Changes in agricultural policy may have a rapid impact, even on landscapes which have taken millennia to form. Here we explore the potential impact of the UK leaving the EU as a catalyst for profound changes in the pastoral landscapes of Wales. Impending change of the trading regime governing agricultural produce, concurrent with public pressure to use agricultural subsidies for environmental goals, may lead to unforeseen consequences for the Welsh natural environment.

In many countries of the world, rural areas are characterized by a defective spatial structure of agricultural land. The most frequent defects are large fragmentation and distribution of farmland. The fragmentation of land has been an issue widely described by many authors throughout the world. The problem of the distribution of land owned by individual farmers is slightly different, since due to the complexity of the problem this issue was not widely explored in Poland (plot patchwork) or in other countries of Europe and the world.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a crucial indicator of soil health and soil productivity. The long-term implications of rapid urbanization on sustainability have, in recent years, raised concern. This study aimed to characterize the SOC stocks in the Johannesburg Granite Dome, a highly urbanized and contaminated area.