The article analyses the direction and intensity of changes occurring in agriculture in mountain areas in Europe between 2000 and 2022. For the calculations, the ESA CCI Land Cover global land-use map set was used. This dataset was established by the European Space Agency (ESA) through the classification of satellite images from sources (MERIS, AVHRR, SPOT, PROBA, and Sentinel-3). In the next step, the organisational features and economic performance of farms located in mountain areas of the European Union were determined for the period 2004–2022. For this purpose, data from the European Farms Accountancy Data Network (FADN-FSDN) were used. Subsequently, using Poland as a case study, the capacity of mountain agriculture to implement key environmental interventions under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023–2027 was assessed. The results highlight the varying directions and intensity of organisational changes occurring in mountain agriculture across Europe. They also show that farms can operate successfully in these areas, although their economic situation varies between EU countries. The findings indicate the need for further adaptation of CAP instruments to better reflect the ecological and economic conditions of mountain areas. Strengthening support mechanisms for these regions within the current and future CAP is of crucial importance for protecting biodiversity, promoting sustainable land use, and maintaining the socio-environmental functions of rural mountain landscapes. Our study highlights that the CAP for mountain farms should be targeted, long-term, and compensatory, so as to compensate for the naturally unfavorable farming conditions and support their multifunctional role. The most important assumptions of CAP for mountain farms are a fair system of compensatory payments (LFA/ANCs), support for local and high-quality production, income diversification, and investments adapted to mountain conditions.

Multispectral imaging satellites such as Sentinel-2 are considered a possible tool to assist in the mapping of soil organic carbon (SOC) using images of bare soil. However, the reported results are variable. The measured reflectance of the soil surface is not only related to SOC but also to several other environmental and edaphic factors. Soil texture is one such factor that strongly affects soil reflectance. Depending on the spatial correlation with SOC, the influence of soil texture may improve or hinder the estimation of SOC from spectral data. This study aimed to investigate these influences using local models at 34 sites in different pedo-climatic zones across 10 European countries. The study sites were individual agricultural fields or a few fields in close proximity. For each site, local models to predict SOC and the clay particle size fraction were developed using the Sentinel-2 temporal mosaics of bare soil images. Overall, predicting SOC and clay was difficult, and prediction performances with a ratio of performance to deviation (RPD) > 1.5 were observed at 8 and 12 of the 34 sites for SOC and clay, respectively. A general relationship between SOC prediction performance and the correlation of SOC and clay in soil was evident but explained only a small part of the large variability we observed in SOC prediction performance across the sites. Adding information on soil texture as additional predictors improved SOC prediction on average, but the additional benefit varied strongly between the sites. The average relative importance of the different Sentinel-2 bands in the SOC and clay models indicated that spectral information in the red and far-red regions of the visible spectrum was more important for SOC prediction than for clay prediction. The opposite was true for the region around 2200 nm, which was more important in the clay models.

It was observed that the difference in the maximum and minimum NDVI values at a time close to harvest (mxNDVI and mnNDVI, respectively), referred to as the haNDVI index (harvest amplitude of NDVI), correlates with agricultural soil quality and the share of sowings. The NDVI becomes saturated when the values of the Leaf Area Index (LAI) significantly exceed one so spatial variation in haNDVI is mainly due to the minimum post-harvest NDVI (mnNDVI). To explain the variability of mnNDVI values three hypotheses were formulated: i) impact of crop selection, ii) field size impact, and iii) impact of soil. To determine which of these hypotheses had the highest impact on the variation in the mnNDVI, the developed machine learning models of this indicator were subjected to a test removing individual explanatory variables from them. Removing a variable does not cause a significant increase in model error if a variable does not contribute useful information to the model. This test showed that the mnNDVI index depends almost exclusively on the crop indicator which was the median of mnNDVI for crops, not directly from soil variables such as the agricultural quality of soil or soil moisture. According to this, the hypothesis of direct impact of soil was rejected. The explanation for the observed correlation of haNDVI with soil quality is the agricultural practice of choosing crops with low mnNDVI (cereals, rapeseed) at better soil conditions and crops with high mnNDVI (fodder crops, grassland) for worse soil conditions.

