A land sustainability model for identifying strategic agricultural areas : application to Novo Mesto municipality, Slovenia

Glavan, Matjaž (author), Hrastnik, Anja (author)

The conversion of agricultural land for urban and infrastructure uses poses a significant threat to food security and agricultural sustainability across Europe. Slovenia has experienced particularly severe agricultural land loss, with approximately 70,000 hectares converted to non-agricultural purposes since 1991. This reduction is considerable, as only 24% (481,000 ha) of the country’s land is suitable for agricultural production. In response, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia has enacted regulations to define and protect strategically important agricultural areas, which require robust methodologies for their identification and classification. This study develops and implements a transparent land sustainability model to classify agricultural land into three strategic categories: permanently protected agricultural land of the highest quality requiring strict protection (PPAL), other agricultural land suitable for continued agricultural use (OAL), and potentially suitable areas for agriculture (PSAs). The methodology utilises a multicriteria evaluation of soil quality, agricultural infrastructure, topography, current land use, and the cultural characteristics of agricultural production or landscape, drawing on readily available datasets to ensure replicability. In Novo mesto Municipality, southeastern Slovenia, the classification identified 6490 ha (28%) as PPAL, 1020 ha (4%) as OAL, and 5078 ha (22%) as PSA. This research provides a transparent and replicable multicriteria evaluation framework for strategic agricultural area classification, addresses methodological gaps in existing approaches, and demonstrates practical application in a post-transition European context.

• Language: English
• Keywords: agricultural land protection, strategic agricultural areas, land suitability assessment, spatial planning, food security, multicriteria evaluation
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: 29 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 15, iss. 3, art. 386
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-180066
• UDC: 63
• ISSN on article: 2073-445X
• DOI: 10.3390/land15030386
• COBISS.SI-ID: 270031107
• Publication date in RUL: 02.03.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Land
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2073-445X
• COBISS.SI-ID: 523256345

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: kmetijska zemljišča, varstvo kmetijskih zemljišč, prostorsko načrtovanje, varnost hrane, ocena primernosti zemljišč

Projects

• Funder: Other - Other funder or multiple funders
• Funding programme: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Food, Republic of Slovenia
• Project number: 2330-15-000110