Evaluation methods of agricultural potential in rural areas including environmental function

Abstract

Evaluation methods of agricultural potential in rural areas including environmental function.The study focuses on the environmental evaluation of land in the territory of interest by means of assessing the non-production functions. This topic is currently becoming one of the crucial moments in agriculture, water management as well as nature and landscape conservation. The soil represents an important component of the environment and infl uences both the quality and the quantity of produced foodstuffs due to the fact that being an abiotic factor, the soil is a part of many different natural and artifi cial ecosystems, affecting thus the hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere. The soil provides nutrients for plant growth, necessary for animal as well as human nutrition. It plays an important part in recycling and detoxifi cation of organic materials and in the cycles of many elements. The proposed solution consists in the evaluation of the non-production soil functions in a particular territory according to chosen, usually unchangeable, soil properties on the basis of the proposed method of rating. The method is based on creating evaluation classes comprising the individual categories of soil properties. The rating expressing particular categories indicates the range of the non-production functions within the soil-ecological units in the territory of interest. The research was carried out in a territory only moderately impacted by human industrial activities. The results of the evaluation of chosen soil functions can be used in the studies focused on landscape and soil protection or in the proposals of environment-friendly management models in accordance with the rules of agricultural policy included in appropriate regulations aimed at the protection of varied environmental components.

Smart Innovations as Accelerators for SMEs in Rural Areas

“…Smart clusters therefore influence SMEs' business models. For the effective creation of smart approaches, it is necessary to have four stakeholders involved in the implementation process [14,15,16]:…”

Land Consolidations in Slovakia, Step Forward, Two Steps Back?

“…No LC projects are carried out in Moldova, Latvia, Albania and UK. LC, as we know them in Slovakia (comprehensive LC), are carried out in a similar way mainly in the Czech Republic (Dumbrovský et al, 2004;Váchalová et al, 2011;Škoda et al, 2004), Germany (Hartvigsen, 2015;Vitikainen, 2004) and Austria (Hartvigsen, 2015;Seher, 2014). Its main goal is the protection and creation of environmental and sustainable rural development taking into account ownership of plots (Urban et al, 2013;Druga, Falťan, 2014;Van Dijk, 2003).…”