Long-term forest cover changes, within an agricultural region, in relation to environmental variables, Lubelskie province, Eastern Poland

Abstract

Land cover changes result mainly from anthropogenic determinants (historical and socio-economic processes), but natural factors may also play an important role. The processes of deforestation and reforestation are important elements of present-day landscape changes in Central Europe. In this study, the relation of forest cover changes to environmental variables (topography and soils) within an important agricultural region of Poland, the Lubelskie province (25,000 km2), over the last 180 years was assessed. Three topographical maps (from 1830, 1930 and 2006) and other cartographic data were used to detect forest cover changes and their driving forces. Simple spatial index and supplementary statistical methods were applied to evaluate the relations. The first period (1830–1930) saw intensive deforestation as a result of increasing agricultural land use; forest cover decreased from 30 to 19 %. The second period (1930–2006) was characterised by an increase in forest area that now accounts for 23 % of the province. Although changes in forest cover are related to human activity, spatial patterns of deforested and reforested areas during the last 180 years corresponded to the diversity of environmental variables. Flat areas covered by fertile soils were deforested, while new forests appear mainly within sandy soils and steeper slopes. The study also showed that environmental variables had an impact on the structure of forest cover.