Agriculture is an economic activity practiced globally. German geographer Johann Heinrich von Thünen developed one of the first geographical models related to the spatial analysis of agricultural land use.
The von Thünen model of agricultural land use, created in 1826, was developed before the major industrialization in Europe and other regions.
Who was Johann Heinrich Von Thünen?
Johann Heinrich Von Thünen (24 June 1783 – 22 September 1850) was a farmer, landowner, and economic who created perhaps the first known spatial economic model on land rent using observations he had experienced. It was in the first book of his treatise The Isolated State (1826), that Von Thünen established the first major discussion of spatial economics and economic geography, linking it to the rent theory.
What is the von Thünen agricultural model?
The von Thünen agricultural model was an attempt to answer the problem of balancing the cost of land rents with the most effective crops to grow.
Von Thünen’s Model and Assumptions
Created before industrialization, Von Thünen’s key assumptions in the classical model are:
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- 1) a city is centrally located in an “isolated state,”
- 2) one of the surrounding areas around a town is wilderness,
- 3) land is generally flat,
- 4) soil quality and climate are consistent,
- 5) farmers transport goods to a market using mainly carts, and
- 6) farmers behave rationally in choosing where to conduct their activities.
Key Concepts of the von Thünen Model
- Transport Costs: The cost of transporting goods to the market increases with distance, influencing the type of agriculture practiced in each zone.
- Land Rent: The value of land decreases with distance from the city, affecting the intensity of agricultural activities.
- Perishability: Highly perishable goods are produced close to the market to ensure they reach consumers in fresh condition.
- Economic Rationality: Farmers choose land use types that maximize their profit based on transportation costs and land rent.
Zones of the Von Thünen model
There are generally four main circles around the city that consist, from nearest to a town and moving outwards. With the premise that rent prices for land are high near a city, the model generally explains variation of land rent, transportation costs, and market activity of a region around towns.
Also known as concentric zones that form a series of rings spread outward from the inner city core.
1. Central City
At the center of the model is the city or market, which serves as the central point for the distribution of agricultural products. All agricultural activities are oriented towards supplying this market.
2. Dairy and Intensive Farming Zone
The first ring (or zone) surrounding the city is dedicated to dairy farming and intensive agriculture. These activities are located close to the city because they involve perishable products that need to be transported quickly to market. Intensive farming requires high inputs and yields, making proximity to the market essential to minimize transportation costs.
3. Forestry Zone
The second zone is typically used for forestry. Wood is heavy and bulky, leading to high transportation costs, so it is grown relatively close to the city. This zone supplies timber and firewood, essential for construction and fuel in the city.
4. Grain (or Crop) Farming Zone
Beyond the forestry zone lies the grain farming zone. Grains are less perishable and lighter than dairy products or timber, allowing them to be grown further from the city. This zone represents extensive farming, with lower input costs and larger fields.
5. Livestock/ Ranching Zone
The outermost zone is used for livestock ranching. Livestock can be raised at a greater distance from the city because animals can be driven to market. This zone requires large areas of land for grazing, making it suitable for extensive agricultural practices.
Applications of von Thünen’s model in today’s agricultural economy
Although von Thünen’s model may seem outdated and primarily focused on a specific type of town or city with a landscape typical of central Europe, it still contains key concepts relevant to modern spatial economics.
For one, distance to market (cost of transportation) for given goods does have a relationship with profitability, which von Thünen’s model demonstrates clearly. This makes the model broadly applicable for products created near a market, showing that products made near a town have a potential to be more profitable, although even here a modern globalized world means for given products distant labor could lower prices.
In addition to grain agriculture, the theory does have applicability to modern grazing land use practices. For instance in Brazil, it was found that land use near marketplaces that prioritized meat production led to more intense land use and higher demand for forested land, leading to greater deforestation near cities in particular.[1]
Similarly, land use intensification does appear to have a relationship in countries where agriculture and grazing play a prominent role in the economy.[2] Other forestry models have also found applicability of von Thünen’s ideas in balancing land management and determining economic benefit from forestry, where rental income can be combined with ecosystem service models to create more sustainable forestry production models.[3]
Modern adaptations of the von Thünen model
While the applicability of the classic von Thünen model appears, at times, relevant for different contexts, in general, and particularly for highly industrial economies, modifications of the classical model have become the norm. This includes the use of multivariate and multi-scale approaches that also incorporate varied topography rather than pure flat regions. Such approaches account for varied economic use as well as connectivity of towns with the wider regional and global economy.[4] Heterogeneous agents affecting land use practices and events, while hierarchical formation and development of urban systems, have become key focus areas today for spatial economists in helping to explain urban and landscape dynamics.[5]
Longevity and limitations of the von Thünen model
Interestingly, von Thünen’s classical land use model has applicability to different contexts found today. While that is the case, there are also multiple limitations to von Thünen’s ideas that modern land use economic models attempt to address. The longevity of the model, and the fact it is often still used as a basis of analysis, does make it not only the first true spatial economic model but it continues to inspire researchers to develop methods that address its limitations.
References
[1] For more on a recent use of von Thünen concepts on land use practices in modern grazing in Brazil, see: Fontes, F., Palmer, C., 2018. “Land Sparing” in a von Thünen Framework: Theory and Evidence from Brazil. Land Economics 94, 556–576. https://doi.org/10.3368/le.94.4.556.
[2] For more on land use effects using von Thünen concepts in Mozambique , see: Smith, H.E., Ryan, C.M., Vollmer, F., Woollen, E., Keane, A., Fisher, J.A., Baumert, S., Grundy, I.M., Carvalho, M., Lisboa, S.N., Luz, A.C., Zorrilla-Miras, P., Patenaude, G., Ribeiro, N., Artur, L., Mahamane, M., 2019. Impacts of land use intensification on human wellbeing: Evidence from rural Mozambique. Global Environmental Change 59, 101976. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2019.101976.
[3] For more on the use of von Thünen in forestry, see: Roos, A., Eggers, J., Mark-Herbert, C., Lindhagen, A., 2018. Using von Thünen rings and service-dominant logic in balancing forest ecosystem services. Land Use Policy 79, 622–632. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.08.046.
[4] For more on multi-scale and multi-variet models for land use, see: Salvati, L., 2014. Agro-forest landscape and the ‘fringe’ city: A multivariate assessment of land-use changes in a sprawling region and implications for planning. Science of The Total Environment 490, 715–723. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.05.080.
[5] For more on recent economic models on land use and urban contexts, see: Gaspar, J.M., 2020. New Economic Geography: Economic Integration and Spatial Imbalances, in: Colombo, S. (Ed.), Spatial Economics Volume I. Springer International Publishing, Cham, pp. 79–110. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40098-9_4
