Acta geographica Slovenica, 58-1, 2018, 51–57
AgrICULtUrE In modErn
LAndSCAPES: A fACtor hIndErIng
or fACILItAtIng dEvELoPmEnt?
Nika Razpotnik Visković, Blaž Komac
Suburbanization at the expense of farmland: the example of the Ljubljana Marsh.
B
O
JA
N
 E
R
H
A
R
T
IČ
58-1-Special issue_04p_5170-Nika Razpotnik-uvodni_acta49-1.qxd  12.9.2017  7:57  Page 51
Nika Razpotnik Visković, Blaž Komac, Agriculture in modern landscapes: A factor hindering or facilitating development?
52
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3986/AGS.5170
UDC: 911.53:631(497.4)
711.3(497.4)
COBISS: 1.02
Agriculture in modern landscapes: A factor hindering or facilitating development?
ABSTRACT: Agriculture plays an important role in both protecting and developing farmland. In Slovenia,
the main reasons for this loss are urbanization and the implementation of large development projects that
require the destruction of fertile farmland. About 3000 ha of farmland has been lost each year since Slovenia’s
independence. The importance of agriculture and farmland is touched upon in this special issue of Acta
geographica Slovenica. The authors focus on management of farmland, analyse the development poten-
tial for agriculture, observe the changes in the landscape by remote sensing, soil quality and its pollution,
and land cover as an element of biodiversity. They draw attention to the lack of participation in spatial
planning procedures and the question of the importance of agriculture and jobs in this sector in nation-
al economy. This introductory paper brings a short analysis of how the issue of farms’ spatial constraints
and moving farm structures to new locations is perceived by municipal offices, nature parks, and the Slovenian
Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry and its regional offices. 
KEY WORDS: agriculture, urbanization, spatial planning, less-favorable areas, limiting factors, karst, Slovenia,
European Union
Kmetijstvo v sodobni pokrajini: zaviralec ali pospeševalec razvoja?
POVZETEK: Kmetijstvo ima pomembno vlogo pri varovanju in razvoju kmetijskih zemljišč. Od osamo -
svojitve dalje je Slovenije vsako leto izgubila približno 3000 ha kmetijskih zemljišč. Glavni razlogi za njihovo
izgubo so urbanizacija in izvajanje velikih razvojnih projektov, ki zahtevajo uničenje plodnih kmetijskih
zemljišč. Pomena kmetijstva in kmetijskih zemljišč smo se dotaknili tudi v tej posebni izdaji revije Acta
geographica Slovenica. Avtorji se osredotočajo na upravljanje kmetijskih zemljišč, analizirajo razvojni
potencial kmetijstva, opazujejo spremembe v pokrajini z daljinskim zaznavanjem, obravnavajo kakovost
in onesnaževanje prsti ter rabo zemljišč kot element biotske raznovrstnosti. Opozarjajo na pomanjkljivo
sodelovanje pri prostorskem načrtovanju in na vprašanje pomena kmetijstva oziroma delovnih mest v tem
sektorju za nacionalno gospodarstvo. Uvodni članek prinaša kratko analizo o tem, kako občine, naravni
parki in Kmetijsko-gozdarska zbornica Slovenije ter njeni regionalni uradi zaznavajo vprašanje prostorskih
omejitev kmetij in premikanje struktur kmetij na nove lokacije.
KLJUČNE BESEDE: kmetijstvo, urbanizacija, prostorsko planiranje, območja z omejenimi dejavniki za
kmetijstvo, omejitveni dejavniki, kras, Slovenija, Evropska unija
Nika Razpotnik, Blaž Komac
Anton Melik Geographical Institute, Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
nika.razpotnik@zrc-sazu.si, blaz@zrc-sazu.si
The paper was submitted for publication on July 5th, 2017.
Uredništvo je prejelo prispevek 5. julija 2017.
58-1-Special issue_04p_5170-Nika Razpotnik-uvodni_acta49-1.qxd  12.9.2017  7:57  Page 52
Acta geographica Slovenica, 58-1, 2018
1 Introduction
The importance of farmland and protecting has been a widely debated issue in Slovenia in recent months.
The main reason for this is the planning of certain business development projects, the siting of which will
destroy high-quality farmland. According to agricultural experts, this will cause irreparable damage to
Slovenian agriculture and food security. Let us mention only two such development projects. The first is
the construction of an auto paint shop in the Municipality of Hoče–Slivnica, where a large number of new
jobs supposedly justifies the destruction of over 80 ha of high-quality and highly fertile farmland. The sec-
ond is the planned construction of the Third Development Axis, the aim of which is to strengthen the
economy of secondary urban centers (Nared and Razpotnik Visković 2016). Its northern section from Velenje
to Šentrupert is planned to cross 110 ha of Slovenia’s highest-quality farmland.
