity factors on cultural eco-services was found, e.g., the share of ecological land had a positive impact on the number of natural monuments, the area of nature reserves, the number of agritourists, and agritourism nights, while the share of cereals in the sowing structure negatively correlated with the most of analyzed cultural indicators. These results are useful for the development of a module for the ABM model that employs the desired environmental parameters to provide different assessments of the impact of selected agricultural productivity factors and ecosystem services on the economic farm status.

A Rural Land Share Cooperative System for Alleviating the Small, Scattered, and Weak Dilemma in Agricultural Development: The Cases of Tangyue, Zhouchong, and Chongzhou

“Small, scattered and weak”, i.e., small-scale arable land holdings, decentralized operation, and weak effectiveness are common agricultural development problems that most developing countries face. Promoting the moderate-scale operation and modernization development of agriculture under the premise of protecting social stability is a complex and systemic process. In the evolution of China’s agricultural business model and land system reform, the Land Shareholding Cooperative System (LSCS) emerged. However, few studies have focused on the relationship between rural land institution innovation and agricultural economic development. We found great potential in this approach in solving the dilemma of “small, scattered, weak” in agricultural development, while protecting farmers’ land property rights. We described the cases of Tangyue, Zhouchong, and Chongzhou in rural China through the research method to illustrate how this occurred. This approach takes full advantage of the combination of “cooperative” and “shareholding” while alleviating the incompatibility of the historical allocation of arable land with urbanization and agricultural development. Balancing the development of factor markets and protecting the welfare of members contributes to its effective implementation. This study provides valuable examples of agricultural development in similar areas and countries.

Investigating the reasons behind the choice to promote crop diversification practices through the new CAP reform in Europe

The present study investigates the factors that might contribute influencing Member States decision to promote the adoption of crop diversification practices through their provisional National Strategic Plans for implementing the 2023–2027 Common Agricultural Policy. The Qualitative Comparative Analysis method is used to explore the link between key agricultural land uses and land use pressure indicators and the choice of funding the adoption of diversification practices and of imposing restrictions to access subsidies for their adoption. Results highlight that the choice of financing the adoption of diversification practices is associated with: the diffusion of cereal crops (share of cereals crops on the arable land above the median value of 20%), the diffusion of large farms (share of agricultural land for farms above 100 ha on the UAA above the median value of 10%) and the poor diffusion of grasslands (share of agricultural land cultivated with permanent grassland below the median value of 30%), mainly for eastern European countries, and with biodiversity pressures (share of biodiversity pressure indicators above the median value of 0.36), mainly for central European countries. Conversely, the choice of imposing high restrictions on the adoption of diversification practices is mainly associated with different form of land use pressures (nutrient leaching, biodiversity losses and soil erosion), mainly for southern European countries. Lack of financing and lack of restrictions remains unexplained for some MS (i.e., this is particularly evident for Sweeden and Finalnd) and apparently contradictory choices are highlighted for some others (i.e., financing the adoption of diversification practices with limited restrictions, which was addressed for France, Austria, Slovenia and Lithuania). The paper concludes providing a summary of the main findings, some policy recommendations to cope with existing shortcomings in current plans, due to excess flexibility and lack of coherence with existing priorities and highlighting the limits of the approach used and some proposal for further investigation.

