From circular to linear flows? Structural and functional transformations in the Dutch esdorp landscape

Current agricultural practices significantly contribute to environmental challenges such as biodiversity loss, eutrophication, and acidification, particularly in areas where agriculture meets nature. This is evident in the Dutch province of Drenthe, which is characterised by esdorpen: historic villages surrounded by arable land traditionally cultivated collectively by village farmers. The uncultivated commons surrounding each esdorp played a crucial role in this integrated agricultural system. This case study of Vledder examines the structural and functional transformations in the Dutch esdorp landscape that have contributed to changes in the circularity of nutrient and material flows from 1900 to the present. Using map analysis, archival research, governmental document analysis, field observations, and informal interviews, it explores how historically embedded elements of circularity have evolved and eventually disappeared. The privatisation and cultivation of the commons, together with agricultural specialisation and intensification, drastically altered landscape structures and diminished collective responsibility for their management.