Both cases have certain points in common: they are both development projects of national and region-
al importance, the implementation of which requires the destruction of fertile farmland. This is also the
main reason for the strong opposition from local civil initiatives, environmental organizations, and indi-
viduals. They all draw attention to the lack of participation in spatial planning procedures for siting such
projects (Nared et al. 2015) and the insufficient assessment of alternative solutions. The issue of insuffi-
cient inclusion of individuals and local initiatives in preparing municipal planning documents (which is
even more apparent with national spatial plans) was also highlighted by the Court of Auditors in its recent
audit of spatial planning in Slovenia (Revizijsko … 2017).
This raises the question of the importance of agriculture and jobs in this sector in the current nation-
al economic strategy. Slovenia’s Development Strategy (Strategija … 2005) does not even mention the word
agriculture, even though there were 69,902 farms in Slovenia in 2016 (Kmetijska … 2016); something sim-
ilar applies to the 2050 Vision of Slovenia (Slovenija … 2017). Such developments have a long-term effect
on the overall national economy because, among other things, they also affect biodiversity and forest and
water resources. Moreover, the new jobs and economic development promised by the planned projects
mentioned above indirectly threaten not only the production of food and national food security, but also
jobs in agriculture that are tied to cultivating the farmland that is now threatened. 
The Alumni Club of the Department of Agronomy at University of Ljubljana’s Biotechnical Faculty
responded to these recent events with the roundtable Protecting Agricultural Land (Kako prenesti varo -
vanje … 2017), which was held in early May 2017. At this roundtable, participants discussed the farmland
protection system over time, presented future changes including the new methodology for defining farm-
land of the highest quality, highlighted the importance of urbanization as the main reason for the loss of
farmland, and examined the role of agriculture in this.
The importance of agriculture and farmland is also touched upon in this special issue of Acta geographica
Slovenica. The authors emphasize that high-quality management of farmland involves more than just defin-
ing the regulations and the ratio between areas allocated for urban growth and those allocated for rural
development (Markuszewska 2017). It is vital to first evaluate the development potential for agriculture
in various areas and develop tools that make this possible (Pažek et al. 2017). In this as well as in observing
changes in the landscape, land use, and land cover, extensive databases such as NDVI, Corine Land Cover,
and the Slovenian Register of Current Agricultural and Forest Land Use have proven helpful for over a decade,
but they need to be used with caution, taking into account the pitfalls hidden in the methodological changes
in capturing data over time (Foški 2017; Jovanović, Milanović and Zorn 2017). In terms of protecting high-
quality farmland, usually only data on area are used, while neglecting two other aspects: first, soil quality
and the impact of its pollution on other landscape elements, especially water (Ilić and Panjan 2017), and,
second, land cover, which is a vital element of biodiversity, nature conservation, and protection against
natural disasters (Polenšek and Pirnat 2017).
2 Agriculture and farmland
Agriculture plays an important role in both protecting and developing farmland, considering that there
have been constant spatial tensions between agricultural and rural activities in recent decades, usually result-
ing in a more or less permanent loss of farmland. Urbanization is the main reason for this loss in Slovenia.
Since Slovenia’s independence, 70,000 ha of farmland (or 3.45% of the country’s territory) has been built
53
58-1-Special issue_04p_5170-Nika Razpotnik-uvodni_acta49-1.qxd  12.9.2017  7:57  Page 53
54
Nika Razpotnik Visković, Blaž Komac, Agriculture in modern landscapes: A factor hindering or facilitating development?
up, and the current municipal planning documents envisage another 57,000 ha to be earmarked for the
construction of housing, business and commercial districts, and transport infrastructure (Kako prenesti
varovanje … 2017). In addition, farms also have increasing spatial needs for expanding and modernizing
their activities (Razpotnik Visković 2017). Today’s farmyards and the structures in them are unable to meet
modern technological needs and regulations (Knific and Bojnec 2015). Farms inside settlements are becom-
ing increasingly spatially constrained, with areas for relocation or mere expansion usually only available
on the edges of the settlement (i.e., on farmland; Razpotnik Visković 2015), where urbanization is also
spreading.
