Permanent grasslands are the most environment-friendly way of using agricultural lands. Apart from producing fodder, grasslands play many other important non-productive functions. Biodiversity is the key factor decisive for their high natural and productive values. Grasslands play an important role in water retention. Not all types of grasslands may be used agriculturally. Out of 16 types of habitats, 10 may be used for production, the others are biologically valuable. The surface area of permanent grasslands in Poland has markedly decreased during the last decade. Now, they constitute slightly more than 20% of agricultural lands occupying 3127.8 thous. ha (in 2019) including 2764 thous. ha of meadows and 363.8 thous. ha of pastures.

The study of changes in grassland was conducted on the territory of individual counties of the West Pomeranian Voivodship. Based on data collected in the Valorisation of the Agricultural Production Space of Poland and spatial data (an electronic 1:5000 soil and agricultural map) the basic information on the use of agricultural land in the 70s of the 20th century. Changes in use over time were analysed based on data the Statistics Poland (Pol.: Główny Urząd Statystyczny – GUS), General Geographic Database and The Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture Crop Register (Pol.: Agencja Restrukturyzacji i Modernizacji Rolnictwa – ARiMR).
The studies showed that in the West Pomeranian Voivodship, a successive decrease in the share of permanent grasslands (0.9%) and arable lands (1.4%) is observed. There is a spatial variation in the share of permanent grassland in the province’s counties, with a distinction between northern and southern counties. The main direction of change in grassland area is arable land, which applies to counties with the highest share of permanent grassland (PG) and counties with a high share of the best soils and forest direction. Land quality was the main factor determining the direction of grassland changes, with the best PG converted to arable land or for investment purposes. In contrast, the weakest were converted to forestry or spontaneously wooded through abandonment. The main reasons for changes in grassland areas in the West Pomeranian Voivodship were: conversion of use to arable land, afforestation of grasslands, land use for urban planning purposes, leaving land fallow and conversion for constructing fishponds.