The status of arable plant habitats in scandinavian countries

• Scandinavia is situated in the northern part of Europe where climate conditions limit both agricultural production and weed diversity. Scandinavian countries differ from each other in terms of climate conditions, land use intensity and agricultural production. In Finland and Denmark, the status of arable plant populations has been recorded by regular weed surveys covering several decades. In both countries, a tremendous decline in weed abundance was documented between 1960s and 1980s caused by the significant intensification of the cropping practices. The decline was attributed to the higher rate of nitrogen fertiliser application, more effective fertilisation methods, the increased use of crop monocultures and the application of herbicides. During the following decades, a slight increase in weed abundances was recorded in both countries probably mainly caused by stricter regulation of herbicide use decided nationally and by the EU. In the 1990s, agri-environmental support schemes to facilitate environmental issues were introduced, which resulted in, among other things, increasing area of organic farming. Organic farming has enhanced weed species diversity. However, conservation of rare arable weeds has not been a primary focus in Scandinavian countries and there are no specific conservation methods to protect rare plant species on arable land.

Subject headings

LANTBRUKSVETENSKAPER  -- Lantbruksvetenskap, skogsbruk och fiske -- Jordbruksvetenskap (hsv//swe)

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES  -- Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries -- Agricultural Science (hsv//eng)

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kap (subject category)