The target research project Selecting Farm Structure Sites and Solving Spatial Conflicts (Internet 1)
revealed how the issue of farms’ spatial constraints and moving farm structures to new locations is per-
ceived by municipal offices, nature parks, and the Slovenian Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry and its
regional offices. A full 192 municipalities – or 90% of all Slovenian municipalities, accounting for 90% of
Slovenian territory and 90% of the total Slovenian population – responded to the online questionnaire pre-
pared as part of this project. Such a wide response already indicates that the spatial constraints on Slovenian
farms are a very relevant topic (Polajnar Horvat and Smrekar 2015). A full 85% of the responding munic-
ipalities confirmed that their farmers were dealing with spatial constraints and that this was a serious
development issue. In twenty-eight municipalities, this problem was not indicated. These were mainly hilly
municipalities with an exceptionally low share of developmentally promising farms.
On the other hand, only 37% of municipalities had allocated areas for relocating or expanding promis-
ing farms in their spatial plans. Considering that as many as 85% of the municipalities acknowledged a spatial
constraint problem, this share was modest and lower than expected. The areas envisaged for relocating
or expanding promising farms are important not only from the viewpoint of these farms’ economic progress,
but also in terms of reducing social tensions within settlements. Lower quality of life due to agricultural
activity (noise, odors, mud on the roads, and so on) in (sub)urban settlements (Tiran 2016) is one of the
main reasons for disagreements among residents (Guštin and Potočnik Slavič 2015). The majority of munic-
ipalities considered suitable adjustments to their spatial plans to be the primary method for resolving such
disputes. By adopting suitable planning documents, development can be directed to more suitable areas,
thus preserving the highest-quality farmland.
An important measure in terms of developing farmland is not only the relocation of farms and the
construction of large farm buildings, but also the construction of auxiliary farm structures. The Agricultural
Land Act (Zakon o kmetijskih … 2011) provides that in their planning documents local communities may
allow the construction of simple farm and forestry outbuildings and other structures on farmland for which
a building permit is not required (e.g., hayracks, sheds, greenhouses, or barns). Municipalities assess the
suitability of selecting sites for auxiliary farm structures very differently. The main problems observed include
inappropriate dimensions and location, inappropriate designs, and disproportionate visual impact. A major
problem highlighted by the municipalities is the fact that these structures are not being used for agricul-
ture, but as vacation houses, workshops, camper garages, or even housing. It is surprising that farmers were
the main developers in only 55% of municipalities; elsewhere, non-farmers predominated or the ratio was
half-and-half. The current situation primarily results from a lack of inspection and inadequate activity by
inspection services.
In their interviews, the representatives of agriculture and forestry institutes highlighted another issue:
municipalities provide very different support for the construction of farms and the development of agri-
cultural activity on farmland. They believe this is not fair because the same law applies to all of Slovenia.
Seventy-eight per cent of municipalities reported that they strategically support the construction of
farm structures on farmland, whereas the rest were against it. Reservation toward construction on farm-
land was expressed in four urban municipalities (Maribor, Nova Gorica, Murska Sobota, and Ptuj) and
many municipalities with well-developed tourism (Ankaran, Bled, Bohinj, Brda, Rogaška Slatina, Šmar-
ješke Toplice, Tolmin, and Zreče). In contrast, municipalities with a high share of developmentally promising
farms (Cerklje na Gorenjskem, Mozirje, Sveti Jurij ob Ščavnici, and Vrhnika) were in favor of such con-
struction. Here it must be added that the lack of support for farm construction on farmland does not mean
that these municipalities are against agricultural activity or that they hinder its development; such a stand-
point can merely contribute to more long-term protection of farmland, which is also called for by agricultural
experts themselves.
58-1-Special issue_04p_5170-Nika Razpotnik-uvodni_acta49-1.qxd  12.9.2017  7:57  Page 54
55
Acta geographica Slovenica, 58-1, 2018
3 Papers in the special issue
This special issue begins with a paper on the conflicts between legal policy and rural area management
in Poland (Markuszewska 2017), which describes the consequences of rural transformation as witnessed
in central and eastern Europe and reflected in many adverse effects that have an impact on the environment
and activities in it, and hence also long-term economic development. Spatial management is encumbered
due to a lack of strategies and legal documents acknowledging the importance of the development of rural
areas, especially where they come in contact with urban areas or in areas of infrastructure use. This is where
conflicts arise, the most common consequence of which is a continuous decrease in high-quality land suit-
able for agriculture. The author proposes a mechanism for coordinated spatial planning and planning of
agricultural activities that would reduce the probability of conflicts.
