Land cover changes in catchment areas of lakes situated in headwaters of the Tyśmienica River

Abstract

Abstract The paper presents the history of land cover changes in the catchment area of lakes situated in the headwaters of the Tyśmienica River. The basis of the study were topographic maps in scale 1:50 000, from 1936 and 2014. We analyzed the quantitative aspect of these changes. The study was conducted in three natural lakes (Rogóźno, Krasne, Łukcze), and in one lake transformed into a storage reservoir (Krzczeń). The technical issues of georeferencing maps in the Geographic Information System (GIS) software are addressed first. In the landscape of Łęczna and Włodawa Lake District, to the end of the 19th century wetlands and bushes dominated. The first type of human pressure on this area was agriculture. Another type of pressure was recreation. In the catchment areas of studied lakes increased mainly the area of buildings and forests. Significantly increased also the length of roads and watercourses. Almost completely disappeared bushes and wastelands. In most of the analyzed basins, the area of wetlands and arable lands decreased. The probable cause of the changes in catchment use was decline in the water table, and thus overgrowing of meadows and wetlands.