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Round straw bales in a field

Farmland

Farmland is essentially a non-natural environment that has been deliberately cleared to make way for agriculture. The resulting patchwork of fields has been managed by tilling and ploughing, grazing, sowing and harvesting since the stone age. Despite being heavily managed, it's still an important wildlife and plant habitat, particularly along its margins which are less worked. Modern, intensive farming methods led to a decline in many species from this habitat. However, measures such as reinstating ponds, meadows and hedgerows, alongside a return to more traditional practices, are helping restore a balance that benefits both wildlife and food production.

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What lives here?

Mammals

Birds

Reptiles

Amphibians

Insects

Arachnids

Snails and slugs

About Farmland

In geography and agriculture, arable land (from Latin arāre; “To plough, To farm”) is land that can be used for growing crops. It includes all land under annual crops (double-cropped areas are counted only once), temporary meadows for mowing or market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow (less than five years). Abandoned land resulting from shifting cultivation is not included in this category. Data for arable land are not meant to indicate the amount of land that is potentially cultivable. Arable land is a category of agricultural land, which, according to Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) definition, additionally includes land under permanent or perennial crops, such as fruit plantations, as well as permanent pastures, for grazing of livestock. In 2008, the world's total arable land amounted to 1,387 Mha, and 4,908 Mha was classified as "agricultural land."

Although constrained by land mass and topology, the amount of arable land, both regionally and globally, fluctuates due to human and climatic factors such as irrigation, deforestation, desertification, terracing, landfill, and urban sprawl. Researchers study the impact of these changes on food production.

The most productive portion of arable land is that from sediments left by rivers and the sea in geological times. In modern times, rivers do not generally flood as often in areas employing flood control.

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Habitats

Other Terrestrial habitats

BBC News about Farmland

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