This study discusses the issue of determining the direction and strength of changes taking place in the structure of agricultural land in the mountain and foothill areas of the Carpathians in Poland in comparison with Slovakia, Romania and Ukraine. The most important financial institutional measures dedicated to the protection of the natural environment in Polish agriculture in the Areas facing Natural and other specific Constraints (ANCs) mountain and foothill in the first year of the CAP 2023–2027 were also established. Satellite data from 2001 to 2022 were used. The analyses used the land use classification MCD12Q1 provided by NASA and were made on the basis of satellite imagery collections from the MODIS sensor placed on two satellites: TERRA and AQUA. In EU countries, a decreasing trend in agricultural areas has been observed in areas below 350 m above sea level. In areas above 350 m, this trend weakened or even turned into an upward trend. Only in Ukraine was a different trend observed. It was found that in Poland, the degree of involvement of farmers from mountain and foothill areas in implementing financial institutional measures dedicated to protecting the natural environment during the study period was not satisfactory.

A necessary condition for agriculture to provide environmental public goods at the level desired by the society is the existence and compliance with appropriate “rules of the game” (institutions). Undoubtedly, institutions are of fundamental importance for agriculture in areas with natural or other specific constraints (ANCs), the new delimitation of which was recommended by the European Commission to all EU member states under the CAP 2014–2020 and which is valid under the CAP 2023–2027. The aim of the study is to indicate the role of institutions in the new institutional economics (NIE) approach in the context of supporting agriculture in ANCs. The specific goals consist of indicating a method for determining the current ANCs in the EU, including Poland; characterizing their current state in Poland, as compared to other EU countries; determining their role in the implementation of the agri-environment-climate (AECM) and organic farming measure under the EU CAP (they are particularly predestined to provide environmental public goods) and also specify the determinants encouraging farmers in ANCs to participate in these measures; assessing the production and economic situation of agriculture in these areas in individual EU countries. The data source was data from the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation—State Research Institute in Puławy and the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics—National Research Institute, Agency for Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture, European Commission FADN—FSDN. Descriptive methods were used to analyze and present the materials. Tabular graphic logistic regression model, the Wald test, the Cox–Snell pseudo-R2 measure and its additional variant proposed by Nagelkerke were used. The study is intended to fill the research gap regarding the determination of the ability of agriculture in ANCs to reconcile the market function, which is reflected in its economic situation, with the provision of environmental public goods to the society. It was determined that in communes with a high saturation of lowland ANCs, farms achieving worse production results in the form of lower wheat yields and lower net income calculated without subsidies per 1 ha of utilized agricultural area (UAA) had a greater tendency to implement AECM and organic farming measure. In most EU countries, agriculture in ANCs is characterized by extensification of agricultural production compared to other agriculture. It generally incurs lower costs and, as a result, obtains lower production effects and income from agricultural activities per 1 ha of UAA. The study provides arguments supporting the thesis that for agriculture in ANCs to achieve satisfactory economic effects and at the same time be able to provide the public with environmental public goods to a wide extent, it is necessary to have public financial incentives in the form of subsidies from the EU CAP.

A simplified differential equation for the dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) that describes the rate of SOC change (dSOC/dt) was constructed using the LASSO regression-a regularized linear regression machine learning method. This method selects the best predefined explanatory variables and empirically evaluates the relevant parameters of the equation. The result, converted into a formula for the long-term equilibrium level of soil carbon, indicates the existence of carbon sequestration potential in the studied regions of Poland. In particular, the model predicts high SOC content in regions with a high Topographic Wetness Index (TWI), such as river valleys or areas with high cattle density, as expected.

