Cambios recientes en el uso del suelo en la Región Centro de PortugalSituación y perspectivas para la sostenibilidad

Abstract

This thesis analyses changes in land use in Portugal from 1989 to 2009. These changes are analysed considering 65 parameters related to land use at municipality level. These are divided into four main topics: land surface used in agriculture, major crops, farm structure, and social aspects arising from land use. Bearing in mind the state of the art, a hypothesis was formulated to carry out the present study. The following statistical data were used: the General Census of Agriculture 1989 and the Agricultural Census 2009 published by the National Statistics Institute of Portugal (Instituto Nacional de Estatística); the 4th National Forest Inventory 1995-1998 and the 5th National Forest Inventory 2005-2006 published by the Portuguese Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas). The analysis and the results obtained are presented at municipality level, NUTS III, NUTS II and NUTS I. For each parameter, parameter maps of the state both in 1989 and 2009 are presented. Moreover, changes during the period between 1989 and 2009, at the municipality level, for NUTS I regions of Portugal, mainland Portugal, Azores and Madeira are presented. Based on the results obtained policy proposals for sustainable rural development are suggested. It may be concluded that, between 1989 and 2009 there were profound changes in land use in Portugal, with significant differences among regions. A combination of social, economic and physiographic factors, especially the influence of the common agriculture policy, may explain these changes.