De-linked cost of rural landscape maintenance

In this study the de-linked cost of rural landscape maintenance in the Swiss region of Greifensee is calculated in order to asses Economies of Scope in agricultural provision of landscape. The results show that annual costs generated by non-agricultural actors for an area of 3580 ha amount to five million Euros. Over 50% of these costs arise from biomass disposal. Therefore, possible economies of scope in agricultural landscape provision do not arise from maintenance costs but from more efficient biomass utilisation.