Abstract
AbstractMining belongs to the types of human activity that have a significant impact on the environment, and especially on the landscape. The main objective of this study is a quantitative diagnosis of the dynamics of land use changes and landscape pattern modification in areas shaped under the influence of processes related to the open pit exploitation of lignite. The study was carried out in the Adamów-Koźmin Lignite Basin, which is a model example of an area affected by strong anthropogenic pressure. An assessment of changes was carried out using a set of maps depicting land use in the period preceding the exploitation of lignite (the year 1940) and after over 60 years of the mining activity in this area (as of 2011). The source materials for mapping for the first period were archival maps and for the second period, an orthophotomap. The heads-up digitising method was used to determine 7 types of land-cover classes according to the definitions of Corine Land Cover. Ten landscape metrics for five categories of landscape features (surface, shape, neighbourhood, edge, spatial distribution and diversity) were used in the landscape pattern analysis. The results do not confirm the hypothesis of a significant landscape simplification after reclamation. The shape of patches in the landscape was more complex and the number of land-use types was higher, which combined with their spatial arrangement, caused the landscape pattern to be more diversified in the year 2011.
Highlights
The landscape which changes over time and space is getting shaped as a result of complex physical, biological and anthropogenic impacts
The main objective of this study is a quantitative diagnosis of the dynamics of land use changes and landscape pattern modification in areas shaped under the influence of processes related to the open pit exploitation of lignite
The exploitation of brown-coal deposits in the Adamów-Koźmin area, which is predicted for 2023, the water reclamation of post-mining excavation is planned. The result of these actions is to increase the share of water in the landscape, which is currently occupied by the area of 3.53 km2 (2.31%), eventually their acreage will increase to 11.97 km2, and the share in the structure to almost 8%
Summary
The landscape which changes over time and space is getting shaped as a result of complex physical, biological and anthropogenic impacts. With an increase in the availability of data from the land registration (Łowicki 2008a; Łowicki 2008b), and especially Pan-European data on LULC such as Corine Land Cover or Urban Atlas, the number of publications covering the whole country is growing (Łowicki, Mizgajski 2013; Woch, Woch 2014; Nalej 2016; Borowska-Stefańska et al 2018) It is worth emphasising the role of research using both archival maps and contemporary vector data bases, which allows the analysis of very long time series for large areas (Bielecka, Ciołkosz 2002; Ciołkosz, Poławski 2006). The problem of spatial pattern of LULC and its impact on ecosystem functions and services is relatively rare (Łowicki 2012, 2019)
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