<abstract xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>At the end of the 20<sup>th</sup> century, following the collapse of centralised planned economy of the Soviet Union, the disintegration of collective type of agriculture and the restoration of lands to their pre-war owners, Latvia experienced widespread abandonment of agricultural lands and their gradual re-colonisation by woodland. It has been assumed that following the accession by Latvia to the European Union in 2004 and the incorporation of the agricultural system into the Common Agricultural Policy would stop or reverse the process of land abandonment. The conclusion from examining five geographically diverse rural municipalities is that so far the single area payments have had little effect on hilly mosaic type landscape structure, or on the process of land abandonment.</p></abstract>

At the end of the 20th century, following the collapse of centralised planned economy of the Soviet Union, the disintegration of collective type of agriculture and the restoration of lands to their pre-war owners, Latvia experienced widespread abandonment of agricultural lands and their gradual re-colonisation by woodland. It has been assumed that following the accession by Latvia to the European Union in 2004 and the incorporation of the agricultural system into the Common Agricultural Policy would stop or reverse the process of land abandonment. The conclusion from examining five geographically diverse rural municipalities is that so far the single area payments have had little effect on hilly mosaic type landscape structure, or on the process of land abandonment.

The influence of European Union single area payments and less favoured area payments on the Latvian landscape

Faculty of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Latvia, Alberta 10, LV1010 Riga, Latvia

Edinburgh College of Art, Lauriston Place, EH39DF Edinburgh, UK

European Countryside

At the end of the 20th century, following the collapse of centralised planned economy of the Soviet Union, the disintegration of collective type of agriculture...

The influence of European Union single area payments and less favoured area payments on the Latvian landscape

Published Online: Sep 27, 2010

Page range: 25 - 41

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/v10091-010-0003-7

Keywords
Lauksaimniecības zemes, agro-vides shēmas, Eiropas Savienības vienoto platību maksājumu (VPM), zemes izmantošanas maiņa, atbalstāmo regionu maksājumi

This content is open access.

The influence of European Union single area payments and less favoured area payments on the Latvian landscape

Published Online: Sep 27, 2010

Page range: 25 - 41

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/v10091-010-0003-7

KeywordsLauksaimniecības zemes, agro-vides shēmas, Eiropas Savienības vienoto platību maksājumu (VPM), zemes izmantošanas maiņa, atbalstāmo regionu maksājumi

This content is open access.

Keywords
Lauksaimniecības zemes, agro-vides shēmas, Eiropas Savienības vienoto platību maksājumu (VPM), zemes izmantošanas maiņa, atbalstāmo regionu maksājumi