Farming in marginal areas with its resulting mosaic of forests, afforestation and heterogeneous farmland maintains biodiversity and ecosystem services in Europe. Such areas are though heavily supported by Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments.

The aims of the project are to evaluate how CAP reform after 2020, in conjunction with the rise of the bio-based economy, will affect i) the distribution of farming, forestry and intermediate land-use forms in marginal areas, ii) the extent and location of biodiversity and ecosystem services impacts, and iii) what alternative policy might efficiently ensure their preservation. This project addresses these questions in a spatially-explicit manner for three contrasting marginal farming areas in Sweden.

The project is in collaboration with the Centre for Environmental and Climate Research (CEC) and is financed by Crafoordska Stiftelsen and Formas. It is coordinated by Yann Clough (CEC) and will be completed in 2023.

Project homepage