Increasing the European Union’s (EU) current efforts to protect the natural environment, especially in the context of protecting agricultural soils, is one of its basic challenges. The European Commission (EC) is now ready and willing to strongly strengthen protection of the natural environment. Activities are primarily supported by the European Green Deal (EGD) strategy from 2019 and its thematic strategies, as well as the currently revised Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for 2023–2027. Further direct support for farms from Areas facing Natural or other Specific constraints (ANCs support), compensating for them at least some of the additional costs and lost income related to the difficulties for agricultural production, will be one of the most important actions of the future CAP in the context of the protection of agricultural soils. It should be added that, in recent years, all EU Member States, including Poland (in 2019), have carried out a mandatory new delimitation of ANCs according to the same rules established by the EC Joint Research Center (EC JRC) under the CAP 2014–2020. The aim of the study is to characterize the organizational situation of Polish agriculture, to indicate the direction and strength of the changes taking place in it, as well as the main determinants of its further functioning in areas (communes) with a particularly high saturation of current ANCs, as compared to other areas, with and without ANCs. It is also important to present the economic consequences and development opportunities for farms conducting agricultural production in these areas. The results of the study show the condition of Polish agriculture and changes taking place in this sector in areas with different saturation and specificity of ANCs related to challenges for environmental protection included in the EGD strategy and the current and future CAP. The research results will also provide an important basis for policymakers in undertaking effective agricultural support in ANCs and for the scientific community to develop agricultural research that can meet the most pressing challenges faced in the areas. It should be noted that the study emphasizes the significance of the new institutional economics, the postulates of which can provide solid support for the actions taken to better protect ANCs.

The actions of research institutes to support adaptation to climate change. A b s t r a c t. Acrucial part of every adaptation planning and disaster risk reduction is estimation of vulnerable areas and risk in the future. Only a well-developed monitoring system could bring valuable information to create possible scenarios to set up adaptation plans. Monitoring systems of meteorological conditions, surface water, groundwater, landslides, seacoast, agricultural drought as well as their standards and methodologies, are crucial for establishing an effective warning system of every country, and thus are the subject of research conducted by national institutes. Therefore, the conditions of this national research (getting trained staff, equipment etc.) is essential to provide reliable information for a national adaptation plan and for economic assessment of climate change impacts. Poland has significant experiences in monitoring systems, data collecting and visualizing, as well as in the development of scenarios and risk maps. Methodologies and capacity building, necessary for their use, along with experiences and lessons, learned to get valuable information for disaster risk reduction, were presented by the authors from the research during the 24th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 24) in Katowice (December 2018). The presentation contributed to the global adaptation process through experience sharing that is important for the relevant research conducted in the least developed countries.

The purpose of this study is to characterize municipalities with a high share of LFAs (specific type zone I) as well as to assess the functioning of farms located in such municipalities against the background of analogous farms in non-LFA municipalities which kept accounts for the Polish FADN continuously in 2016-2018. The first part of the study describes the method of determining and characterizing areas with natural constraints (LFA) of specific type located in zone I in Poland designated by the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation – NRI (IUNG-PIB) on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MRiRW) and the European Commission (EC). These areas were determined on the basis of the threshold values of the Nature and Tourism Index (WCPT) and the Index for the Valorisation of Agricultural Production Area (WWRPP). They have functioned in our country since 2019 and include 1233,7 thousand ha UAA. The second part of the study presents the functioning of farms located in municipalities with a high share of LFAs (specific type zone I) (at least 80% UAA LFA specific type zone 1 in total UAA) against the background of analogous farms in non-LFA municipalities that kept accounts for the Polish FADN continuously in 2016-2018. It was found that farms located in LFAs are characterized by lower capital value, older farm owners, and poorer quality of used soils. In addition, they incur lower costs per 1 ha of UAA, have worse production effects and lower factor productivity. Moreover, they have lower income per 1 ha of UAA, and thus smaller development opportunities.

The American literature on political ecology suggests that there is a significant link between the rule of a given political party (Republicans or Democrats) on both national and local level and the environmental policy pursued. When the latter party is in power, environmental budget is larger and local governments are more likely to adopt environmentally sustainable policies. However, the political context of European countries is usually much more complex, as there exist different hybrids of economic views and core social values which so far have gathered a little attention with regard to its impact on eco-efficiency. There is a need to analyse which types of political beliefs are correlated with higher level of environmental performance. Hence, the main goal of this paper is to estimate the impact of long-term political preferences on the eco-efficiency levels of Polish country districts. Eco-efficiency was calculated as a ratio of economic development and environmental pressure in four dimensions: soil pollution, water pollution, air pollution, and bio-uniformity. Double bootstrapped truncated regression was used to capture the effects of the political views proxied by electoral decisions and individual willingness to adopt agri-environmental schemes. The analysis was complemented with spatial autoregressive modelling. The most important finding was that local authorities from large parties are more eco-efficient than local committees. Simultaneously, left-wing (but market liberal) views were correlated with higher eco-efficiency levels in relation to other political options. Higher share of councillors with university degrees and subsidies under common agricultural policy were further positive determinants of eco-efficiency.

