Structural heterogeneity and spatial clustering in mountain agriculture: Evidence from European compensatory payments in the Central-Southern Apennines (Italy)

Mountain agriculture is characterised by marked structural diversity, yet comparatively less attention has been devoted to understanding how this heterogeneity is spatially organised across territories. While previous studies have mainly examined farm structural characteristics at the individual holding level, their territorial organisation has received comparatively less attention in the literature. This study investigates the spatial organisation of farm structural heterogeneity among beneficiaries of Measure 13 (M13) in the Molise Region (Italy), using total farm area and land fragmentation as complementary indicators of farm structure. Starting from parcel-level administrative and geographical information, farm centroids were reconstructed and combined with structural indicators to analyse local spatial association through Local Moran's I statistics. The results reveal clear spatial clustering for both farm size and land fragmentation, identifying distinct territorial configurations characterised by relatively large and consolidated farms as well as areas dominated by small and fragmented holdings. These findings demonstrate that structural characteristics are not randomly distributed but exhibit well-defined territorial patterns that cannot be fully captured through conventional farm-level analyses. The proposed approach provides a territorial perspective for interpreting structural heterogeneity in mountain agriculture and offers a methodological framework that may be applied to the analysis of agricultural structures in other geographical contexts. The results also provide useful evidence for the design of place-sensitive rural development policies capable of addressing the diversity of structural conditions within disadvantaged mountain areas.