ESTONIAN ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW 2009

7.2.2. Changes in land use as reflected by
Statistics Estonia data
Certain changes in land use can also be seen in the
data collected by Statistics Estonia. Statistics Estonia
emphasizes that the data are not definitive. Spring-time
cultivation areas are registered by the Farm Structure
Survey, which may vary from the ultimate cultivation
areas classified according to harvest purpose. The data
have also been rounded off. Still, they provide some sense
of the dynamics at work here.
According to data from the Farm Structure Survey, the
total area of agricultural land has not changed significantly
in the 21st century, fluctuating between 8,000–9,000 km 2
(figure 7.2). The same can be seen in the case of arable
land, which fairly consistently makes up 2/3 of agricultural
land. Considering the decline in the previous decade, the
modest rise from 2003–2007 may represent an important
shift. Comparing these data with the agricultural land
data in use, we see a variance of up to 10%, which can
be put down to margin of error for the data. At the same
time, the number of agricultural holdings more than
halved from 2001–2007. Agricultural land accounts for
75% of the land in the ownership of holdings – up from
65%. The percentage of agricultural land not utilised
for agricultural production compared to agricultural
land in use has more than halved – from 8.5% to 3.5%.
This along with the modest rise in arable land area (also
seen from CORINE data) attests to the rise in the value
of cropland.
For purposes of comparison it should be said that the
area of arable land in the 20th century changed little,
ranging between 11,000–12,000 km 2 and a significant
decrease to approx. 8,500 km 2 took place in the 1990s.
At the same time, the land cover changes do not indicate
a similar drop in this period. The decrease in agricultural
land and increase of forest land in the 20th century took
place mainly through afforestation of grasslands A , but in
the first ten years, the growth of forest does not yet show
up on satellite imaging of land cover.
Data from the forest inventory conducted do not
indicate a decrease in the area of coniferous forests or an
increase in the area of deciduous forests (figure 7.3). The
total areas of forest stands have not significantly changed.
On the basis of inventory data, Estonia’s total forested
area has remained between 47 and 49 per cent in the 21st
century. In interpreting fluctuation of total forest areas,
it is difficult to differentiate between margin of error
and actual fluctuation – the data show that forest land
decreased by 450 km 2 in 2001–2002 and that it increased
by 615 km 2 in 2002–2003, for example. Theoretically it
is possible that in a given year a quantity of forest land
is inventoried under another use and the next year, a
quantity of overgrown fields will be recorded as forest
land. Yet even then, such a variation would be due to a
statistical change (accounting), not actual land use.
10 000
55 702
number of
agricultural
holdings
arable land
agricultural land
60 000
8000
50 000
km 2 8 712
6000
4000
2000
0
5 919
7 956
5 356
36 792
8 289
5 844
27 688
23 257
9 068
6 270
40 000
30 000
20 000
number of agricultural holdings
2001
2003
2005
2007
Figure 7.2. Change in the amount of agricultural land, arable land and number of agricultural holdings, 2001–2007.
Data: Statistics Estonia.
A
Mander, Ü., Palang, H. (1994). Changes of landscape structure in Estonia during the Soviet period. – GeoJournal, 33(1), 45-54.
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