|
1. Definition
|
Name
|
FRAGMENTATION OF LAND
PARCELS
|
|
Brief
definition
|
Ratio
between Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA) and Number
of parcels per holdings
|
|
Unit
of measure
|
Hectares
|
2.
Position within the logical framework DPSIR
|
Type
of Indicator
|
Driving
Force/State
|
3.
Target and political pertinence
|
Objective
|
The
indicator contributes to define the structural context
of the area affected by desertification.
|
|
Importance
with respect to desertification
|
The
size of parcels, affecting the use of farming technology,
can lead to a more intensified use of land and natural
resources, motivated by low crop yields and low productivity.
If the farms are involved in commodity production
this structural future, affecting the economic performance
of the activities, can generate the abandonment of
the farm, worsening the quality of the environment.
The possibilities rely on the capacity of the farms
to convert toward more profitable products or to a
better integration with the off-farm social-economic
context. As an extreme consequence, marginal lands
and those much more distant from the farm centre,
can be progressively abandoned. Moreover the distance
reduces the "supervision" on the land and
the maintenance of the landscape.
|
|
International
Conventions and agreements
|
The
UNCCD emphasises the importance of the measures to
improve institutional organization, adjusting, as
appropriate, the institutional and regulatory framework
of natural resource management.
|
|
Secondary objectives
of the indicator
|
The indicator can help
in assessing and evaluating land consolidation policies.
|
4.
Methodological description and basic definitions
|
Definitions
and basic concepts
|
Utilised
agricultural area (UAA) is the sum of Arable Land, kitchen gardens (horticulture),
permanent pasture and meadow, permanent crops.
Parcel: means a separately
assessed lot or piece of real property. (http://www.orps.state.ny.us/ess/asreport/b_define.htm)
|
|
Benchmarks
Indication of the values/ranges of value
|
I°
range: < Local Mean -St. Dev.
II° range: >Local Mean - St. Dev. < Local Mean
III° range: > Local Mean < Local Mean + St.
Dev.
IV° range: > Local Mean + St. Dev
|
|
Methods
of measurement
|
|
|
Limits
of the indicator
|
Data
availability
|
|
Linkages
with other indicators
|
Farm
size, Urban sprawl,
Farm ownership.
|
5.
Evaluation of data needs and availability
|
Data
required to calculate the indicator
|
Number
of parcels per holding
|
|
Data
sources
|
Farm
enquiries
|
|
Availability
of data from national and international sources
|
|
6.
Institutions that have participated in developing the indicator
|
Main
institutions responsible
|
University
of Basilicata, Italy
|
|
Other
contributing organizations
|
Universities
of Athens, Lisbon, Murcia
|
7.
Additional information
|
Bibliography
|
|
|
Other
references
|
|
|
Contacts
Name and address
|
University
of Basilicata
Prof Giovanni Quaranta
email: quaranta@unibas.it
|
|
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