A review of causes and consequences of rural land use in Europe

The causes and consequences of rural land use across multiple spatial and temporal scales in Europe have been the focus of great scientific effort. However, with research often being conducted independently and in parallel, general consensus on causes and consequences of rural landscape change at the European scale can be elusive. Further, the questions answered by research do not always align with the requirements of policymakers and planners to promote sustainable rural landscapes.
Here, we aim to (1) identify the most commonly researched variables for European landscapes, (2) compare these with current policy objectives and research concepts, and (3) use these sources to develop a recommended framework to analyze and compare rural systems. To achieve aim (1), we conducted a structured literature review of 69 publications. From these, we identified more than 170 causes and consequences of land use in Europe that have been previously studied. We classified the studied variables into themes of drivers, farm management choices, and outcomes. Overall, we found that more drivers were researched than outcomes. Most studies looked at one outcome, e.g., land abandonment, while they included a range of drivers to explain this outcome. This means that trade-offs between outcomes from a given rural land use and management (e.g., crop yields vs. climate mitigation) might be overlooked. Environmental variables, like soil quality, temperature or land cover, are more often and more consistently studied than socio-economic variables, such as policies, individual behavior or income. This could be due to the fact that a large portion of the studies we analyzed used quantitative spatial methods.
We compared these findings with existing European policy frameworks (e.g., the European Sustainability Indicators) and other research concepts (e.g., ecosystem services). We did so in order to identify which policy- and research-relevant variables have been studied, and where research gaps exist. For example, we found that most studies include variables describing climate, topography and the composition of the landscape, while none has included health aspects.
Integrating our findings from research and policy, we have created (3) a suggested framework for studying land use comprised of six levels that go from general to specific. Because rural landscapes are socio-ecological systems, we differentiate between environmental and socio-economic variables for drivers, management choices, and outcomes. We hope this framework will help to conduct policy-relevant land use research, promote synthesis between studies, and sheds light on less researched areas with the aim to achieve sustainable land use in the agriculture sector in Europe.