Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Environmental Challenges in the Baltic Region pp 155–171Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Environmental Impacts of Rural Landscape Change During the Post-Communist Period in the Baltic Sea Region

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

  • 315 Accesses

Abstract

Landscape change is one of the most important anthropogenic processes affecting ecosystems. Historically, there have been several far-reaching transformations of Eastern and Northern European ecosystems due to agricultural transitions. The most recent one, due to the collapse of the Soviet Union, resulted in large-scale changes in rural landscapes of Eastern Europe. In many countries, over 20% of agricultural land was abandoned. The trend is especially strong in Estonia, where 54% of arable land was abandoned between 1992 and 2005. Land abandonment can affect a variety of ecosystem traits such as biodiversity, water supply , nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration. The outcome depends on the type of land abandoned and the management following abandonment. This chapter looks at its varied implications for environmental governance.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Alcantara, C., Kuemmerle, T., Baumann, M., Bragina, E. V., Griffiths, P., Hostert, P., et al. (2013). Mapping the extent of abandoned farmland in Central and Eastern Europe using MODIS time series satellite data. Environmental Research Letters, 8(3), 035035. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/035035.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allan, D. G., Harrison, J. A., Navarro, R., van Wilgen, B. W., & Thompson, M. W. (1997). The impact of commercial afforestation on bird populations in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa: Insights from bird-atlas data. Biological Conservation, 79(2–3), 173–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amici, V., Rocchini, D., Geri, F., Bacaro, G., Marcantonio, M., & Chiarucci, A. (2012). Effects of an afforestation process on plant species richness: A retrogressive analysis. Ecological Complexity, 9, 55–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baumann, M., Kuemmerle, T., Elbakidze, M., Ozdogan, M., Radeloff, V. C., Keuler, N. S., et al. (2011). Patterns and drivers of post-socialist farmland abandonment in Western Ukraine. Land Use Policy, 28(3), 552–562.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bremer, L. L., & Farley, K. A. (2010). Does plantation forestry restore biodiversity or create green deserts? A synthesis of the effects of land-use transitions on plant species richness. Biodiversity and Conservation, 19(14), 3893–3915.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buscardo, E., Smith, G. F., Kelly, D. L., Freitas, H., Iremonger, S., Mitchell, F. J., et al. (2008). The early effects of afforestation on biodiversity of grasslands in Ireland. Biodiversity and Conservation, 17(5), 1057–1072.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carson, J. K., Gleeson, D. B., Clipson, N., & Murphy, D. V. (2010). Afforestation alters community structure of soil fungi. Fungal Biology, 114(7), 580–584.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cramer, V. A., Hobbs, R. J., & Standish, R. J. (2008). What’s new about old fields? Land abandonment and ecosystem assembly. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 23(2), 104–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellison, D., Futter, M. N., & Bishop, K. (2012). On the forest cover-water yield debate: From demand- to supply-side thinking. Global Change Biology, 18(3), 806–820.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Estel, S., Kuemmerle, T., Alcántara, C., Levers, C., Prishchepov, A., & Hostert, P. (2015). Mapping farmland abandonment and recultivation across Europe using MODIS NDVI time series. Remote Sensing of Environment, 163, 312–325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FAO. (2012). FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. faostat.fao.org.Accessed 2 April 2012.

  • Graham, C. T., Wilson, M. W., Gittings, T., Kelly, T. C., Irwin, S., Quinn, J. L., & O’Halloran, J. (in press). Implications of afforestation for bird communities: The importance of preceding land-use type. Biodiversity and Conservation. doi:10.1007/s10531-015-0987-4.