In her paper »The (Non)usefulness of the Register of Current Agricultural and Forest Land Use for
Monitoring Processes in Urban Areas,« Mojca Foški (2017) discusses changes in urban land use as a key
indicator of spatial processes in Slovenia. She reports that in Slovenia it is only possible to monitor this
phenomenon by using the agricultural and forest land use register, and that the methodology for captur-
ing these types of data has changed so much that the register does not reflect the actual changes in urban
areas. This means there is no systemic and up-to-date data source available to monitor actual changes in
urban areas, where extensive use (undeveloped islands within settlements) often occurs, degraded areas
form in settlements, and various conflicts arise, especially on the edges of urban and suburban settlements,
where they adjoin agricultural and forest land.
The paper »Forest Patch Connectivity: The Case of the Kranj–Sora Basin, Slovenia« (Polenšek and
Pirnat 2017) focuses on an important but often overlooked cultural landscape element: patches of forest,
trees, and shrubs. These areas form an important agricultural landscape element in terms of biodiversi-
ty, nature conservation, and protection against natural disasters (e.g., wind). Urbanization and farming
exert pressure on these parts of the landscape, resulting in reduction of their area and spatial connectiv-
ity. The authors argue that the connectivity of such areas is just as important for the functioning of a natural
system as their area; this is especially true for minor agricultural land use types such as forests. This paper
features an original methodological approach to studying this issue and proposes certain solutions use-
ful for long-term planning of the use of agricultural landscapes.
The paper »Multi-Criteria Assessment of Less-Favored Areas: The National Level« deals with less-favored
areas for agriculture (Pažek et al. 2017). These areas are highly relevant for agriculture in Europe because
they account for as much as 65% of farmland. In Slovenia, this percentage is even higher (73%), covering
mountainous areas (72.3% of Slovenia’s total area), special vulnerable areas (10%), and other less-favor-
able areas with permanently infertile soil (4%), with karst land not taken into account (Ciglič et al. 2012).
The authors present the complex multi-criteria decision-making model DEXi, which makes it possible to
assess the most suitable farming method with an emphasis on sustainability. The model can be applied to
the analysis of individual farms as well as regional analyses and agricultural policy. The agricultural land-
scape is a complex system, in which diverse agricultural activities are impacted by many other landscape
processes, which creates conflicts and represents a constant management challenge. The use of models,
such as the one presented in this paper, may help solve these issues.
The paper »The Use of NDVI and Corine Land Cover Databases for Forest Management in Serbia«
(Jovanović, Milanović and Zorn 2017) also examines conflicts within the landscape, but from a different
starting point. It presents the use of remote sensing and Corine land use data for managing forests in the
Serbian municipalities of Kuršumlija and Topola. Because of the finding that the official data on the for-
est area in Serbia are deficient and differ from those in the Corine database, the authors present the use
of a normalized vegetation index for calculating the forest area. This method is based on satellite vegeta-
tion data and provides fairly accurate results, which will facilitate the management of forest areas in this
area, where illegal tree felling is common. This is most likely the reason for the calculated values being
lower than the official ones. The authors recommend that the method be used for all geographically sim-
ilar areas (e.g., in the Balkan Peninsula) or other areas that face illegal activities and where accurate official
data sources are often unavailable.
Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution is common in agricultural landscapes and is especially alarming
in protected areas. The paper »Nitrogen and Phosphorus Pollution in Goričko Nature Park« (Ilić and
Panjan 2017) deals with the long-term impact of diffuse and point sources of pollution on the quality of
58-1-Special issue_04p_5170-Nika Razpotnik-uvodni_acta49-1.qxd  12.9.2017  7:57  Page 55
ecosystems. The authors carried out a comparative analysis by monitoring surface watercourses. They estab-
lished elevated levels of nitrogen and phosphorus compounds in the water. Long-term pollution is indicated
by the increasing levels of these pollutants, which is especially alarming due to the modest thermal and
discharge potential of rivers. The results of the analysis have wider implications because this is not an iso-
lated case, but a predominant situation in agricultural landscapes that should receive greater attention.
4 Conclusion
The papers in this special issue elucidate the topics described above, each in their own way. Examples from
various countries show that spatial planning is a complex process in agricultural landscapes. A large num-
ber of stakeholders and diverse long-term impacts at various levels, from legislative to economic, make it
difficult to manage these landscapes and cause frequent conflicts. Many of these could be solved through
better land-use planning or by directing activities and, first and foremost, through better inclusion of stake-
holders in all decision-making processes. This entails planning, preparing, and adopting strategic documents
and municipal planning documents, and better harmonization of business, tourism, agricultural, and other
strategies. The intensive development of farmland, which has been common in Slovenia since its inde-
pendence, calls for more decisive protection of this land, reigning in urbanization tendencies, and efforts
to raise awareness about the importance of farmland for the survival and secure future of communities.
