Historical and Ecological Background to the Arable Habitats of Europe

Abstract

Arable agriculture is the principal form of land use in Europe, occupying nearly 30% of the land area. While much of this is farmed very intensively, there are arable systems of high value to wildlife where cropping is diverse and interstitial habitats such as hedges, lines of trees, grassland patches and ponds are present.
Arable farming practices have changed greatly since the end of the nineteenth century, and particularly rapidly since the 1940s. These changes have included improvements to seed purity, the introduction of herbicides for control of non-crop plants, large increases in the application rates of fertilisers together with the development of high-yielding crop varieties and the ever-increasing size of farm machinery causing the removal of field boundary habitats. In recent years, irrigation has become more widespread, ploughing has been replaced by minimum cultivation and there has been an overall homogenisation of arable land. While these processes have been slower in the south and east of Europe, all countries are now affected.
These changes have had profound impacts on farmland wildlife through the direct and indirect effects and the loss of heterogeneity. These have included the catastrophic population declines of farmland birds such as corn bunting, little bustard and grey partridge, the loss of many formerly widespread plants characteristic of arable land, and declines of invertebrate numbers and diversity.
The rising demand for food to supply an increasing global population is the main driver of agricultural production. A slowing population growth and increasing agricultural efficiency may reduce pressures on arable land, while better understanding of the environmental costs of agricultural intensification coupled with payments to farmers will provide incentives to reduce inputs and mitigate their impacts.