  • Griffiths, P., Müller, D., Kuemmerle, T., & Hostert, P. (2013). Agricultural land change in the Carpathian ecoregion after the breakdown of socialism and expansion of the European Union. Environmental Research Letters, 8(4), 045024. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/4/045024.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grimvall, A., Stålnacke, P., & Tonderski, A. (2000). Time scales of nutrient losses from land to sea: A European perspective. Ecological Engineering, 14(4), 363–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henebry, G. M. (2009). Carbon in idle croplands. Nature, 457(7233), 1089–1090.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holt-Jensen, A., & Raagmaa, G. (2010). Restitution of agricultural land in Estonia: Consequences for landscape development and production. Norwegian Journal of Geography, 64(3), 129–141.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iital, A., Stålnacke, P., Deelstra, J., Loigu, E., & Pihlak, M. (2005). Effects of large-scale changes in emissions on nutrient concentrations in Estonian rivers in the Lake Peipsi drainage basin. Journal of Hydrology, 304(1–4), 261–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jõgiste, K., Metslaid, M., & Uri, V. (2015). Afforestation and land use dynamics in the Baltic states. In J. A. Stanturf (Ed.), Restoration of boreal and temperate forest (pp. 187–199). Boca Raton, FA: Taylor & Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johansson, L. J., Hall, K., Prentice, H. C., Ihse, M., Reitalu, T., Sykes, M. T., et al. (2008). Semi-natural grassland continuity, long-term land-use change and plant species richness in an agricultural landscape on Öland. Sweden. Landscape and Urban Planning, 84(3–4), 200–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johansson, V., Ranius, T., & Snäll, T. (2013). Epiphyte metapopulation persistence after drastic habitat decline and low tree regeneration: Time-lags and effects of conservation actions. Journal of Applied Ecology, 50(2), 414–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kana, S., Kull, T., & Otsus, M. (2008). Change in agriculturally used land and related habitat loss: A case study in eastern Estonia over 50 years. Estonian Journal of Ecology, 57(2), 119–132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keenleyside, C., & Tucker, G. M. (2010). Farmland abandonment in the EU: An assessment of trends and prospects. London, UK: Institute for European Environmental Policy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleijn, D., & Sutherland, W. J. (2003). How effective are European agri-environmental schemes in conserving and promoting biodiversity? Journal of Applied Ecology, 40(6), 947–969.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Komonen, A., Övermark, E., Hytönen, J., & Halme, P. (2015). Tree species influences diversity of ground-dwelling insects in afforested fields. Forest Ecology and Management, 349, 12–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kubiak, D. (2013). The significance of old-growth forests in maintaining lichen diversity: An example from the remnants of the Mazovian Forest. Forest Research Papers, 74(3), 245–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuemmerle, T., Kaplan, J. O., Prishchepov, A. V., Rylsky, I., Chaskovskyy, O., Tikunov, V. S., et al. (2015). Forest transitions in Eastern Europe and their effects on carbon budgets. Global Change Biology, 21(8), 3049–3061.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuemmerle, T., Olofsson, P., Chaskovskyy, O., Baumann, M., Ostapowicz, K., Woodcock, C., et al. (2011). Post-Soviet farmland abandonment, forest recovery, and carbon sequestration in western Ukraine. Global Change Biology, 17(3), 1335–1349.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kukk, T., & Kull, K. (1997). Puisniidud. Estonia Maritima, 2: 1–249.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kurganova, I., Lopes de Gerenyu, V., Six, J., & Kuzyakov, Y. (2014). Carbon cost of collective farming collapse in Russia. Global Change Biology, 20(3), 938–947.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lachance, D., Lavoie, C., & Desrochers, A. (2005). The impact of peatland afforestation on plant and bird diversity in southeastern Québec. Ecoscience, 12(2), 161–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindenmayer, D. B., & Fischer, J. (2013). Habitat fragmentation and landscape change: An ecological and conservation synthesis. Washington: Island Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Löfgren, S., Gustafson, A., Steineck, S., & Stålnacke, P. (1999). Agricultural development and nutrient flows in the Baltic states and Sweden after 1988. Ambio, 28(4), 237–320.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lõhmus, A., & Lõhmus, P. (2008). First-generation forests are not necessarily worse than long-term managed forests for lichens and bryophytes. Restoration Ecology, 16(2), 231–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu, C., Zhao, T., Shi, X., & Cao, S. (in press). Ecological restoration by afforestation may increase groundwater depth and create potentially large ecological and water opportunity costs in arid and semiarid China. Journal of Cleaner Production. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.03.046.

