Mapping Forest Fragmentation Based on Morphological Image Analysis of Mountain Regions in Bulgaria and Slovakia

Abstract

Forest landscapes are at high risk of fragmentation as a result of changes in land cover and land use, which affect habitat loss and degradation. Therefore, it is essential in the forest management and biodiversity policy context to monitor and assess forest fragmentation using reliable data from remote sensing and GIS. This chapter focuses on the assessment and mapping forest fragmentation in two mountain regions in Bulgaria (part of the Eastern Rhodopes Mountain) and in Slovakia (the Tatra Mountains). The aim is to point out the correlation between the observed land cover changes during the 22-year period from 1990 to 2012 and forest fragmentation, which affects loss of biodiversity. The landscape fragmentation tool (LFT v2.0) was used to map the forest fragmentation and to analyze the forest pattern. The results indicate more significant forest fragmentation in the Tatra Mountains and decrease of the compact forest areas (i.e., core forest) in both mountain regions. The main causes for forest fragmentation were natural disasters and human activities. Generated maps identify areas in which to focus management efforts aimed at minimizing forest fragmentation.