CONVERSION OF AGRICULTURAL LAND TO NON-AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES IN SELECTED POLISH METROPOLITAN AREAS

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to determine the scale of agricultural land conversion in gmina (municipalities) located in selected metropolitan areas of Poland. Analyses were conducted taking into account the location of agricultural land in relation to the core of metropolitan area and its suitability for agricultural production. The research has shown that in the metropolitan areas selected for analysis, agricultural land conversion in the period 1996–2014 was over twice as fast as the average for Poland, with the most land converted in the core of a metropolitan area, little less in the first zone of gmina around the core, and the least in gmina located on the outskirts of a metropolitan area. The hypothesis saying that the distance of a gmina from the core of the metropolitan area is a significant factor in the differences in conversion processes, and high quality of environmental conditions of agricultural production does not limit (in a significant way) the process of farmland abandonment has been positively verified.