Using GIS techniques in the analysis of land use in the Soloneţ river catchment between 1856 and 2011

Abstract

:   Unreasonable use of land is an actual problem both for local authorities and European Union, as a result of population growth and economic activities development, which causes many changes in geographical landscape. Irrespective of the cause of enlargement / reduction of certain land use categories (residential, economic) it has a major impact on ecosystems. The present study aims at performing a spatial and temporal land use analysis in the Soloneţ river catchment (right tributary of the Suceava River, with an area of 211 km ²) through digital mapping, in order to obtain results on the dynamics of geographical landscape for the interval 1856 - 2011. We therefore used the 1856 Austrian cadastral maps (scale 1:2880), the 1982 cadastral plans (scale 1:5000) and ortophotoplans from 2011. Comparative analysis revealed that, within the studied region, geographical landscape has undergone significant changes over the past 150 years. The most important change is that of the forest-covered area, a response to the expansion of built and agricultural areas, but also the main cause for the occurrence of geomorphologic, hydrologic and climatic risks. In our opinion, in the absence of any measures to stop this phenomenon, the irreversible process will continue to directly affect land use structure by further expansion of built areas at the expense of woodland and arable land. Moreover, the problem of land susceptibility to geomorphologic, hydrologic and climatic risks becomes increasingly acute