Farmland fragmentation and defragmentation nexus: Scoping the causes, impacts, and the conditions determining its management decisions

Ntihinyurwa, Pierre Damien; Vries, Walter Timo de

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106828

Cited by 49 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 96 publications

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“…This study adopted an integrative and concept-centric qualitative approach based on the existing literature, including different theories and principles, to construct or reconceptualize a novel body of scientific knowledge in the form of a framework, models, theories, and hypotheses following a logical reasoning procedure [19,20]. This approach is suitable for integrative theoretical research as it comprehensively analyzes insights from the published literature and sets a theoretical basis for future research [21]. Therefore, given the scope of this study, the review concentrated on studies encompassing compositions, configurations, and ecosystem services of cropping systems and farmland landscapes.…”

Section: Overall Design and Selection Of Papersmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Framework for the Heterogeneity and Ecosystem Services of Farmland Landscapes: An Integrative Review

Wang

Manevski

et al. 2021

Sustainability

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It is essential for the sustainable development of farmland landscapes to balance ecosystem service trade-offs and improve resource use efficiency during crop production. Thus, an integrative and concept-centric qualitative approach was applied by combining the patch–corridor–matrix model of landscape ecology and the crop layout theory of farming systems into a theoretical framework. The thesis concludes that a farmland landscape comprises three compositions: the crop (the main crop and the service crop), the non-crop, and the non-vegetation, leading to heterogeneous composition and configuration. The main crop, typically displayed as large patches with a high distribution ratio, provides most of the provisioning services, while the service crop performs many regulation services. The non-crop and non-vegetation compositions often appear as strips that can connect different patches as corridors and support the provisioning services of crops. Non-crop compositions mainly focus on support and regulation services, while non-vegetation compositions support farming operations. Further research is needed in several respects, including the ecological impact and ecosystem service trade-offs of the composition and configuration heterogeneity, and strategies for the adoption of cropping systems and agronomic measures at the landscape scale, which are essential to the evaluation, improvement, and redesign of farmland landscapes.

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Section: Overall Design and Selection Of Papersmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Framework for the Heterogeneity and Ecosystem Services of Farmland Landscapes: An Integrative Review

Wang

Manevski

et al. 2021

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Other factors influencing farmland fragmentation include external pressures from nature and society. These could be the growth in farming population given the limited land resources, or the egalitarian based land distribution through partible inheritance and culture [8][9][10][11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Farmland fragmentation has also been defined as the process whereby farming households possess a number of non-contiguous land plots, scattered over a wide area and defined by spatial characteristics such as farm size, the size and shape of land parcels, the number of land parcels belonging to the farm, the size distribution of plots, and the spatial distribution of plots [6,[14][15][16]. In this respect, farmland fragmentation can be viewed as a multidimensional phenomenon defined in terms of physical fragmentation (use, shape, value, and location), tenure fragmentation (both visible and hidden ownership and usership) and spatial unit fragmentation (parcel, farm and land block or zone) [8,[16][17][18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, farmland fragmentation has also been found to be associated with increased biodiversity [21,22]. However, the influence of farmland fragmentation also depends on a number of factors including the level of mechanisation or subsistence, the level of development of the factor market, the land tenure systems, the population density and demography of the country, as well as the prevailing agricultural systems and policies [8]. For example, in countries such as the United Kingdom (UK) and other European nations where agriculture is highly mechanised and market-oriented, farmland fragmentation is generally considered detrimental and a major threat to agricultural production, as it has the tendency of limiting economies of scale and centralized management of agricultural production, consequently reducing production efficiency and sustainable land use [8,15,18,23,24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the influence of farmland fragmentation also depends on a number of factors including the level of mechanisation or subsistence, the level of development of the factor market, the land tenure systems, the population density and demography of the country, as well as the prevailing agricultural systems and policies [8]. For example, in countries such as the United Kingdom (UK) and other European nations where agriculture is highly mechanised and market-oriented, farmland fragmentation is generally considered detrimental and a major threat to agricultural production, as it has the tendency of limiting economies of scale and centralized management of agricultural production, consequently reducing production efficiency and sustainable land use [8,15,18,23,24]. On the other hand, in countries where agriculture remain highly subsistent in nature, farmland fragmentation may be regarded as beneficial, in that it serves as an adaptive strategy to mitigate production and price fluctuation risks, and provide an opportunity for agricultural production diversification for self-sufficiency in food production and household food security [8,16,[25][26][27][28].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Quantifying Land Fragmentation in Northern Irish Cattle Enterprises

Milne

Byrne

Campbell

et al. 2022

Land

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Farmland fragmentation is considered to be a defining feature of Northern Ireland’s (NI) agricultural landscape, influencing agricultural efficiency, productivity, and the spread of livestock diseases. Despite this, the full extent of farmland fragmentation in cattle farms in NI is not well understood, and little is known of how farmland fragmentation either influences, or is influenced by, different animal production types. Here, we describe and quantify farmland fragmentation in cattle farms for all of NI, using GIS processing of land parcel data to associate individual parcels with data on the cattle business associated with the land. We found that 35% of farms consisted of five or more fragments, with dairy farms associated with greater levels of farmland fragmentation, fragment dispersal and contact with contiguous neighbours compared to other production types. The elevated levels of farmland fragmentation in dairy production compared to non-dairy, may be associated with the recent expansion of dairy farms by land acquisition, following the abolition of the milk quota system in 2015. The comparatively high levels of farmland fragmentation observed in NI cattle farms may also have important implications for agricultural productivity and epidemiology alike. Whilst highly connected pastures could facilitate the dissemination of disease, highly fragmented land could also hamper productivity via diseconomies of scale, such as preventing the increase of herd sizes or additionally, adding to farm costs by increasing the complexity of herd management.

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Effects of the Gully Land Consolidation Project on soil erosion and sediment yield on the Loess Plateau, China

GuiyunZhou

et al. 2022

Land Degrad Dev

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Land consolidation can increase the area of arable land and improve the ecology and environment and is widely used worldwide. The Gully Land Consolidation (GLC), as a special type of land consolidation, significantly impacts soil erosion. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the GLC on soil erosion and sediment yield under different rainfall events and hydrological years in the Xingshuyaozi watershed on the Chinese Loess Plateau, where the GLC area accounted for 10.36% of the watershed. A computer model integrated with the Chinese soil loss equation (CSLE) and the continuity equation of sediment was used. Sediment connectivity before and after the GLC was compared to illustrate the effect of the GLC on sediment yield. The results showed that the reduction in soil loss increased with increasing rainfall amount, and the reduction rate of soil erosion was over 50%. The GLC had the greatest effect on soil erosion in wet years. The GLC effectively decreased sediment at the outlet of the watershed, with over 99% of the sediment being trapped. The reduction efficiency of soil erosion and sediment yield decreased in order of wet year, normal year and dry year. The decreased soil erosion and sediment yield resulted from the significantly lowered slope gradients and sediment connectivity after the GLC. These results indicate that the GLC is an effective soil and water conservation measure. These results can provide technical support for the application of the GLC and policymaking.

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Farmland fragmentation and defragmentation nexus: Scoping the causes, impacts, and the conditions determining its management decisions

Cited by 49 publications

References 96 publications

A Framework for the Heterogeneity and Ecosystem Services of Farmland Landscapes: An Integrative Review

A Framework for the Heterogeneity and Ecosystem Services of Farmland Landscapes: An Integrative Review

Quantifying Land Fragmentation in Northern Irish Cattle Enterprises

Effects of the Gully Land Consolidation Project on soil erosion and sediment yield on the Loess Plateau, China

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