現代イギリス農業の地域構造

農法的視角からみた土地利用方式の特質

抄録

In this treatise, the author tried to investigate regional structure of British agriculture from the view point of farming system in an attempt to clarify intraregional differential of agricultural land use on the county level, on which we have not any report as before. The author concluded results of investigation as follows.
1) The geographical distribution of Alternate Husbandry and Multifield system. In applying Fallow Index and Temporary Grass Altenation ratio, farming regions can be devided into three categorical types, namely, from eastern parts of Great Britain to westward, agricultural regions specializing in grain cultivation followed by grass growing region, between these regions, mixed farming region can be observed. As a whole, there ranged from east coast side of the British Isles to the westward Multifield system, mixed farming system, followed by Alternate Husbandary.
2) In contrast with main crop group. We can devide main crop into intentive cormophyte item (Boden bereichernde Pflanzen), extensive one (Boden schonende Pflanzen), and grain crop (Boden angreifende Pflanzen). Areal differentiatiation of those subdevided group, as a whole, corresponds to geographical destribution of Alternate Husbandry region and Multi field system region.
3) Judging from combination Specialization Index with Land Productivity Index of main crops, We get characteristic distribution of agricultural regions, namely, a) grain crop region, in which high Land Productivity Index with top ranked Specialization Index are recognized in eastern parts of Isles, b) Grass and Hoed crops are highly cultivated to the north and north-west ward, productivity is ranked in high order relatively, Wales marks in both Index in the lowest.
Causes of distinguished geographical pattern above mentioned can be attributed mainly to natural environment, especially climatological difference and factor of levelling balance of demand and supply in labor expenditure.
4) In turn, when observed from Land Utilization Types in compared with regional variations of Comprehensive Land Productivity, highly intensive farming regions are composed of 4 central poles: 1) Fenland region, 2) Region of Home country aggromerated in Greater London, 3) Lancashire region, 4) Birmingham region, which are exclusively specialized in intensive Cormophyte items with high Comprehensive Productivity. from these 4 central poles to north and westward, we can easily observe agricultural land use patterns which put the accent on extensive cormophyte items with low Comprehensive Productivity. British Agriculture have been tried to adjust herself to elastic farming system, vz, Ley Farming as a sort of alternate husbandary in past 100 years in trying to absorb the direct shock caused by economic fluctuation, maintaining fertility of agricultural land as well. In those context, main theme of this paper is, in advance historical investigation, to make clear regional structure of British Agriculture in the light of Ley Farming system.