Structural development in Danish agriculture and its implications for farmland nature

Summary

During the last decades, development of Danish agriculture was characterised by concentration of land on fewer and larger farms and consequently increasing farm sizes. On basis of three case studies supplemented by national data we explore relationships between farm size change and farmland nature in terms of field sizes and hedgerow densities. Data point to a significant relationship between farm enlargement and increases in mean field sizes. Furthermore, mean field size is negatively related to densities of hedgerows. For the coming decades, scenarios for Danish agriculture point to a continued increase in farm sizes. We argue for an increased focus on the effects of a continued scale enlargement on farmland nature in terms of changes in field size structure. In order to reduce harmful influences of scale enlargement, we suggest that in relation to changes in field structure, agricultural policies should focus on restrictions on removal of old hedgerows and on subsidies for planting of new