In Poland as well as in the rest of Europe almost half of natural resources is connected with agriculture. Although in comparison to Western Europe, agricultural landscape in Poland is in good condition. Especially north-eastern part of our country can serve as an example of natural values preserved thanks to cooperation between agriculture and "forces of nature".

Over 150 species of birds in Europe live in rural landscape habitats. They are in danger due to the changes introduced to agricultural policy. Those rapid changes started in early 1970s. Over the course of 30 years the number of 24 common bird species, connected with rural landscape, decreased rapidly. For example in Great Britain 52% of larks, 53% of yellowhammers, 88% of corn buntings, 95% of tree sparrows and 86% of grey patridges dissapeared within recent years.

Large areas of our country are occupied by a mosaic of small fields with diversified crops divided by small roads and interlaced with bushes, trees and forests. Marshy areas and small water basins have been transferred to much greater degree. Many of these habitats dried out and were destroyed, bringing harm to the environment and agriculture.

The following features constitute the richness of Polish rural landscape:

• small roads,
• overgrown trenches along the roads,
• small marshes,
• small water basins,
• creeks and small rivers,
• bushes (single and in groups),
• trees (single and in groups),
• parks and field cementaries,
• forests,
• fallows,
• different crops on neighbouring fields,
• small sizes of fields (small area, long borders),
• half-natural meadows with numerous wild species of plants and insects.

These features form a mosaic of small habitats, that provide perfect living conditions for many species of animals, plants, fungi and other organisms. The variety of components in such mosaic increases the space available for settling and provides places for breeding, feeding and hiding for many species.

Fields, meadows and pastures alone do not provide enough diversity for most species to settle. Even food resources are often insufficient. That is why birds inhabiting rural areas need places with better stock of food (insects, different seeds) in vicinity of fields. To preserve the number of species in rural landscape it is enough to provide balks or fallows 5-10 meters wide adjacent to the fields with some bushes and trees. Such mosaic of habitats with varied spatial structure and different inhabiting species ensures good condition of whole ecosystem.

All those features distinguish Polish rural areas from unified landscapes of Western Europe. This state of things in Poland can be introduced in some regions of Europe, but it will consume significant amounts of money and time. It is much cheaper to maintain these natural resources that exist on our farmland. It is very important to exploit existing tradition reasonably and support the ability of farmers to “cooperate with nature”. That is why Polish agriculture can save a large part of European nature.
Environmental friendly agriculture is globally speaking much cheaper, has less negative impact on environment, generates healthier products and gives additional economic benefits (eg. agrotourism).