Development of Land Cover Naturalness in Lithuania on the Edge of the 21st Century: Trends and Driving Factors

Abstract

Landscape naturalness is an important indicator for supporting sustainable development-driven policies and suggesting associated decisions in land management. This study used CORINE Land Cover data to estimate the changes in land cover naturalness in Lithuania since 1995. All the land cover types were ranked according to naturalness level, ranging from purely anthropogenic to natural landscapes. Spatial patterns of the increase or decline in landscape naturalness were investigated at the level of municipalities. Then, publicly available geographic data were mobilised to explain the reasons behind the trends observed. A minor increase in land cover naturalness in the whole area of Lithuania was observed; however, this increase was statistically insignificant. Nevertheless, statistically significant clusters with both increasing and decreasing levels of land cover naturalness were identified when moving to the level of municipalities. The trends in the development of landscape naturalness were associated with the specificity of agricultural and forestry activities in the municipalities. The suitability of lands for agriculture due to soil, terrain, current land use specifics, and related drivers, such as the availability of land reclamation installations and the intensity of land use, were the main drivers for the declining level of land cover naturalness, usually concentrated in northern and central Lithuania. The land cover naturalness did increase in less suitable areas for agriculture, i.e., in the more forested southeastern municipalities. The study emphasised the need for a systematic and spatially explicit monitoring of the land cover patterns and their changes as well as elaborated proposals for land management policies over the next decade, which were mostly in the line with current European Union and national strategies.

Assessing Landscape Instability through Land-Cover Change Based on the Hemeroby Index (Lithuanian Example)

“…We decided to use a standardised input data set and index values for the land-cover type. The Hemeroby index is a very generalised index that does not just summarise the results of area statistics into one value [54,55]. It also includes an assessment of the extent of human transformation of the landscape, as well as the human impact on vegetation and the geosphere as a whole.…”

“…Lithuanian spatial-planning documents enshrine the concept of preservation and protection of the natural landscape [54] in the shape of a pan-national spatial structure (i.e., the Nature Frame), but the effectiveness of the operation of this system is not monitored. This is very important because the Nature Frame connects all nature reserves with other ecologically valuable or relatively natural areas, on which the overall stability of the landscape is based to form a landscape system of geo-ecological compensation zones.…”

“…The results (direction, fluctuations and frequency of land-cover change) of this work could be used to support the Nature Frame and measures for improving its effectiveness. These results can be used to make plans for the problem areas in the Nature Frame, by detailing the management of these areas and by taking real action, such as promoting organic farming, crop rotation, introducing ecologically friendly measures, implementing good agricultural practices, expanding green infrastructure, and establishing additional protected areas [13,15,41,54]. Maintaining the structural integrity of the Nature Frame requires practical action to preserve environmental stability, historical and cultural values, maintenance of damaged areas and a focus on quality.…”

Spatiotemporal Conflict Analysis and Prediction of Long Time Series Land Cover Changes in the Black Soil Region of Northeast China Using Remote Sensing and GIS

“…With the increasing focus on sustainability [7,8] and global changes in climate and environment [9][10][11], the discipline of land change has become an important scientific area for addressing these challenging problems [12][13][14]. Changes in global land use and land cover have affected the condition and integrity of different ecosystems, giving rise to damage to ecosystem services and functions in recent decades [15][16][17]. Land change associated with biodiversity loss, deforestation, and soil desertification can be understood through the dynamic evolution of land cover [18][19][20].…”