The concept of fulfillment of rights to land in the land law of Ukraine

Introduction. The lack of a comprehensive understanding of the concept of fulfillment of rights to land gives rise to many contentious contradictions, therefore there is a need for a thorough study of this legal phenomenon with the aim of implementing a unified approach and an unambiguous understanding of this conceptand its features. The purpose of the article is to formulate the concept of fulfillment of land rights, which involves the study and disclosure of its important features and legal nature, as well as the separation of the investigated issue into an independent legal phenomenon. Сonclusions. During the research, we came to the conclusion that fulfillment of rights to land should, in our opinion, be considered as a set of actions (legal facts and legal structures) carried out within a certain legal procedure, which leads to the unification of three legal elements – the subject of law, object of law and a certain objective right – into a legally unified legal phenomenon, which is a subjective right, that is, the right of a specific person to a specific land plot (land, land share). Moreover, a certain subjective right in a certain of a person to a certain part of the earth's surface arises only at the last stage of legal activity (legal procedure) – at the time of entering the corresponding entry into the State Register of real rights to immovable property. Accordingly, a certain subjective right cannot exist before such state registration, because it arises exclusively at the time of its implementation (completion). The procedure for fulfillment of rights to land requires the existence of an objective right. Therefore, a subjective right to land can arise only from a person who belongs to the number of persons (groups of persons) defined by law, who can acquire suchrights to land in accordance with the legislation establishing rules of conduct forsubjects of land relations. In order to fulfillment the right, it is also mandatory to have a potential object of a specific subjective right to land, i.e. the presence of a certain part of the earth's surface, which is recognized by law as an object of land rights. A certain subjective right of acertain person to a certain part of the earth's surface cannot exist without the state registration of the land plot in the State Register of Property Rights to immovable property, which is carried out in accordance with the officially prescribed procedureby the authorized state body for the maintenance and administration of the state register Key words: fulfillment of the right to land, legal facts, legal structures, subjectivelaw, object of land rights, state registration.

Toward Sustainable Development Trajectories? Estimating Urban Footprints from High-Resolution Copernicus Layers in Athens, Greece

Land imperviousness reflects settlement growth and urban sprawl. Grounded on a comparative approach, a set of multidimensional statistical techniques were adopted here to quantify the evolution of land imperviousness from Copernicus High-Resolution Layers (HRLs) in a representative case study of Southern Europe (Athens, Greece). A two-way data matrix reporting the percent share of the surface land exposed to different sealing levels (101 classes ranging continuously from 0% to 100%) in the total municipal area was computed for two years (2006 and 2018) individually for 115 municipalities in metropolitan Athens. This matrix represented the information base needed to derive place-specific urban footprints and a comprehensive (global) profile of land imperviousness. Results of a Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) delineated a metropolitan structure still organized along the density gradient, moving from dense settlements in central locations with dominant land classes sealed for more than 90% of their surface area to completely pervious land (0%) typical of rural locations. While the density gradient became less steep between 2006 and 2018, it continued to aliment a socioeconomic polarization in urban and rural districts with distinctive profiles of land imperviousness. Intermediate locations had more mixed imperviousness profiles as a result of urban sprawl. Differential profiles reflect place-specific urban footprints with distinctive land take rates.

Seasonal Dynamics of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), in Apple Orchards of Western Slovenia Using Two Trap Types

The invasive Halyomorpha halys is a serious pest for several fruit trees, causing millions of dollars of crop damage every year across the world’s major fruit-growing regions. Once established in an orchard, H. halys quickly becomes the predominant stink bug species and is a major season-long pest. Annual increases in the population size of H. halys have resulted in increased pest pressure and a growing risk of severe crop damage. Reliable monitoring is indispensable for H. halys control and management, providing comprehensive information on the seasonality of pest population dynamics, abundance, and interaction with the environment, and is essential for the successful implementation of integrated pest management (IPM) strategies to prevent crop damage. Our study followed the seasonal population dynamics of H. halys in three apple orchards in the Goriška region of western Slovenia over the period 2019–2021. Pherocon® Dual Panel Adhesive Traps (Trece Inc.) and pyramidal Rescue® Stink Bug Traps, both baited with Trécé lures (two-component H. halys aggregation pheromone + pheromone synergist), were used to monitor H. halys adults and nymphs weekly from late March to the end of November. Captures taken with both types of trap clearly describe the seasonal dynamics of H. halys, with the first occurrence of overwintering adults in April and May, and with two peak occurrences in adults, in the middle of summer and in the beginning of autumn, corresponding to the appearance of two generations per year in the study area. The growing trap captures observed during the 3-year monitoring period suggest that H. halys was only recently introduced to the area and that natural enemies have not yet been fully recruited. Pyramid traps captured significantly more adults and nymphs than clear sticky traps and provided accurate monitoring of H. halys life stages throughout the season. Regardless of the lower trap catches of adults and juveniles, clear sticky traps clearly displayed H. halys seasonal dynamics pattern. Therefore, their use is recommended as an early detection tool in areas where pests are not yet present, or in areas with small H. halys populations. Halyomorpha halys adult trap captures were higher in Šempeter orchards, within areas of great landscape diversity and a large share of urban land. The seasonal dynamics of H. halys over the 3-year period were closely related to weather conditions, with temperature and relative humidity as the major factors affecting population growth.

