Land levelling.

The preparation of a given areafor a new type of crop or a different type of management has always involved modification of the local landscape through deforestation , terracing or bog and swamp reclamation. Nowadays, the great mechanical power of bulldozers is readily available to farmers and allows extensive land levelling. Hence, during the last 50 years, land levelling has gained an important role in European agriculture accompanied, however, by a considerable impact on the landscape.