Concepts of agricultural marginal lands and their utilisation: A review

• Published in: Agricultural systems 2023-01, Vol.204, p.103560, Article 103560
• Main Authors: Csikós, Nándor, Tóth, Gergely
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agriculture; Concept; Land management; Marginal land; Marginal land review
• ISSN: 0308-521X; 1873-2267
• DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2022.103560

The potential of marginal lands to improve food security, support bioenergy production or ecosystem services has globally got a lot of attention. Defining agricultural marginal land is a task that involves more than just considering the land's quality, its definition changed a lot during the last two centuries. Development of new technologies and policy trends require the concepts of prime land and marginal land to be renewed from time to time. Although much research has been done on the concept of marginal land, it is currently limited by the lack of a clear, globally accepted definition. There are four major sources of criteria of marginal lands: economic (e.g., rent cost, land value), geographical (e.g., temperature, slope, precipitation), ecosystem-based (e.g., protected areas, recreation, ecosystem services), soil suitability (e.g., yield capability, physical and chemical soil properties). The categorisation of agricultural land into groups like productive, marginal or unproductive often depends on the cultivation or management type. Since conceptions of marginal land are dynamic both in time and space, flexible policy and practical solutions are needed for their non-degrading use, which in any case shall support nature-based socioeconomic development. To maintain the socioeconomic value of these areas, it is crucial to develop rural areas that are economically or biophysically marginalised. High nature value farming, bioenergy crops by sustainable land management and afforestation are highly recommended. Choosing the right management can transform marginal land into an optimal soil condition or incorrect management can degrade prime land into marginal land (unproductive land). This paper provides a review and categorisation of the historical and new developments of marginal land concepts especially those which are working with agricultural aspects, including land management and reclamation. It could give a strong basis for further research in topic of marginal land. [Display omitted] •Marginal lands are depending on the spatial scale and the regional conditions.•Marginal land can be turned suitable for the objective of the use.•Marginal lands are dynamic both in time and space.•Flexible policy and practical solutions are needed.