AGRICULTURAL INTENSITY INDICATORS: REPRESENTATIVITY ASSESSMENT (A CASE STUDY OF EUROPEAN COUNTRIES)
The general trend in the development of agriculture in European countries is its intensification. However, there is no consensus about what indicators most adequately reflect this process. The purpose of this article was to assess the possibility of using agricultural intensity indicators for studying the dynamics of nature management systems in the regions. The assessment was carried out using the example of European countries, period from 1909-1913 to 2015-2018. The rates of change in the degree of agricultural intensity in Europe were calculated, which allowed us to assess the dynamics and direction of agricultural development in this region. A retrospective analysis showed that the most informative indicator of agricultural intensity is crop yields. The total area of agricultural lands and their area per person, the proportion of arable land, and the volume of mineral fertilizers can be used as additional indicators. Agricultural intensity indicators should be considered in parallel with the analysis of the political and economic situation, and also the natural and ecological conditions of the territory. The main tendency in the development of agriculture in European countries over the past 100 years is an increase in its intensity with a decrease in the area of cultivated land, as well as a decreasing contrast in the agricultural intensity level among European countries.