Publications
NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.
2010
Abstract
Protected Landscapes (PLs) are increasingly used in Norway to conserve cultural (human modified) landscapes. In many cases the maintenance of agricultural activities in PLs is required to preserve landscape character. Whilst research exists on land conservation policies in general, the particular effects of PL on management and adjustment of the farms involved have not received attention in the literature. We present results from a questionnaire sent to owners of agricultural land within PLs in Norway. Whilst landowners were divided upon the effects of PLs on farm management, the economic situation of the farm was little affected. Furthermore, changes in farm management after the establishment of a PL did not seem to have been driven by the establishment of the PLs per se. Most importantly, farm management changes were related to potential options to develop the farm and its land. A statistical model showed that PL-farms did not differ significantly from farms outside PL in the development of their land use or animal husbandry. Our findings thus indicate that the establishment of PL played a minor role as a driving force of changes in farm management and farm income.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
AR18×18 is an area frame survey of land resources in Norway, methodologically linked to the Lucas survey carried out by Eurostat (Eurostat 2003). The purpose of the survey is to establish an unbiased and accurate land cover and land use statistic providing a description of the state of land resources in Norway. The survey will also provide a baseline for future reports regarding changes in land resources – a national land resource accounting system. AR18×18 is based on Lucas (Land use/cover agricultural survey), a European area frame survey carried out in the EU countries by Eurostat. The sampling units of Lucas are points located on the intersections of an 18 × 18 kilometer grid mesh throughout Europe. Each of these points is the centre of a Primary Statistical Unit (PSU) of 1500 × 600 meters. The Lucas survey is carried out on ten sample points scattered within each PSU. The Norwegian modification of Lucas is to add a land cover survey of the whole PSU following the Norwegian system for vegetation and land cover mapping at intermediate scale (1: 20,000). [...]
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Grete StokstadAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Grete StokstadAbstract
The use of rented land has increased steadily over time in Northern Norway. At the same time there is a common perception that there is an increased regrowth of agricultural land. In this paper we investigate if the use of rented land also is a factor that leads to increased re-growth. We utilize land use data from the 3Q project in Northern Norway. These data are combined with data from the applications for acreage support to divide areas on tree types of properties. The area of abandoned land is explained as a function of property types. Our results show that there is a significant difference between owner used and rented land with respect to the amount of abandoned land on the property. This suggests that when previous farmers have rented out their land, one third of the previously farmed land may have been taken out of productions, and is now identified as abandoned land.
Authors
Anders BrynAbstract
Extensive landscape and vegetation changes are apparent within southern Norway, specifically the expansion of forests into new areas and to higher altitudes. Two main processes are believed to cause these changes: regrowth after abandoned human utilisation and recent climate changes. The purpose of this article is to elucidate ways of separating the effects of these two processes on spatiotemporal changes in the upper forest limits using examples from southern Norway. Examples from two spatial scales are implemented, a vegetation map study of a mountain region in south-east Norway and a national map-based study of south Norway. The findings show that multiple methods are necessary to understand the forest limit changes and that the research focus should be on the separation of potential drivers, specifically climate improvements and land-use changes.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Sebastian EiterAbstract
This article uses an activity-based understanding of landscape to explore values related to perceived land cover diversity. Perceptions within two user groups, members of landowner families and hiking tourists in a mountain area in western Norway, were related to a simultaneous land cover survey, and compared to experts' evaluations of land cover and to the aims of landscape protection in the area. Users perceived the area as being significantly more diverse and valuable than experts did, which stresses the importance of taking user perception into account in landscape protection and management. Some central landscape values were dependent upon land use outside the boundaries of the protected area. This illustrates that measures within structurally defined land units are not necessarily sufficient for maintenance of landscape values experienced by users. Land use in both respects, as an upholder of values and as a way of experiencing or perceiving them, should receive an increased role in the determination of management units.
Abstract
Norwegian agriculture has, as in most western-European countries, gone through several periods of change during the last 100 years. Pronounced changes have occurred in production systems and the spatial organisation of farm land, as well as agricultural policy. During the last 50 years, official statistics document a marked decline in the number of active farms. This decline has caused concern, as Norway traditionally has had an agricultural policy that emphasises self-sufficiency and rural settlement. Yet statistics also show that the amount of agricultural land in use has remained the same. This is usually explained through a larger proportion of tenanted land, as technological progress has allowed production levels to be maintained with a smaller workforce. Studies elsewhere in Europe show, however, that tenancy may not promote the same levels of investment and landscape management as owner occupation. To assess the potential impact of this change on Norway's landscape (and its value as both a cultural and tourism resource) we analyse tenancy patterns in Norwegian agriculture between 1999 and 2003. In particular we note that, even if owner occupation remains strong nationally, when the statistics are broken down by municipality, tenancy has increased significantly in some areas. This has left large areas of land managed as tenancies by a relatively small number of farmers, including parts of the iconic west coast fjords. We conclude therefore that further work is urgently required to establish whether the effects of tenancy seen elsewhere apply to Norway, whether this exposes key landscapes to increased risk of abandonment and if so what appropriate political responses there could be.