აკვაკულტურის განვითარების როლი საქართველოს სამცხე-ჯავახეთის რეგიონის ეკონომიკის ზრდის საქმეში

The article presents the analytical description of the current situation of aquaculture development in Samtskhe-Javakheti region and in Georgia in general. The data about sector development natural potential are provided, the indicators of the fish production dynamics are analyzed in the paper. Water resources have a great potential and their ecological-sound use enables Georgia to meet not only an internal demand of the country on the fresh water fish, but also due to specifics of the local waters, produce export product. Internal water resource of fresh water for fishery production includes total water surface of 16,900 ha of 860 lakes. Samtskhe-Javakheti region is distinguished with the specific water resources compared to other regions. The regions is rich with the hydro-resources, including the R. Mtkvari water-collecting basin, the basin of the rivers Uraveli, Paravani, Borjomistskali and Gujaretistskali with total size 6,250 m2, with the total water resource of 3, 475 mln m3. The region territory covers 15 non-drying, 25 drying and 64 little lakes, 5 water reservoirs transforming into the swamp of the hydro-resource objects. The total size of the basin of the main lake exceeds 983 m2, the volume of the water reaches to 400 million m3. The water reservoir located in the Lirbalakhi basin in the region includes 2.08 million m3, and the size of the swamps is 817 ha in the region. The article studies the dynamics of the land plots occupied by aquaculture. According to the data, there is 23% of growth of the land plots occupied by aquaculture in entire Georgia; while the situation is different in the target region, there is 10% of reduction, followed by reduction of the share of aquaculture land from 11.1% until 10.6%. Study of the aquaculture fodder supply demonstrated that use of combined fodder is increasing in Georgia; average rate of the growth consists of 5-7 % in the country, while the rate is higher in Samtskhe-Javakheti region, where use of combined fodder achieved 35% of growth. There is tendency of growth in use of all kind of fodder. The index of the fodder expenses reached 1.30 throughout entire country, while it is 1.38 in Samtskhe-Javakheti, indicating strengthening of the fodder basis and intensive development of the field. The analysis of fish production dynamics is also an indicator for the further development of the aquaculture. In 2021 compared to 2019, there is 16% of growth in production of the fish, comprising 2,861 tons. The growth achieved 24% in the same period in the region what can be considered as a positive phenomenon in fishery production in Georgia, where the share of the fish farms (family-run) was increased up to 60% with growing engagement of the farmers aged 25-45 from 20% up to 29%. The rate of fish production is in compliance with the increased rate of water stock. The study revealed the specific problems (fish structure, diversification of the fodder, veterinarian service, growing of young fish) requiring solution to increase development of fresh water fish breeding, making financial sustainability of farming and economic growth of the region.

Problems of regulation of the turnover of land share and the ways of their solution

The problems of regulating the turnover of agricultural land in private ownership, namely, land shares owned by individuals, but not allocated in kind, are considered. It is proposed to create an electronic thematic map of a land plot containing information on the number of participants in the right of common ownership of a land plot, the size of the shares of owners, unallocated land shares, land plots already allocated on account of shares and registered or in the process of setting and registering ights under analogies with the public cadastral map and the Internet map «GIS of St. Petersburg» in the field of land shares. Its creation will make it possible to significantly simplify the work of allocating shares in kind and preparing the necessary cadastral documentation (land survey project and survey plan).

