This news article explores the global trend of traditional farmers abandoning their land, highlighting the consequences in Bulgaria and drawing comparisons to other regions like New England and Australia.
Traditional farmers around the world are leaving millions of acres of land that were once used for crops or grazing. This trend is generating mixed responses. In southern Bulgaria, the village of Tyurkmen shows the consequences. Many houses are empty and in decay. Gergana Daskalova, an ecologist who spent her summers in the village as a child, points to a book found amidst the ruins. 'Someone poured their heart and soul into creating a home, and now it's just collapsing,' she says.
A century ago, a thousand people lived in this village; today, there are only about 200. People have moved to cities in Bulgaria or abroad. Their heirs may still own land around the village where crops were once grown or sheep grazed, but much of it is now unused. Shrubs and small trees are reclaiming the area. 'My family has fields that we inherited from my grandparents, I don't know where they are,' Daskalova says. This is a common situation in Bulgaria and in many rural villages worldwide. Even while large farming enterprises clear forests in Brazil or Bolivia for grazing or crops, some farmers elsewhere are abandoning their land, allowing nature to take over. According to a land use researcher at the Free University of Amsterdam, small-scale farmers with rocky soil, steep hills, or limited water 'give up because they cannot compete.' Abandoned farmland can be found in parts of New England and Eastern Europe. In recent years, farmers have also left land in Australia. The total area of farmland abandoned globally since 1950 could be as much as half of Australia's size. Daskalova says this abandonment has a profound impact on ecosystems, but it's not receiving enough attention. 'It's happening out of sight, out of mind. That's why so many people don't even realize that abandonment is happening, because it's out of their sight,' she says
FARMING LAND USE ABANDONMENT ECOLOGY GLOBAL TRENDS
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