Land use since 1900
In the second half of the 20th century the area of farmland and of nature dwindled, but there was an increase in the area of woodland and forest and an even bigger increase in the area of built-up land.
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Trends
The steady dwindling of natural areas since 1900 has recently halted. By contrast, the area of woodland and forest remained constant for the first half of the 20th century and increased gradually thereafter. From 1900 until about 1950 the agricultural area increased: prior to 1940 primarily as a result of reclamation and after 1945 primarily because of the empoldering of the Zuiderzee. The main causes of the decrease in the agricultural area since the 1950s are residential and industrial development, and infrastructure.
