Flanders is a densely populated region. Agriculture uses a large part of the available open space and consequently, has an important effect on the spatial quality. In the research on the agricultural use of open space, we start from the following challenges:

1. What are possible positive landscape effects of agriculture, e.g. hedgerow maintenance, and how can they be stimulated?
2. What are negative landscape effects of agriculture and how can they be prevented, e.g. through integration of agricultural buildings in the landscape?
3. How can agriculture and horticulture maintain and stimulate the interaction and consultation with other stakeholders like inhabitants, industry, nature conservation,…?

Ongoing projects on these issues:

• Alternative agricultural use of open space
• Decision support framework for planning and management of agricultural area
• Integration of agricultural buildings in the landscape
• Investigation into spatial transformations in rural Flanders

Finished projects