  • Luoma, S., & Okkonen, J. (2014). Impacts of future climate change and Baltic Sea level rise on groundwater recharge, groundwater levels, and surface leakage in the Hanko aquifer in Southern Finland. Water, 6(12), 3671–3700.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald, D., Crabtree, J. R., Wiesinger, G., Dax, T., Stamou, N., Fleury, P., et al. (2000). Agricultural abandonment in mountain areas of Europe: Environmental consequences and policy response. Journal of Environmental Management, 59(1), 47–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macours, K., & Swinnen, J. F. M. (2000). Causes of output decline in economic transition: The case of Central and Eastern European agriculture. Journal of Comparative Economics, 28(1), 172–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mander, Ü. (1994). Changes of landscape structure in Estonia during the Soviet period. GeoJournal, 33(1), 45–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matuszkiewicz, J. M., Kowalska, A., Kozłowska, A., Roo-Zielińska, E., & Solon, J. (2013). Differences in plant-species composition, richness and community structure in ancient and post-agricultural pine forests in central Poland. Forest Ecology and Management, 310, 567–576.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, M. G., Suarez-Castro, A. F., Martinez-Harms, M., Maron, M., McAlpine, C., Gaston, K. J., et al. (2015). Reframing landscape fragmentation’s effects on ecosystem services. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 30(4), 190–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mourad, D. S. J., van der Perk, M., Gooch, G. D., Loigu, E., Piirimäe, K., & Stålnacke, P. (2005). GIS-based quantification of future nutrient loads into Lake Peipsi/Chudskoe using qualitative regional development scenarios. Water Science and Technology, 51(3), 355–363.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mourad, D. S., van der Perk, M., & Piirimäe, K. (2006). Changes in nutrient emissions, fluxes and retention in a North-Eastern European lowland drainage basin. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 120(1), 415–448.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Navarro, L. M., & Pereira, H. M. (2012). Rewilding abandoned landscapes in Europe. Ecosystems, 15(6), 900–912.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olofsson, P., Kuemmerle, T., Griffiths, P., Knorn, J., Baccini, A., Gancz, V., et al. (2011). Carbon implications of forest restitution in post-socialist Romania. Environmental Research Letters, 6(4), 045202. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/6/4/045202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oxbrough, A. G., Gittings, T., O’Halloran, J., Giller, P. S., & Kelly, T. C. (2007). Biodiversity of the ground-dwelling spider fauna of afforestation habitats. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 120(2–4), 433–441.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oxbrough, A., Irwin, S., Kelly, T. C., & O’Halloran, J. (2010). Ground-dwelling invertebrates in reforested conifer plantations. Forest Ecology and Management, 259(10), 2111–2121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pei, N., Chen, B., & Liu, S. (2015). Pb and Cd contents in soil, water, and trees at an afforestation site, South China. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 95(5), 632–637.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pimm, S. L., Jenkins, C. N., Abell, R., Brooks, T. M., Gittleman, J. L., Joppa, L. N., et al. (2014). The biodiversity of species and their rates of extinction, distribution, and protection. Science, 344(6187), 1246752. doi:10.1126/science.1246752.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pitkänen, T. P., Kumpulainen, J., Lehtinen, J., Sihvonen, M., & Käyhkö, N. (2016). Landscape history improves detection of marginal habitats on semi-natural grasslands. Science of the Total Environment, 539, 359–369.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ponette-González, A. G., Brauman, K. A., Marín-Spiotta, E., Farley, K. A., Weathers, K. C., Young, K. R., et al. (2015). Managing water services in tropical regions: From land cover proxies to hydrologic fluxes. Ambio, 44(5), 367–375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prishchepov, A. V., Müller, D., Dubinin, M., Baumann, M., & Radeloff, V. C. (2013). Determinants of agricultural land abandonment in post-Soviet European Russia. Land Use Policy, 30(1), 873–884.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Queiroz, C., Beilin, R., Folke, C., & Lindborg, R. (2014). Farmland abandonment: Threat or opportunity for biodiversity conservation? A global review. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 12(5), 288–296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Renwick, A., Jansson, T., Verburg, P. H., Revoredo-Giha, C., Britz, W., Gocht, A., et al. (2013). Policy reform and agricultural land abandonment in the EU. Land Use Policy, 30(1), 446–457.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rudel, T. K., Perez-Lugo, M., & Zichal, H. (2000). When fields revert to forest: Development and spontaneous reforestation in post-war Puerto Rico. The Professional Geographer, 52(3), 386–397.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruskule, A., Nikodemus, O., Kasparinska, Z., Kasparinskis, R., & Brūmelis, G. (2012). Patterns of afforestation on abandoned agriculture land in Latvia. Agroforestry Systems, 85(2), 215–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saarinen, K., & Jantunen, J. (2005). Grassland butterfly fauna under traditional animal husbandry: contrasts in diversity in mown meadows and grazed pastures. Biodiversity and Conservation, 14(13), 3201–3213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schierhorn, F., Müller, D., Beringer, T., Prishchepov, A. V., Kuemmerle, T., & Balmann, A. (2013). Post-Soviet cropland abandonment and carbon sequestration in European Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 27(4), 1175–1185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silva, J. P., Toland, J., Jones, W., Eldridge, J., Thorpe, E., & O’Hara, E. (2008). LIFE and Europe’s grasslands: Restoring a forgotten habitat. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smaliychuk, A., Müller, D., Prishchepov, A. V., Levers, C., Kruhlov, I., & Kuemmerle, T. (2016). Recultivation of abandoned agricultural lands in Ukraine: Patterns and drivers. Global Environmental Change, 38, 70–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soliva, R. (2007). Landscape stories: Using ideal type narratives as a heuristic device in rural studies. Journal of Rural Studies, 23(1), 62–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stålnacke, P., Grimvall, A., Libiseller, C., Laznik, M., & Kokorite, I. (2003). Trends in nutrient concentrations in Latvian rivers and the response to the dramatic change in agriculture. Journal of Hydrology, 283(1–4), 184–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stålnacke, P., Vandsemb, S. M., Vassiljev, A., Grimvall, A., & Jolankai, G. (2004). Changes in nutrient levels in some Eastern European rivers in response to large-scale changes in agriculture. Water Science and Technology, 49(3), 29–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Statistics Estonia. 2016. Eesti Statistika. www.stat.ee. Accessed 28 April 2016.

