Using the example of the MAB Biosphere Preserve “Mittlere Elbeâ€, this article demonstrates how an “optimal†land-use pattern – a pattern aimed at combining ecological, economic and social objectives in an adequate way – can be determined. The focus is on the...

Both climate and agricultural policy changes are commonly seen as important drivers for agricultural production. In this study, scenarios of climate and political change were calculated for the Upper Danube catchment area using the regional optimization model ACRE. Two political scenarios were...

The 2003 CAP Reform left EU member states much room for national implementation. The farm group model EU-FARMIS is applied to quantify the effects of the reform and the impacts of the options for national implementation. The analysis is done for France and Germany because their implementation...

This paper describes the bio-economic land use model ProLand and presents selected results for scenarios of coupled and fully decoupled Pillar One transfer payments under the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The basic assumption for the model is that land users select...

This paper presents a regional land-use model that conceives farms as independent agents aiming at maximum individual utility. Farm agents optimize their utility with the help of a linear-programming algorithm that takes into account natural, economic and personal restrictions. Interactions...

Agent-based modeling offers the technical opportunity to spatially integrate biophysical and socio-economic model components, thereby capturing the interactions between agricultural and environmental policy measures, land use decisions and ecological processes. Development paths in the use of...

The framework conditions surrounding agricultural production in Germany have changed dramatically due to the Renewable Energy Law (EEG) and a sustained increase in agricultural prices. The Common Agricultural Policy, substantially reformed in the Luxemburg Compromise, will be considered in the...

Within the framework of decreasing support for agricultural incomes by market measures, the per-hectare premiums (ha-premiums) clearly have the task and the effect to stabilise farm incomes. Before direct aids were introduced, there had been periods with decreasing prices for agricultural land...