Agri-Environmental Effects Of Changes In Agricultural Production In Poland

The paper presents results of analysis of the organizational and production changes occurring in Polish agriculture with concern of regions, and the assessment of potential effects of its influence on the environment with the use of standard agri-environmental indicators. The trends of changes in grounds exploitation, sown areas, animals stocking density and population, mineral fertilization, and gross nitrogen balance for Poland have been determined. The analysis included middle-term perspective of years 2000-2012. The changes occurring in particular regions have been compared in the period of time between 2002- 2004 and 2010-2012. It has been established that existing natural factors, but mainly organizational and economic, significantly affect the changes occurring in agricultural sector leading to increasingly developing polarization, production specialization and concentration. The consequences of occurring processes are, regionally diversified, changes of standard agri-environmental indicators, implicating differential strength (pressure) of agricultural activity effects on the environment. The changes may have positive as well as negative consequences for the further working of the sector. There is an onward extensification of organization and agricultural production in the south-eastern provinces. The provinces’ levels of macro components consumption in mineral fertilizers, as well as animals stocking density in livestock buildings, are often twofold. There is an extensification of organization with simultaneous increase in its intensity in livestock production. The consequence of the organization extensification and its simultaneous increase is extension of environmental pressure on the areas of high concentration of livestock production (the Kuyavia-Pomerania, the Łódź and the Wielkopolska provinces) prominent in unbeneficial changes of agri-environmental indicators (e.g. nitrogen balance) resulting in i.a. deterioration in the quality of surface and ground water.