Regional Land Use as a Condition for Sustainable Development of

Rural Territories

Natalia Ovchinnikova

Don State Technical University, pl. Gagarina, 1, Rostov-on-Don, 344003, Russia

Keywords: Rational Use, Agricultural Land, Degradation of Soil, Cropland, Land Users, Fertility, Erosion.

Abstract: The rational approach to land use is economically and socially beneficial for agricultural producers, since it

allows them to obtain a long-term and sustainable effect based on scientifically grounded operational use of

qualitatively preserved and constantly renewed land resources. Agricultural producers must take into account

the ecological efficiency of land use as a fundamental element of their production activity. This, ultimately,

will have an impact on the efficiency of their use of land resources. Land continues to be withdrawn from

economic circulation, soil fertility has been degrading. Irrational use has led to a decrease in productive land,

a reduction and decrease in agricultural production, and deterioration of the environmental situation. Serious

problems of land and resource potential of agriculture caused by large-scale land disturbance, pollution and

degradation of soils, loss of soil fertility are growing in the country. This research addresses the above

mentioned problems.

1 INTRODUCTION

One of the main principles of agricultural land use is

the principle of sustainable land use. As a unified

ecological and economic concept, sustainable land

use links the achievement of the necessary effect

obtained from the economic exploitation of land at

minimum costs with the simultaneous preservation

and improvement of land in the process of its use.

Land misuse has led to reduction of productive

land, decrease in its fertility and agricultural

production, and deterioration of the environmental

situation. Land continues to be withdrawn from

economic turnover, and soil fertility is degrading

(Immovable Property Cadastre, 2017; Ogryzek et al,

2018).

In the country, severe issues have emerged and are

steadily growing in the preservation of the land and

resource potential of agricultural sector, caused by

large-scale land disturbance, soil degradation and loss

of soil fertility (Ovchinnikova et al, 2019; Wilson et

al, 2014). These issues can be conditionally divided

into three main groups, which include:

1. Issues related to soil degradation and loss of

soil fertility as a result of improper and unsustainable

agricultural practices on land.

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8792-1758

2. Issues related to physical and chemical

influences on soils leading to soil disturbance,

pollution, waterlogging and other negative

phenomena.

3. Quantitative reduction of agricultural land

caused by land acquisition for industrial and urban

development needs.

The main reason for this situation is the lack of

incentives for landowners to preserve soil fertility due

to the fact that currently farming is carried out under

conditions of insufficient control over the quality of

agricultural land (Wójcik-Leńa et al, 2018).

In order to conserve and manage the land stock,

criteria for land use sustainability and requirements

that will lead to sustainable land use, shall be

established (Han et al, 2020).

The lack of any ecological restrictions and

requirements led to a large number of agricultural

producers switching to monocultures with the highest

market price after land reform and the transfer of a

considerable amount of land into private hands, as

their main objective was to make a profit. The

abandonment of fallow land and the cultivation of

crops that would restore the natural fertility of land

has become the consequence of the transition to

monocultures.

Ovchinnikova, N.

Regional Land Use as a Condition for Sustainable Development of Rural Territories.

DOI: 10.5220/0010663000003223

In Proceedings of the 1st International Scientiﬁc Forum on Sustainable Development of Socio-economic Systems (WFSDS 2021), pages 11-16

ISBN: 978-989-758-597-5

The second reason for the significant deterioration

of soils was the "agricultural" ignorance of new land

users and landowners, resulting in widespread non-

compliance with traditional farming practices and

disregard of scientifically grounded farming

techniques.

2 MATERIALS AND METHODS

Rational use of agricultural land is aimed at ensuring

that in the process of agricultural production owners

of land plots, landholders, land users and tenants

achieve the maximum effect in their implementation

of land use objectives, taking into account the

protection of lands and optimal interaction with

natural factors, ways of their use which do not lead to

significant reduction in the fertility of soils

(Ovchinnikova, 2017).

A criterion for the rational use of land plots being

a part of lands intended for agriculture is a certain

level of yield of main agricultural crops (e.g. spring

wheat, spring barley, peas), hereinafter referred to as

level of yield of main agricultural crops.

A 15 per cent reduction in the yield level of major

crops compared to the regional average is an indicator

of unsustainable land use (Ovchinnikova, 2019).