  • Strijker, D. (2005). Marginal lands in Europe: Causes of decline. Basic and Applied Ecology, 6(2), 99–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tumas, R. (2000). Evaluation and prediction of nonpoint pollution in Lithuania. Ecological Engineering, 14(4), 443–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Dijk, A. I., & Keenan, R. J. (2007). Planted forests and water in perspective. Forest Ecology and Management, 251(1–2), 1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Rompaey, A., Krasa, J., & Dostal, T. (2007). Modelling the impact of land cover changes in the Czech Republic on sediment delivery. Land Use Policy, 24(3), 576–583.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verburg, P. H., & Overmars, K. P. (2009). Combining top-down and bottom-up dynamics in land use modeling: Exploring the future of abandoned farmlands in Europe with the Dyna-CLUE model. Landscape Ecology, 24(9), 1167–1181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek, P. M., Mooney, H. A., Lubchenco, J., & Melillo, J. M. (1997). Human domination of earth’s ecosystems. Science, 277(5325), 494–499.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vuichard, N., Ciais, P., Belelli, L., Smith, P., & Valentini, R. (2008). Carbon sequestration due to the abandonment of agriculture in the former USSR since 1990. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 22, GB4018. doi:10.1029/2008GB003212.

  • Witmer, F. D., & O’Loughlin, J. (2009). Satellite data methods and application in the evaluation of war outcomes: Abandoned agricultural land in Bosnia-Herzegovina after the 1992–1995 conflict. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 99(5), 1033–1044.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Stig Blomskog for his comments on the manuscript

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Natural Sciences, Technology and Environmental Studies Södertörn University, Huddinge, Sweden

    Kari Lehtilä & Patrik Dinnetz

Authors
  1. Kari Lehtilä
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Patrik Dinnetz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kari Lehtilä .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, Södertörn University Department of Economics, Uppsala, Sweden

    Ranjula Bali Swain

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Lehtilä, K., Dinnetz, P. (2017). Environmental Impacts of Rural Landscape Change During the Post-Communist Period in the Baltic Sea Region. In: Bali Swain, R. (eds) Environmental Challenges in the Baltic Region. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56007-6_7

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56007-6_7

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-56006-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56007-6

  • eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation