Abstract
The aim of this study is to determine the influence of selected environmental factors on the dynamic changes in the landscape in the Czech Republic: 1) to detect land use changes between 1986–2013 along altitudinal gradients in two neighbouring Czech districts (Třebic and Znojmo), 2) to test if there is a relationship between the spatial distribution of the main changes and selected environmental factors, 3) to identify differences in the sizes of agricultural fields between 1953 and 2013, and whether they are associated with changes in agricultural land use. Satellite Landsat TM/ETM scenes for 1986, 1994, 2002 and 2013 were used to define land cover categories (arable land, grassland, coniferous forest, deciduous forest, mixed forest, urban areas and inland water). The association between the distribution of changes in land-cover with environmental factors such as gradient, aspect, altitude, topographic wetness index (TWI), less-favoured areas (LFA), main soil units and climate zones was determined. Only a limited proportion of landscape changes were dependent on environmental factors in the study area. Over the period 1994–2013 there was a decrease in arable land and increase in grassland, mainly in the LFA zone. Slope of the terrain was a dominating factor in landscape changes. The association with TWI values was most significant in permanent arable land and in grassland in transition to arable land. There was an increasing trend in the annual average temperature and sum of solar radiation in both the districts, Třebic and Znojmo. A change from small fields (1953) to large fields (2013) was recorded in the study area. Distribution of field sizes was different in LULC classes for different climatic zones and the main soil units.
Highlights
Changes in land use / land cover (LULC) influence climate and weather conditions at local and global scales (Pielke et al 2002)
Types of land-cover, distribution and changes The classification of satellite data showed that arable land was the dominant type of land-cover during the period of 27 years covered by this study in both districts (Fig. 3)
The distribution of changes in land-cover revealed a decrease in arable land and increase in grassland, mainly in the less-favoured areas (LFA) during the period of 1994–2013
Summary
Changes in land use / land cover (LULC) influence climate and weather conditions at local and global scales (Pielke et al 2002). Serra et al (2008) analysed the factors determining LULC by combining biophysical (mean temperature, solar radiation, precipitation, altitude, slope) and human variables (agricultural area in use, agricultural holding by size, number of fields, total population, hotel capacities and others) for 1977–1997 in the north-east of Spain. These authors found, that landscape homogeneity depends on irrigated agricultural intensification on the coastal plain, and erosion and landscape degradation due to permanent abandonment of cropping in the transitional subregion and mountainous area. In Pyrenean mountains changes in land use is supported by an analysis of socio-economic drivers (various issues at village and farm level, land-tenure) and natural drivers (slope, altitude, type of soil, distance from cultivation and grazing) from 1980s to 2003 (Mottet et al 2005). Verburg and Chen (2000) report that the spatial distribution of all land-use types in China is best described by an integrated set of biophysical and socioeconomic factors
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