The regional average yield of the main crops is

calculated on the basis of soil fertility.

The criteria for sustainable land use are defined by

means of quantitative and qualitative indicators (Lai

et al, 2017). The quantitative criterion of rational land

use is characterized by actual condition and use of the

entire land fund, and is expressed by two main

parameters:

1. Prudent use of land;

2. Rational combination of available objects.

The qualitative criterion for the rational use of

land is expressed primarily in the preservation of the

productive power as the main means of agricultural

production. This implies the following (Mertz and

Mertens, 2017: Lengoiboni et al, 2019):

- Establishing obligations for all land users which

carry out work involving soil disturbance to remove,

store and not disturb the soil fertile layer, which is

capable of enhancing the fertile strength of the land

even when separate from the parent rock (as a means

of reclaiming other agricultural land, when used in

greenhouses, glasshouses); limiting the use of

agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes;

- Establishing a universal obligation to protect

soils from erosion, contamination, pollution and other

negative effects, because soil erosion, for example,

eats up over 40 ha every day on the globe, including

as a result of naturally occurring natural processes

(washout by rain, deflation, etc.).

While the quantitative criterion for sustainable

land use prevails in the non-agricultural land domain,

the qualitative criterion prevails in the agricultural

domain. Both the quantitative and qualitative criteria

"work" for the agricultural land use sector. If the

shortage of land can be compensated for in the

economic sphere (in housing - by the construction of

multistore buildings; in transport - by the arrangement

of underground facilities, etc.), the shortage of land

for agricultural use is generally irrecoverable.

Considering that agriculture is vital for the

population, the loss of this property would by

catastrophic (Gilbey et al, 2019).

Therefore, the rational use of land has two main

aspects: on the quantitative side, it is expressed in

land conservation, avoiding wasteful allocation of

land areas for non-agricultural facilities, and on the

qualitative side, it involves ensuring the fertility of

land.

3 RESULTS

Soil degradation is a set of processes that lead to

changes in soil functions, quantitative and qualitative

deterioration of its properties, gradual deterioration

and loss of fertility. Soil degradation and loss of soil

fertility consist in reduction of nutrients, namely,

nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, microelements, soil

acidification, etc.

Soil degradation problems are caused by non-

compliance with cultivation technology to maintain

and increase soil fertility. There are several major

causes of degradation: non-observance of crop

rotations in farming, a predatory attitude towards land

and agricultural ignorance.

Soil erosion is one of the most dangerous types of

degradation, causing soil destruction and loss of soil

fertility.

In the Russian Federation, soil monitoring was

carried out in 79 municipalities, predominantly on

arable land, including the detection of wind erosion

(soil blowing) shown on Figure 1.

WFSDS 2021 - INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC FORUM ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC SYSTEMS

Figure 1: Breakdown of detected wind erosion (soil blowing) by federal districts of the Russian Federation.

The water erosion situation within each of the

federal districts of the Russian Federation is shown

on Figure 2, which demonstrates the areas exposed to

water erosion identified in that federal district in

relation to the area surveyed in that district.

Figure 2: Share of agricultural land (arable land) with various degrees of water erosion in federal districts.

Constituent entities of the Russian Federation

most affected by wind erosion (soil blowing) of

arable land are shown on Figure 3.

Figure 3: Constituent entities of the Russian Federation

most affected by wind erosion of arable land.

3.1 Main Responsibilities of Owners of

Land Plots, Land Holders, Land

Users and Tenants for Rational Use

of Land with the Purpose of Its

Sustainable Development

Agricultural commodity producers being land

owners, land holders, land users, tenants of land plots,

in the context of maintaining agricultural land

fertility, shall fulfill their responsibilities stipulated

by the federal legislation and, besides:

1) Prevent degradation of agricultural land

owned, possessed or used by them;

2) Conduct agrochemical survey of land plots

intended for agriculture with the involvement of

Regional Land Use as a Condition for Sustainable Development of Rural Territories

specialized accredited organizations, at least, once

every 5 years;

3) Prevent soil fertility from decreasing below

levels documented by the results of the last

agrochemical survey, in terms of the following

indicators:

 Reduction in the content of organic matter

(humus) in the plough layer;

 Decrease of the content of nutrients, i.e.,

phosphorus, potassium and microelements;

 Decrease (рНsol.) of soil acidity.

4) Not allow incineration of crop residues and

by-products on agricultural land.

5) Prevent littering of lands with domestic and

industrial wastes, overgrowing of agricultural lands

with weed and shrubbery vegetation.

6) Implement measures to preserve and

reproduce the fertility of agricultural land, including

reclaimed land, and protect soils from wind and water

erosion:

 Implement measures to preserve and

reproduce the fertility of agricultural land,

including reclaimed land and protect soils

from wind and water erosion;

 Perform anti-erosion contour tillage

(horizontally);

 Implement grassland renovation of erosion

threatening slopes;

 Create protective forest plantations preventing

wind and water erosion of soils;

 Not to place row crops (vegetables, potatoes,

etc.) on slopes steeper than 3 degrees;

 Use soil-protecting (grain-grass) crop

rotations on arable land with a slope steeper

than 3 degrees with seeding of perennial

grasses covering at least 40 per cent of the crop

rotation area;

 Construct erosion control structures.

7) Carry out agricultural production by methods

that ensure preservation and reproduction of the

fertility of agricultural land, as well as exclude or

limit the adverse impact of such activities on the

environment, inter alia:

 Use methods for the application of liquid and

solid organic fertilizers and composts based on

them, including effluents, that ensure

compliance with environmental quality

standards and neutralize pollutant emissions

(e.g., nitrogen dioxides, ammonia, hydrogen

sulphide, mercaptans), in accordance with the

projects approved by a specialized

organization;

 Not apply liquid organic fertilizer to the soil if

a groundwater depth level is less than 1.5

meters;

8) Avoid crop rotation which leads to the spread

of plant pests and plant pathogens (e.g. sowing rape

on a land plot earlier than four years after its

cultivation on that plot, winter crops or spring spiked

cereals on the same land plot for more than two

consecutive years), as well as:

 Use one of the following biologization

components in the cropping pattern: perennial

grasses, leguminous crops, seeded and green-

manured fallows;

 Use seeds of crop varieties and hybrids of high

reproductions adapted to the conditions of soil

and climate zones.

9) Comply with the standards, norms, rules and

regulations in the context of ensuring the fertility of

agricultural land as established by laws and other

normative legal acts of the Russian Federation;

10) Provide data on the use of agrochemicals and

pesticides to an authorized body.

The procedure for submission of data on the use

of agrochemicals and pesticides to the authorized

body shall be approved by that authorized body.

11) Avoid exceeding weed infestation limits set by

competent authority for agricultural crops.

12) Promote soil, agrochemical, phytosanitary and

ecological-toxicological surveys of agricultural land.

13) Maintain the capacity of the soil to provide

gross agricultural output in accordance with the

requirements of sustainable agricultural land

management:

 Annually apply at least 20 kg/ha of mineral

fertilizers on primary nutrient basis per 1 ha of

cultivated area under crops (excluding organic

farms);

 Annually apply organic fertilizer, including

crop residues and cereal straw, in a quantity of,

at least, 2 tons per hectare, and not apply

organic fertilizer in doses exceeding those

calculated for the project;

 Carry out chemical reclamation of sour soils

on the basis of agrochemical surveys of at least

5% of the area of sour soils with a pH <5.0 per

year;

 Ensure that the yield of the main crops (spring

wheat, spring barley, maize, peas) is at least

fifteen per cent compared to the regional

average, in accordance with the state statistical

reporting for the last five years;

 Prevent a significant reduction in the fertility

of agricultural land and any use of agricultural

WFSDS 2021 - INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC FORUM ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC SYSTEMS

land that results in a soil washout of more than

2 tons/ha.

14) Maintain extended books of field history.

15) Inform authorized bodies about degradation of

agricultural land and contamination of soil on land

plots owned, possessed or used by them.

The procedure for submitting information on the

facts of agricultural land degradation and soil

contamination on land plots owned, possessed or used

by them to an authorized body shall be approved by

the authorized body.

16) Implement measures to ensure the

maintenance of protective forest plantations, erosion

control and etc.

4 DISCUSSION

Thus, in order to ensure the rational use of

agricultural land, owners of land plots intended for

agriculture, landholders, land users and tenants of

agricultural land are obliged to implement measures

in order to protect soils from erosion, preserve and

recover soil fertility, comply with scientifically based

principles of crop rotation in agricultural landscapes

and rules of crop rotations.

