Agricultural land abandonment in the Romanian Carpathians
摘要
The present study focuses on post-communist changes in patterns of agricultural lands by analyzing agricultural land abandonment (ALAB) and decrease in agricultural land use intensity. These changes were examined through a transition matrix approach, computed to quantify the processes and their levels of severity. Furthermore, using binary logistic regression, the effect of 15 socioeconomic and location factors, as possible causes of ALAB, was empirically estimated. The analysis indicates that ALAB predominantly occurred over agricultural lands associated with a lower intensity use. Furthermore, the characteristics of its transition demonstrated an important potential risk for ALAB in the near future, mainly in areas already affected by a decrease in agricultural land use intensity. The statistical estimates indicated a significant negative association between ALAB and the total number of inhabitants and cattle population, distance to main roads, and agricultural land use intensity, and a positive association between ALAB and the distance to settlements and total organic matter content in the topsoil. The study provides insights that can support a better understanding of ALAB in mountain regions, and can inform decision-making processes in order to adopt appropriate planning strategies to limit land abandonment in line with the particular challenges in the Romanian Carpathians.