# Intensity and Driving Forces of Land Abandonment in Eastern Poland
## 3 Results  
From 1990 to 2018, the area of arable land decreased in all counties of Lublin Province (Table 1). Depending on the county, the reduction ranged from 2% (2000 ha) to 13% (11,600 ha), the mean decrease being 6.5%. This process showed considerable spatial variation. The highest intensities of land abandonment were found in the following counties: Pulawy (13%), Ryki (12), Lubartow (11%), and Bilgoraj (10%). A distinctly lower intensity of this process took place in Hrubieszow (2%) and Radzyru Podlaski counties (4%). This was accompanied by an increase in the forest cover by 2% to 27% (10% on average) and an increase the size of anthropogenic areas. The share of arable land in 2018 ranged from 49% to 82% depending on the county (mean of 67%), while the forest cover ranged from 10% to 44% (mean of 23%). The migration balance was negative for all counties except for Lublin county. The internal migrations within the counties meant that people were moving from villages to towns. The mean farm holding size was the smallest in Pulawy County (3.95 ha) and the largest in Parczew County (9.77 ha). Significant correlations were found between the intensity of land abandonment and the following characteristics of the counties: changes in forest cover (correlation coefficient: 0.57), area of arable land in 2018 (0.47), mean farm holding size in 2018 (0.37), migration balance (0.36), and natural conditions (0.32) (Figures 6-8). Using the grouping method made it possible to distinguish five groups of counties with a specific set of characteristics (Table 1). Group 1--Hrubieszow, Lublin, and Swidnik counties--low intensity of land abandonment, medium forest cover increase, various anthropogenic changes, the best natural conditions, very small forest cover, the biggest share of arable land, low migration balance, high population density, varying farm holding size, low level of migration to towns, and varying number of small farm holdings. Group 2--Krasnik, Tomaszow Lubelski, and Zamosc counties--low/medium intensity of land abandonment, medium forest cover changes, big anthropogenic changes, good natural conditions, medium forest cover, medium share of arable land, medium/high migration balance, low population density, medium farm holding size, low level of migration to towns, and medium share of small farm holdings. Group 3--Chehm, Krasnystaw, Leczna, Opole Lubelskie, and Radzyn Podlaski counties--medium intensity of land abandonment, big forest cover changes, small anthropogenic changes, small/medium forest cover, moderate natural conditions, quite a large share of arable land, high migration balance, high population density, medium farm holding size, low level of migration to towns, and medium share of small farm holdings. Group 4--Biala Podlaska, Lubartow, Lukow, Parczew, and Ryki counties--medium/high intensity of land abandonment, big forest cover changes, small/moderate anthropogenic changes, the poorest natural conditions, medium forest cover, small/medium share of arable land, high migration balance, low population density, medium farm holding size, high level of migration to towns, and small number of small farm holdings. Figure 8: The extent of land abandonment in the years 1990–2018 for the counties of Lublin Province versus the area of agricultural lands  
Figure 7: The extent of land abandonment in the years 1990–2018 in the counties of Lublin Province versus the mean agricultural holding size. Group 5--Bilgoraj, Janow Lubelski, Pulawy, and Wlodawa counties--high/medium intensity of land abandonment, small forest cover changes, medium anthropogenic changes, poor natural conditions, the highest forest cover, the lowest share of arable land, medium/high migration balance, low population density, medium farm holding size, high level of migration to towns, and small share of small farm holdings (except Pulawy county). Detailed analyses conducted in Susiec District showed that most of the recently abandoned agricultural areas were located in its central and northern parts (Figure 9).