This PhD thesis presents a study of the causes and consequences of land
use modernization in Western agricultural landscapes. The thesis is based
on case study research in Denmark and New Zealand framed and
interpreted within the context of a broader-scale historical analysis of
modernization processes within the Western world. Case landscapes in
Denmark and New Zealand were selected based on a maximum variation
sampling strategy, in order to be able to identify and analyse patterns of
change manifesting across a variety of Western, modern agricultural
landscapes. The thesis consists of : (1) A historical analysis of social drivers
of land use change affecting agrarian landscapes in the Western world in
the period 1700-2000 based on a litterature review of modernization
theory applied to two local scale historical case studies of changes in
landscape structure; (2) A national scale analysis based on archival and
cartographic sources of the way selected modernization processes affected
rural land use patterns in New Zealand in the period from its first Europeancolonial
exploration in the 17th century until the present. (3) A global scale
analysis of historical patterns of modernization affecting rural land use
patterns within the Western world based on historical cartographic
evidence, (4) A local scale analysis of the decision making practices of
landscape managers in four modern case landscapes in Denmark and New
Zealand, based on interview surveys conducted in 2011 and 2012. Findings
indicate that the landscapes studied are affected by persistent modern
drivers of land use change which motivate a variety of local responses from
landscape managers, leading to a range of different but comparable change
trajectories. Common patterns of change relating to drivers affecting the
landscapes are identified. A conceptual framework able to explain the
identified changes is presented and discussed in the context of
recommendations for further research.