Land users are obliged to maintain soil fertility in

accordance with the requirements of the rational use

of agricultural land.

Land users must comply with the rules for the use

of agricultural land in water protection zones and

protected shoreline belts in accordance with the

requirements of the Water Code of the Russian

Federation.

Land users are obliged to prevent a significant

reduction in the fertility of agricultural land.

Land users shall keep books of field history.

Besides, land users shall comply with the

following:

 Conduct obligatory activities on land

improvement, comply with established

regulations on the use of plant protection

products, growth stimulants and fertilizers

permitted in the Russian Federation;

 Not to allow a significant decrease in the

fertility of agricultural land plots;

 Facilitate agrochemical surveys of agricultural

lands;

 Implement mandatory measures to protect

soils from erosion and other degradation

processes in accordance with on-farm land

management projects or the adaptive

landscape farming system;

 Not to allow the use of agricultural lands

resulting in overgrowth with weed and

shrubbery vegetation, as well as littering with

domestic and industrial wastes;

 Not to allow the burning of crop residues and

by-products of agricultural crops on

agricultural lands.

Land users are obliged to ensure the following:

 Implementation of seed breeding activities

and phytosanitary requirements for the

cultivation of crops;

 Observance of scientifically grounded terms

of varietal change and varietal renewal of

seeds of agricultural crops;

 Use for sowing of cereals and leguminous

crops seeds not lower than the third

reproduction;

 Implementation of phytosanitary measures on

seed disinfection, weed and quarantine

vegetation, diseases and pests control.

5 CONCLUSIONS

Therefore, it can be concluded that rational use of

land means ensuring that all land users in the process

maximize the effect of their land use objectives,

taking into account land protection and optimum

interaction with natural factors

It is the duty of land users to use the land

efficiently, to treat it with care and to increase its

fertility.

Rational use of land contributes to its continuous

improvement, as well as to the balanced and

sustainable development of agricultural production

with preservation of soil fertility and prevention of

land degradation processes, which in the future will

enable implementation of attractive investment

projects for the development of the municipalities

themselves.

Measures for the rational use of land shall ensure

its conservation, increase the productivity and fertility

of agricultural land, prevent land erosion, pollution,

etc.

In order to conserve and manage the land fund, it

is necessary to establish criteria for sustainable land

use and to set requirements that will lead to

sustainable land use.

The rational use of agricultural land establishes

mandatory requirements to owners of land plots,

landholders, land users and tenants of agricultural

land regarding the rational use of agricultural land.

It is also necessary to regulate the activities of

land plots owners, land holders, land users and

tenants of agricultural land plots aimed at preserving

and restoring soil fertility, achieving a certain level of

crop yield, increasing agricultural production and

developing livestock production.

Regional Land Use as a Condition for Sustainable Development of Rural Territories

Actually, many agronomists and farm managers

do not have at all or do not use in practice any on-

farm land management project - a document that

defines and substantiates organization and

arrangement of agricultural land for the near future

and contains a set of measures ensuring the best use

of each land plot taking into account its individual

characteristics, such as, fertility, technological

properties, location, natural-historical, environmental

and etc. as well as materials of agrochemical soil

survey, which, in fact, should be the handbook of any

competent farmers. This shall become their direct

responsibility. Apparently, it is impossible to conduct

production in the XXI century without a specific

farming system that considers all local farm

conditions and the fertility of each work plot!

Those farmers, who have come to work on the

land for a long period of time and in a serious way,

need to build an effective land-use model, prevent

ecological mistakes and generate a profit. Those who

have come to the land with one goal in mind - to make

quick gains and leave, wasting the fertility of arable

land - must be held accountable. However, for many

farmers, requirements to ensure the reproduction of

soil fertility have long been the norm for effective

land use and an incentive to improve the

professionalism of agricultural specialists.

It is necessary to ensure regular agrochemical

inspection of agricultural land in every 5 years as well

as systematic provision of agricultural producers with

projects of on-farm land management and certificates

of agrochemical inspection.

The adoption of legal acts with the purpose to

protect soil fertility becomes even more urgent in a

situation where there is a shortage of specialists in

rural areas and especially when foreign investors,

such as Chinese, are attracted to local agricultural

production.

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