Soil provides important ecosystem services such as food production and clean water storage, as well as a habitat for numerous species and communities. The research on these issues has an important function as an interface between ecology, economy, and the social and cultural sciences, setting the prerequisite for sustainable soil and land management. Long-term experiments, which were set over different parts of the world, are unquestionably rich source of information on how different agricultural management practices influence soil quality and their overall impact on environment over the long time span. This chapter is a summary of long-term experiments being performed in Poland with special emphasis on the influence of trends in crop production systems on soil quality and productivity as well as on agroecosystems. Special emphasis has been paid to soil organic matter changes and protection, the major component of soil fertility.

Agricultural irrigation starts becoming an important practice for food safety in Poland, influencing water management and water resources on one hand and agricultural economy on the other. Growing number of observed climate change symptoms, especially droughts in summer and warmer winters, influence the renewal of water resources, that are available for human economy. Current unsustainable irrigation practices and ineffective legal regulations do not induce optimisation of water use in agriculture not only in Poland, but in wider EU. The paper present the process of developing modem smart sensor-based decision support systems aimed at optimising water use in agriculture along with the results of their real-life implementations in two pilots in Poland. The use of optimised irrigation on potato has diminished the water use by 58% compared to traditional irrigation based upon maximal evapo-transpiration model, while increasing the yield by 53%. In case of raspberry the water saving reached 90% while not compromising the yield.

Although increasing numbers of research papers regarding biochar are being published worldwide, in some countries growing interest in biochar has only recently been observed; this is true of Poland. We analysed information on biochar research in Poland alongside lessons learned elsewhere in order to identify the significant opportunities and risks associated with biochar use. This data fed into a GIS-based multicriteria analysis to identify areas where biochar application could deliver greatest benefit. We found that 21.8% of agricultural land in Poland has at least moderate indication for biochar use (soil organic matter below 2% and ph below 5.5), while 1.5% was categorized as a priority as it also exhibited contamination. Potential barriers identified included biomass availability and associated risks of indirect land-use change due to possible national and transnational biomass production displacement. Biochar use could have positive global consequences as a climate change mitigation strategy, particularly relevant in a country with limited alternatives. Scaling up a mitigation technology that is viable on account of its co-benefits might be cost-effective, which could, in turn, adjust national perspectives and stronger involvement in developing mitigation policies at the regional level. Biochar has much promise in temperate conditions and further research should therefore be assigned to explore biochar’s environmental and socio-economic impacts.

The paper analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of the most commonly used groups of models of soil moisture and plant water stress based on satellite thermal imagery. We present a simple proof of linking NDTI and CWSI indicators with plants water stress and quantitative justification for the shape of the points cloud on the chart Ts-NDVI.

A division of Europe into regions with similar climate and soil conditions, assuming similar pesticide effectiveness and environmental effects of their application, was developed by a combination of statistical cluster analysis and expert involvement for identifying clustering variables and weighing their importance. The experts identified 15 variables representing climatic, soil and crop structure data and weighted them. In order to maximally simplify the administrative work with pesticide registration resulting from the division of Europe into zones, the additional criteria in the procedure were: the zoning follows existing administrative borders, country divisions by zone boundaries are limited, and situations where a zone consists of parts separated by another zone are avoided. The results of the analyses were compared with the applicable EPPO classification and visualized on maps. The highest similarity was observed in the southern Mediterranean zone, the layout of which differed by only a few regions. The Alpine part, having specific conditions, was not distinguished among the EPPO zones. Our study very clearly delineated the Central European part, having a climate with continental influence, which is distributed among other zones in the EPPO classification. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.