Assessing the Impact of Rural Development for the Agro-Industrial Complex of the Russian Federation

Assessing the Impact of Rural Development for the Agro-Industrial Complex of the Russian Federation

구분소유자 아닌 대지 공유자와 구분소유자 간의 부당이득반환청구 문제

The Supreme Court Decision 2017Da257067 changed the previous precedent on the issue of claim for return of unjust enrichment between the land co-owner who are not the sectional owner and the sectional owner.
 In the case of joint ownership of the site of the condominium building, the general rule of co-ownership under the Civil Act does not apply, and a new legal principle was proposed that the land co-owner who are not the sectional owner cannot claim the return of unjust unrichment against the sectional owner who has an proper share of the site according to the area ratio of the section for exclusive use.
 This decision was based on the concept of ‘proper land share’ as well as the integral indivisibility of the section for exclusive use and the right to use site. However, I think that excluding the application of general legal principles regarding co-ownership under the Civil Act in the joint relationship of the site of the condominium building is an interpretation that goes beyond the contents of the Act on Condominium Buildings. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that even in the sharing relationship of the site for condominium building, the co-owner of the site, not the sectional owner, can claim the return of unjust unrichment from the use and profit of the site against the sectional owner.

FORECASTING THE ECOLOGICAL STATE OF LANDS IN REGIONS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

An electronic raster map of the ecological state of lands of Russian regions was prepared for the reference period from 2001 to 2020 based on the characteristics of the primary photosynthesis products derived from Earth remote sensing materials from space in the form of indicators of «productivity», land transformation and dynamics of organic matter content in the soil and their generalizing indicator of sustainable development goals - SDG 15.3.1. Land degradation indicator. T e calculation shows that 2.2 million square kilometers, which constitutes 13% of the territory of Russian Federation, belong to the category of degraded by the end of 2020. 45% of the territory is occupied by land from the stable category, which has not changed over the past 19 years. 41% of the territory belongs to the lands that have improved during the reference period. A statistically reliable nonlinear regular relationship of the indicator of the ecological state of lands of Russian Federation was established in the form of an indicator of the share of non-degraded lands, considering the share of non-established lands with the amount of specif c emissions of pollutants into the atmospheric air from stationary sources located on the territory of the subject. T e threshold value of specif c emissions from stationary sources at the level of the subject of Russian Federation was established, amounting to 1610 kg per sq. km. T e probability of exceeding the threshold value of specif c emissions is 37%. T e risk of increasing land degradation with an increase in emissions is typical for 36% of territorial units of Russian Federation.

Pros and cons of no-till technology

The article presents the history of the development and implementation of No-till technology abroad and in Ukraine, indicating the countries and years where and when this technology was developed and implemented. It is indicated that a great contribution to the development of the theoretical foundations of minimization of soil cultivation due to No-till technology was made by the scientists of the USA, who, according to most indicators, highly rated this technology. Among its shortcomings, they attributed the deterioration of the ecological situation due to weeds, diseases and pests and the need to apply higher doses of nitrogen fertilizers and herbicides. Scientists of the National Research Center "Institute of Agriculture" of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences add to this list a delay of three to four days with the spring ripening of the soil due to the presence of plant remains in the form of mulch on its surface and the spread of mouse-like rodents. This limitation of the disadvantages of No-till technology makes it quite successful in terms of spread in agricultural production, because annually its area in the world grows by more than 1 million hectares. Its largest areas are in the USA, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Australia and Paraguay, and in Brazil, no-till technology is included in the ranks of government programs with appropriate crediting. In Europe as a whole, the share of land with No-till technology in the structure of sown areas does not exceed 3 %. The optimal conditions for No-till technology in the forest-steppe and steppe zones of Ukraine are on an area of 5.25 million hectares, but its development is currently far from 1 million hectares. The problem of the prevalence of no-till technology in domestic production is seen by the majority of scientists as excessive weediness of the crops grown for it, although in our opinion this phenomenon is possible only in the early stages of the development of the technology without tillage. No-till technology has its future, because only it, among many other technologies, can guarantee an extended reproduction of soil fertility. Key words: No-till technology, weediness of sowing, soil fertility.

