Economic Impacts of the Establishment of Alternative Water Retention Habitats on the Agricultural Holdings

The municipal spatial plan of the city of Ljubljana determined the location for the expansion of the Ljubljana Regional Waste Management Centre. The environmental condition for the expansion is the establishment of alternative water retention habitats (267.1 ha) on the northern edge of the Ljubljana Marsh. The study aimed to analyze possible mitigation measures for agriculture due to the envisaged changes in land use. The plan envisaged a change in the use of conventional agricultural land, overgrowth vegetation and forest for extensive grassland (172 ha), forest (86 ha), and water surfaces (8.9 ha). Results indicate that the income from subsidy payments will be higher due to establishing additional wetland meadows (28 ha) in the currently overgrown areas. The intervention will decrease the value of the crop produce (-61 to -71%) and thus the farm revenue (-34 to -43%). However, variable costs are lower due to the expected extensive land use. A larger area of protected habitats on agricultural land returns lower variable costs (-60 to -69), a positive balance of gross margin for the total area (+5 to +15%), and a lower gross margin per hectare of agricultural land (-4 to -12%), and thus the income of most agricultural holdings.