Impacts of land tenure on agricultural land use and perspectives for the green transition

Abstract

Agricultural land in many countries is increasingly leased. This shift presents a unique set of challenges for decision-makers in the context of the European green transition. The objective of the present paper is to explore how agricultural land management and production differ based on whether land is owner-operated or leased and to understand the impacts of these dynamics on food system resilience and sustainability. Harnessing the high level of detailed field data for 2.5 million hectares and accurate land ownership records in Denmark, the present paper explores field-scale agricultural land use differences by tenure across broad categories (e.g., agroforestry, permanent grasses), and within crop rotations (based on distinct crop categories over 7 years, e.g., wheat, legumes, intercropping). Across broad categories, a higher proportion of owned land was utilized for forestry, agroforestry, and energy forestry, whereas a higher proportion of leased land was managed under environmental policies (low-input managed fields such as set aside buffer zones, flower strips, and mini wetlands). Most agricultural land is managed in rotation (approximately 70%). The average length of crop rotations was similar between owned and leased land. The crop categories included in rotation also varied little for legumes and intercrops, with marginally more maize, vegetables, and rye grown on leased land and marginally more environmental, mixed cereals and barley on owned land. Future research exploring how ownership, policy initiatives, and decision-making interact with farm-scale variables, detailed soil maps, and agricultural and natural land use decisions at various landscape scales could further the European transition toward sustainable and resilient agricultural land use and food systems.