What can the location of biogas plants tell us about agricultural change? A Case Study from the Czech Republic

Facilities for generating renewable energy form important elements in the rural landscape of the Czech Republic. The distribution of these facilities is highly uneven due to various natural and socio-economic factors. In our paper, we are focusing our attention on one of the important facilities f...

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Main Authors: Dan Van Der Horst, Stanislav Martinát, Josef Navrátil, Petr Dvořák, Petra Chmielová
Format: Article
Language:ces
Published: University of South Bohemia 2018-04-01
Series:DETUROPE
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Online Access:https://www.deturope.eu/file_download.php?type=2&item=206
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author Dan Van Der Horst
Stanislav Martinát
Josef Navrátil
Petr Dvořák
Petra Chmielová
author_facet Dan Van Der Horst
Stanislav Martinát
Josef Navrátil
Petr Dvořák
Petra Chmielová
author_sort Dan Van Der Horst
collection DOAJ
description Facilities for generating renewable energy form important elements in the rural landscape of the Czech Republic. The distribution of these facilities is highly uneven due to various natural and socio-economic factors. In our paper, we are focusing our attention on one of the important facilities for the generation of renewable energy in the Czech Republic; anaerobic digestion (AD) plants. In 2016, more than five hundred AD plants could be found in the country with a total installed capacity of 360 MW. By means of analyses of data on location of individual AD plants, quality of soils, size of agricultural farms (in which majority of AD plants is incorporated) we found that agricultural AD plants in the Czech Republic tend to concentrate in areas with larger agricultural farms and also in areas with average and slightly below average conditions for agricultural activities. Core areas where agricultural AD plants are the most densely located were also identified. In these areas, large farms with AD plants tend to crowd out smaller farms. Pressure to grow maize for ADs significantly competes here with growing of other agricultural crops for food. This finding is in strong contradiction with the official national agricultural policy where support for small farms is systematically emphasized. Core areas with AD plants make a belt that mostly covers sub-mountainous central parts of the Czech Republic where traditional agricultural plants are now significantly being displaced by maize to feed AD plants.
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id doaj-art-6a4ece1be0a64382ae6991cfbf7d6ed7
institution Kabale University
issn 1821-2506
language ces
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publisher University of South Bohemia
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spelling doaj-art-6a4ece1be0a64382ae6991cfbf7d6ed72025-02-02T02:16:29ZcesUniversity of South BohemiaDETUROPE1821-25062018-04-011013352What can the location of biogas plants tell us about agricultural change? A Case Study from the Czech RepublicDan Van Der Horst0Stanislav Martinát1Josef Navrátil2Petr Dvořák3Petra Chmielová4University of Edinburgh, School of GeosciencesCardiff University, School of Geography and PlanningFaculty of Agriculture, University of South Bohemia in Ceske BudejoviceFaculty of Science, University of OstravaSchool of Business Administration in Karvina, Silesian University in OpavaFacilities for generating renewable energy form important elements in the rural landscape of the Czech Republic. The distribution of these facilities is highly uneven due to various natural and socio-economic factors. In our paper, we are focusing our attention on one of the important facilities for the generation of renewable energy in the Czech Republic; anaerobic digestion (AD) plants. In 2016, more than five hundred AD plants could be found in the country with a total installed capacity of 360 MW. By means of analyses of data on location of individual AD plants, quality of soils, size of agricultural farms (in which majority of AD plants is incorporated) we found that agricultural AD plants in the Czech Republic tend to concentrate in areas with larger agricultural farms and also in areas with average and slightly below average conditions for agricultural activities. Core areas where agricultural AD plants are the most densely located were also identified. In these areas, large farms with AD plants tend to crowd out smaller farms. Pressure to grow maize for ADs significantly competes here with growing of other agricultural crops for food. This finding is in strong contradiction with the official national agricultural policy where support for small farms is systematically emphasized. Core areas with AD plants make a belt that mostly covers sub-mountainous central parts of the Czech Republic where traditional agricultural plants are now significantly being displaced by maize to feed AD plants.https://www.deturope.eu/file_download.php?type=2&item=206agricultural AD plantsnatural conditionsagricultural geographysize structure of agricultural farmsCzech Republic
spellingShingle Dan Van Der Horst
Stanislav Martinát
Josef Navrátil
Petr Dvořák
Petra Chmielová
What can the location of biogas plants tell us about agricultural change? A Case Study from the Czech Republic
DETUROPE
agricultural AD plants
natural conditions
agricultural geography
size structure of agricultural farms
Czech Republic
title What can the location of biogas plants tell us about agricultural change? A Case Study from the Czech Republic
title_full What can the location of biogas plants tell us about agricultural change? A Case Study from the Czech Republic
title_fullStr What can the location of biogas plants tell us about agricultural change? A Case Study from the Czech Republic
title_full_unstemmed What can the location of biogas plants tell us about agricultural change? A Case Study from the Czech Republic
title_short What can the location of biogas plants tell us about agricultural change? A Case Study from the Czech Republic
title_sort what can the location of biogas plants tell us about agricultural change a case study from the czech republic
topic agricultural AD plants
natural conditions
agricultural geography
size structure of agricultural farms
Czech Republic
url https://www.deturope.eu/file_download.php?type=2&item=206
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