Or, in the words of Franklin D. Roosevelt: »The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.«
5 References
Ciglič, R., Hrvatin, M., Komac, B., Perko, D. 2012: Kras kot kazalnik za določanje manj primernih območij
za kmetijstvo. Acta geographica Slovenica 52-1. DOI: 10.3986/AGS52103
Foški, M. 2018: The (non)usefulness of the Register of Existing Agricultural and Fores Land Use for moni-
toring the processes in urban areas. Acta geographica Slovenica 58-1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3986/
AGS.1805
Guštin, Š., Potočnik Slavič, I. 2015: Prepoznavanje in prostorska razmestitev konfliktov na podeželju.
Geografski vestnik 87-1. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3986/GV87105
Ilić, D., Panjan, J. 2018: Nitrogen and Phosphorus Pollution in Goričko Nature Park. Acta geographica
Slovenica 58-1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3986/AGS.727
Internet 1: http://giam.zrc-sazu.si/sl/V6-1629#v (18. 7. 2017).
Jovanović, M. M., Milanović, M. M., Zorn, M. 2018: The use of NDVI and CORINE Land Cover data-
bases for foresta management in Serbia. Acta geographica Slovenica 58-1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3986/
AGS.818
Kako prenesti varovanje kmetijskih zemljišč iz deklarativne ravni v prakso. Kmetovalec 6, junij 2017.
Kmetijska gospodarstva in popis kmetijstva. Statistični urad Republike Slovenije, 2016. Ljubljana. Internet:
http://www.stat.si/StatWeb/Field/Index/11/58 (18. 7. 2017).
Knific, K., Bojnec, Š. 2015: Structural changes in land use of agricultural holdings in hilly rural areas. Acta
geographica Slovenica 55-2. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3986/AGS.736
Markuszewska, I. 2018: Conflicts between legal policy and rural area management in Poland. Acta geographica
Slovenica 58-1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3986/AGS.1525
Nared, J., Razpotnik Visković, N. 2016: Somestja v Sloveniji. Geografski vestnik 88-2. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/
10.3986/GV88203
Nared, J., Razpotnik Visković, N., Cremer-Schulte, D., Brozzi, R., Cortines Garcia, F. 2015: Achieving sus-
tainable spatial development in the Alps through participatory planning. Acta geographica Slovenica
55-2. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3986/AGS.1631
Pažek, K., Irgolič, A., Turk, J., Borec, A., Prišenk, J., Kolenko, M., Rozman, Č. 2018: Multi-criteria assessment
of less favoured areas: a state level. Acta geographica Slovenica 58-1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3986/
AGS.962
Polajnar Horvat, K., Smrekar, A. 2015: Veljavnost osebnega in spletnega anketiranja v geografskem razisko-
vanju. Geografski vestnik 87-2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3986/GV87208
Nika Razpotnik Visković, Blaž Komac, Agriculture in modern landscapes: A factor hindering or facilitating development?
56
58-1-Special issue_04p_5170-Nika Razpotnik-uvodni_acta49-1.qxd  12.9.2017  7:57  Page 56
Acta geographica Slovenica, 58-1, 2018
57
Polenšek, M., Pirnat, J. 2018: Forest patch connectivity: The Case of the Kranj-Sora Basin, Slovenia. Acta
geographica Slovenica 58-1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3986/AGS.3001
Razpotnik Visković, N. 2015: Evaluating the development potential of farms on urban outskirts: method-
ology. Acta geographica Slovenica 55-2.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3986/AGS.704
Razpotnik Visković, N. 2017: Spatial Constraints of Slovenian Farms: What Does Urbanization Have to
Do with It? European Countryside 9-2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/euco-2017-0017
Revizijsko poročilo Učinkovitost urejenosti postopka prostorskega načrtovanja občin. Računsko sodišče
Republike Slovenije, 2017. Ljubljana.
Slovenija 2050. Vizija razvoja Slovenije. Vlada Republike Slovenije, 2017. Internet http://slovenija2050.si/
(18. 7. 2017).
Strategija razvoja Slovenije. Vlada Republike Slovenije, 2005. Ljubljana. Internet: (18. 7. 2017).
Tiran, J. 2016: Measuring urban quality of life: case study of Ljubljana. Acta geographica Slovenica 56-1.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3986/ags.828
Zakon o kmetijskih zemljiščih. Uradni list Republike Slovenije 71/2011, 27/2016. Ljubljana
58-1-Special issue_04p_5170-Nika Razpotnik-uvodni_acta49-1.qxd  12.9.2017  7:57  Page 57