Paper

Challenges of Establishing Green Corridors in the Areas with Agricultural Land Consolidation

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Abstract

Conducting land consolidation within an area where agricultural land has the largest share is of great importance. Current practice of enforcing land consolidation was focused upon achieving favorable conditions for agricultural production, simultaneously leading to negative effects related to the environment, wildlife and native species. The aim of land consolidation is achieving favorable conditions for agricultural production, which can be obtained through the grouping of properties and the formation of larger plots of proper shape. In order to accomplish these effects, barriers which might interfere with agricultural operations (e.g. forest vegetation and non-functional amelioration canals) must often be removed. Especially drastic measures of clearing the terrain are required if mobile equipment for irrigation is planned on new plots. However, in the context of the integral land consolidation both effects can be achieved, i.e. improved conditions for agricultural production, as well as positive effects related to the environment. Vojvodina is a northern province of Serbia where 76% of arable land is exploited in agriculture, while forested areas cover only - about 6% (Marković and Tatalović, 1995). The implementation of land consolidation, in most of cases led to even more reduced presence of non-forest vegetation within the area. During implementation of the measures, the regulation was mainly done by removing non-forest vegetation. Compensation for non-forest vegetation, or segregation area for afforestation, in most cases has not been included in the project design. During the second half of the last century, more than 56% of the territory in Vojvodina has been regulated by applying land consolidation measures (Damjanović and Benka, 1994). Unfortunately, the implementation of land consolidation measures was focused mostly upon establishing favorable conditions for intensive agricultural production and often led to reduction of non-forest vegetation. Nowadays, forested areas within arable land, where intensive agricultural production is applied, cover only 1.5 % (Letić et al., 2001). Due to unilateral approach of land consolidation, later efforts were focused upon improving environment by planning implementation of subsequent measures - raising windshield forest belts. The paper presents the results of the analysis of spatial representation, distribution and interconnectivity of nonforest vegetation within an area where land consolidation was performed. Outcome of these measures was compared to the situation after introducing windshield forest belts.

Keywords: greenway, green infrastructure, agricultural, land consolidation

How to Cite:

Benka, P., Grabić, J., Bezdan, A. & Vranešević, M., (2016) “Challenges of Establishing Green Corridors in the Areas with Agricultural Land Consolidation”, Fábos Conference on Landscape and Greenway Planning 5(2). doi: https://doi.org/10.7275/fabos.693