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Alternation economy is a term from agricultural science and describes all land use systems in which different types of use are applied. These are usually of different intensity: Intensive arable land use can alternate with extensive use as grassland . In the pre-industrial times and before the invention of artificial fertilizer by Justus von Liebig , this was usually necessary because fertilizer was a scarce commodity and the fertilizer produced by the cattle was not sufficient to supply all the plots with fertilizer equally.
- For a long time, field-forest alternation was typical , especially in the low mountain ranges such as Spessart or Odenwald . In Upper Franconia , it is also described for the edge area of hoof fields . After an intensive period as arable land, the land was reforested. Birch and oak were mostly used for afforestation, which also played a role in potash and in the extraction of tannins .
- Field-moor alternation was typical for north-west Germany. A superficially drained raised bog was burned down and then used to grow buckwheat for a period of seven to 10 years . During the rest period of about 30 years that followed, the areas were grazed extensively.
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Field-grass alternation is the most common form of alternation. The parcels were used alternately as arable or grassland. It was often a regulated field grass economy, in contrast to the unregulated field grass economy in traditional forms of agriculture .
- The paddock economy is typical for the marshland in Germany and Denmark. The name Koppelwirtschaft is derived from the characteristic fencing of the parcels with ditches, ramparts or hedges . The grassland hedges , also known as Knicks , were consciously planted by the people in order to contain the grazing animals and protect the arable land from erosion . In the traditional form, fallow land followed after a year , three to seven years of arable land and three years of pasture use. The grass seeds were brought in immediately with the last grain sowing.
- The garden economy was a typical form of economy in the Alpine region . Multi-year use of the meadow alternates with a maximum of four years of arable use.
- Feld-Heide-Wechselwirtschaft is typical for the Schiffelwirtschaft in the Rhenish Slate Mountains and decisive for the development of the broom heather .
- Field-pond alternation is one of the most unusual alternation economies. Parcels that had been used as ponds for several years were drained and used again for arable farming for a year or two.