Social metabolism of Czech agriculture in the period 1830–2010

Abstract

This article presents the concept of social metabolism and highlights its use for the analysis of the development of agriculture in Czechia. Similar to the general discipline of geography, social metabolism investigates the interactions between people and nature throughout time and space. In this article, we apply social metabolism methods, such as energy flow analysis (EFA), to investigate the transformation of Czech agriculture during the 1830-2010 period. The article is based on public data, as well as datasets compiled by the authors. The article documents the changes in Czechia's historical development and its effect on land use and agriculture through the observation of several metabolic key indicators within their historical context. It primarily concentrates on changes in crop and livestock production, land use, and associated demographic and societal developments. We conclude that the strategies of all political regimes in the 19th and most of the 20th century increased the socio-metabolic output of agriculture, despite a very different political and economic background. Only the collapse of the Eastern Block resulted in a restructuring of the agricultural sector that produced a visible change in agricultural energy flows trends.

Administrative system of afforestation in the Czech Republic: A long journey to a new forest

“…In the 50's of the 20 th century, two phenomena coincided, especially in the border areas of the Czech Republic (Opršal et al 2013). The first was a significant and somewhere permanent decline in settlement as a result of the expulsion of the German population after World War II (Kacálek et al 2011;Grešlová et al 2015;Zelinka et al 2021). As an example, we mention the area of territorial jurisdiction of today's 'Municipality with Extended Powers' Králíky (Ústí nad Orlicí District, Pardubice Region, Czech Republic).…”

Možnosti využití starých topografických map z let 1763–1768 pro hodnocení vývoje vodních ploch a potenciál jejich obnovy

“…V nižších částech území v širokých nivách a pahorkatinách se projevil také tlak na získávání orné půdy pro pěstování cukrové řepy, v letech 1848, 1851 a 1858 byly v Opavě postupně otevřeny tři cukrovary [13], další cukrovary byly provozovány v Háji ve Slezsku (1849) a Skrochovicích (1858). V tomto zájmovém území se v zemědělství projevovaly potřeby zajištění potravin pro rozvíjející se průmyslové aglomerace ve Slezsku a na Ostravsku, zájem o zemědělské pozemky byl způsoben i změnou ve způsobu hospodaření (přechod z trojpolního hospodaření na střídavý) a zrušením poddanství v roce 1848 [14]. Zachovány byly především rybníky, které měly kromě rybochovné funkce i funkci vodohospodářskou, např.…”

Evaluation of land cover changes and Black locust occurrence in agricultural landscape. Case study: Podolie and Častkovce cadastral areas, Slovakia

“…Collectivization can be considered as a the most dramatic intervention into the structure of landscape in Slovakia (Šebo and Kopecká 2014). Further political change after 1990 engineered transition in Czech and Slovak societies (Bičík and Jančák 2003); so that Grešlová et al (2015) associated agricultural development in Czech Republic solely with concept of social metabolism. In addition, current European Union economic policy has modified Slovak agricultural landscape and farming practice (Tarasovičová et al 2013), thus affecting plant and animal associations on arable land, meadows and pastures (Kalivoda et al 2010).…”