Perdebatan Antara Land Sharing dan Land Sparing

The debate between Land Sharing and Land Sparing has been a significant debate in decision-making for several years. In decision-making, there are several things that must be considered, including social, economic, and ecological. However, over time, the increase in food is also increasing. In addition, another important thing is biodiversity which is a limiting factor in maintaining ecology. This article reviews the effectiveness of land-sharing and land-sparing selection from an agricultural point of view.

Evolutionary trends of urban expansion and its sustainable development: Evidence from 80 representative cities in the belt and road initiative region

Rapid urbanization of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) region has undoubtedly led to changes in the scale, form, and pattern of cities to accommodate the expansion of industry, housing, and commerce and to produce sustained impacts on environmental sustainability. However, limited studies have yet to systematically investigate the urban expansion in this area. Based on a systematic research path of “pattern-mode-coordination-sustainability”, this study quantified the urban expansion dynamics of BRI countries and 80 representative cities from 2000 to 2018 using multi-source remote sensing data and the Global Atlas of Urban Expansion. The results show that in terms of dynamic rules, the share of urban lands grew from 0.32 % in 2000 to 0.66 % in 2018 (an increase of 250,600 km2) and is estimated to increase to 1.68 % in 2018–2030. Countries in developing regions (i.e., West Asia, North Africa, and Southeast Asia) are predicted to become the new high-value centers of urban expansion intensity (UEI). The UEI of BRI cities showed a significant developing region orientation and “high in the east and low in the west” distribution pattern but would gradually shift towards a spatially homogeneous and discrete distribution. BRI cities can be divided into four expansion modes (center-periphery, double-winged strip, dual-core cluster, and single-winged mutation expansion), each with a different evolutionary dynamic mechanism. Regarding coordination, there is a great demand for land expansion by population and economic growth in BRI cities. This dependence increased as the city's UEI index rose; when the UEI exceeded 3 %, the dependence became more pronounced. The investigations also showed that the adverse ecological effects of urban land expansion are gradually increasing at the urban scale. Furthermore, the ecological impacts of population growth are usually the strongest for BRI's countries and cities, and the intensity showed a synergistic growth trend with the UEI index. This study provides new insights into the dynamic features of BRI's urban expansion from national to urban scales and historical to future periods, while also contributing new perspectives from the BRI to optimal global land management and sustainable urban development.

THE IMPORTANCE OF FARMS FROM AREAS WITH PARTICULAR RISK OF WIND EROSION IN POLAND AS A SOURCE OF PUBLIC GOODS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE EU CAP

The aim of the study is to characterize agriculture, including the assessment of its economic situation in areas (municipalities) of varying saturation with utilized agricultural area (UAA) particularly at risk of wind erosion in Poland, and to determine the factors that influence the willingness to better adapt to existing difficulties through the implementation of selected measures under the Common Agricultural Policy 2014-2020 (CAP 2014-2020). We are talking here about the agri-environment-climate measure (AECM) and organic farming measure, which, by improving the condition of agricultural soils, are able to simultaneously guarantee the society many public goods related to better protection of the natural environment. For the purposes of the study, data from the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation State Research Institute in Puawy and the Agency for Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture, as well as data from farms continuously keeping accounts for the Polish FADN in 2019-2021 were used. A logistic regression model was used to indicate the factors that were statistically significant in order to farmers from municipalities with an exceptionally high share of agricultural land particularly at risk of wind erosion, decided to participate in the AECM and/or organic farming measure. Based on this model, it was established that in these municipalities important factors of greater willingness to implement them concerned lower income cleared of operating subsidies per 1 ha of UAA, the farmers higher level of education, the presence of other farms participating in them in the immediate vicinity, as well as a larger area of UAA and location in Natura 2000 areas.

