Sustainable Farmland Management: Integrating Land Use Planning and Farming System Adaptation

Saghi Movahhed Moghaddam, MSc

Disertační práce

Abstract:

Land is a fundamental resource for human society. Rapid economic development, population growth, urbanization, and industrialization put pressure on countries with limited natural resources. Growing demand for non-agricultural uses, combined with a scarcity of land to meet these demands, resulted in an increasing amount of agricultural land being converted to non-farming uses. Accordingly, this thesis investigates three interrelated dimensions of farmland sustainability: the role of land consolidation in mitigating land degradation, the capacity of farming systems to adapt to drought events, and the impact of land tenure security on agricultural land conversion to urban use. The thesis investigates how integrated land management strategies can improve agricultural resilience by combining literature synthesis, meta-analysis, and comparative evaluation. The first part of the study highlights the importance of land management measures in reducing fragmentation and promoting the long-term sustainability of farmland. Our findings demonstrate that land management measures have a consistent positive effect when specifically targeted, and there is also a significant synergy between the effects of these measures. The second part of the study investigates how different farming systems—conventional, traditional, and organic—respond to drought events using adaptation strategies. The results indicate that drought negatively impacts farmers’ livelihoods in organic farming, though it does not significantly affect conventional systems. Despite this, conventional agriculture remains dependent on costly, fossil fuel-intensive inputs. In contrast, traditional farming systems benefit from adaptation strategies, which improve economic outcomes, livelihoods, and environmental sustainability. The final part of the study provides quantitative insights into the effects of land tenure variables including land tenure type, legal status, cadastral assignment, and land ownership on agricultural land conversion to urban use. As our findings show, owner-farmed, titled, and designated agricultural lands demonstrate strong protection against urban expansion, and secure tenure significantly reduces conversion pressures. Overall, the thesis provides empirical support and policy-relevant insights into current debates on farmland preservation.

Keywords

Farmland conversion, Meta-regression, Farmers’ livelihood, Geographical distributions, Sustainable land management, Environmental degradation

Jazyk práce: angličtina

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 23. 4. 2025

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Vedoucí: doc. Ing. Kristina Janečková, Ph.D.
• Oponent: Vlaďka Kirschner, Ph.D., doc. Ing. arch., David Hořák, externi, Manuela Coromaldi, externi

Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze

Fakulta životního prostředí

Doktorský studijní program:
Applied and Landscape Ecology