Guilty or scapegoat? Land consolidation and the hedgerow decline

Coupable ou bouc émissaire ? Le remembrement et le déclin des haies

Valentin Cocco (), Raja Chakir and Lauriane Mouysset
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Valentin Cocco: CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AgroParisTech - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - Université Paris-Saclay - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR PSAE - Paris-Saclay Applied Economics - AgroParisTech - Université Paris-Saclay - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement
Raja Chakir: UMR PSAE - Paris-Saclay Applied Economics - AgroParisTech - Université Paris-Saclay - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement
Lauriane Mouysset: CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AgroParisTech - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - Université Paris-Saclay - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

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Abstract: Land consolidation is a standard policy tool to reduce land fragmentation through the spatial redistribution of property rights; however, the risk of adverse effects on the landscape raises concerns about its environmental sustainability. This study investigates the landscape impacts of consolidation on the hedgerow network of Lower Normandy, France. Implementing a staggered difference-in-differences strategy on a longitudinal survey (1972-2010), we show that consolidation led to a significant reduction in hedgerow density of -14.3m/ha (standard error: 2.33), accounting for 13.7% of the overall decline observed in consolidated areas. Our results also suggest a diminishing impact over time of consolidation and time since consolidation, an increasing impact with higher initial hedgerow density, no spillover effect, and a negative impact on network connectivity. Our findings confirm that land consolidation has significantly contributed to the decline of hedgerows, but they challenge prevailing beliefs about its share of responsibility among other factors of landscape changes.

Keywords: Land tenure; Difference- in-Differences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-09
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04658788v1
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Published in Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2025, 133, pp.103196. ⟨10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103196⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04658788

DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103196

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