Теоретико-правовой анализ легального определения понятия «невостребованная земельная доля»

The article reveals theoretical approaches to the content of the legislative definition of the concept of “unclaimed land share”, which appeared in Russian law as one of the legal consequences of the ongoing land reform, which led to the disposal of significant areas of agricultural land from economic use. Separate approaches of theoretical scientists to the content of the editions of the theoretical institute under study that have been changing over 30 years are analyzed. An assessment of innovations that have significantly changed the legal definition of the concept and regulation of the legal fate of unclaimed land is given.

Sectoral policies as drivers of forest management and ecosystems services: A case study in Bavaria, Germany

European countries have national sectoral polices to regulate and promote the provision of a wide range of forest ecosystems services (FES). However, potential incoherencies among these policies can negatively affect the efficient provision of FES. In this work, we evaluated the coherence among three national policies from Germany and their ability to effectively provide FES in the future: the Forest Strategy 2020 (FS), the National Strategy on Biological Diversity (BDS), and the German National Policy Strategy on Bioeconomy (BES). Using forest inventory data from the Federal State of Bavaria, we simulated a range of forest management options under three climate trajectories for 100 years into the future (2012–2112). Then, with multi-objective optimization, we translated each policy into a specific scenario and identified the best combination of management regimes that maximizes the targets defined in each policy scenario. The three policies were vague in the definition of FES. The FS was the most comprehensive policy aiming for a higher degree of multifunctionality, whereas the BES and BDS focused on less FES. The FS and the BDS showed the highest coherence, while the BES showed a stronger focus on timber production. As a result, the optimal management programs of FS and BDS showed high integration, with a dominance of Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF), and certain shares of set asides. Climate change led to an increase of set aside areas due to increased productivity. In the BES, the share of land among management regimes was strongly segregated between CCF and rotation forestry. Our policy coherence analysis showed that achieving a multifunctional provision of FES requires policy coherence, fostering a diverse management of the landscape that mainly takes advantage of integrative management, like CCF, but also segregates important parts of the landscape for intensive use and set asides. Nevertheless, the current high standing volumes in Bavaria will pose an additional risk to implement such management.

The impact of demographic developments on flood risk management systems in rural regions in the Alpine Arc

Demographic trends across Europe indicate that many regions face sustained population decline due to aging and out-migration. Rural regions are often prone to flood hazards and have repeatedly been affected by damaging events in the past. However, we lack in-depth knowledge about how demographic trends challenge their capacities, abilities, and plans to manage flood risks. In this paper, we aim to close this gap. We employed a mixed-methods approach in the Gailtal-region in Carinthia (Austria), which combines the assessment of exposure to flood risk, social vulnerability, coping ability and adaptation capacity, as well as a discourse analysis. This comprehensive approach was designed to assess how demographic change impacts flood risk management. The findings do not support the hypothesis that population decline increases communities’ social vulnerability and reduces their coping ability and adaptation capacity. Additionally, the selected municipalities showed a strong increase in exposure. This is an example of the exposure paradox, which describes the phenomenon that settlement and population dynamics are not interconnected at all, especially in regions with a limited share of suitable land. Finally, our results show that current flood risk management and the corresponding social and political discourse mainly neglect the challenge of population decline. Overall, this study indicates that public administrations need to address the challenges of weak communities in flood risk management and consider how they might empower local authorities and citizens to adapt to future events – in full consideration of the demographic trends they have to expect.