Placepoint

Arable land

Arable land (dyrkbar jord) is land that is not fully cultivated today, but that can agronomically be brought up to fully cultivated soil. Climate, soil quality and terrain must fall within certain limits. In practice this is a reserve that can be taken into use if other farmland disappears.

The classification is managed by NIBIO and forms a separate thematic layer alongside the land resource map AR5. The criteria cover sufficient soil depth with a limited content of stones and boulders, a slope gentler than 1:3 (around 33%), the ability to drain the land, and minimum areas that vary with the distance to existing agricultural land and roads. For land lying more than 1,000 metres from a road or cultivated land, at least 25 dekar (2.5 hectares) of combined area is typically required.

The legal protection is real. Arable land enjoys the same protection as cultivated land under jordlova (the Land Act) and forms part of Det offentlige kartgrunnlaget (DOK), the official map base. Converting it to other purposes requires separate consideration under jordlova § 9, and municipalities must take the resource into account in land use planning. A national soil protection target, adopted by the Storting, sets an annual limit for how much cultivated and arable land can be converted nationwide. If you want to build on arable land, expect political consideration in addition to the ordinary building case.

It is not the same as cultivated land. Cultivated land is already in active production (fully cultivated, surface cultivated or infield pasture), while arable land is a potential resource. Both are protected, but cultivated land has the highest priority. Less than 3% of Norway's total land area is cultivated land, so the reserves are small.

In Placepoint, arable land is shown as part of the Agriculture map layer, and it is often the first thing you look for when a plot lies outside the town centre. Report: Nature values and objections takes soil protection further as the track that most often stops a plan.

How the dataset appears on the map

The dataset is part of the map layer Agriculture as Arable land:

Arable land in Placepoint

From Placepoint's glossary: Arable land

More information: NIBIO: Dyrkbar jord, Lovdata: Jordlova, Store norske leksikon: dyrkbar jord

English: Arable land.

Common questions we come across

What is arable land?

Arable land is land that is not fully cultivated today, but that can agronomically be brought up to fully cultivated soil, with sufficient climate and soil quality for growing crops.

Can you build on arable land?

Arable land is protected by soil conservation policy. Development requires conversion under jordlova and political consideration in the municipality. Limiting the loss of farmland to development is a national target.

What is the difference between cultivated land and arable land?

Cultivated land (fully cultivated soil) is already in active use for food production. Arable land is potentially cultivable, but not yet taken into use. Both are protected on soil conservation grounds.

Why does soil conservation matter in Norway?

Norway has a very limited share of cultivated land, under 3% of the land area. Farmland is a non-renewable resource on a human time scale, so soil conservation is a national priority.

How do I find arable land on a plot?

AR5 map data from Norsk institutt for bioøkonomi (NIBIO) shows arable land as a land use type. Placepoint lets you see this directly in the map view for a property, which is useful in the early phase of acquisition.