GIS Analysis of Land Cover Changes on the Territory of the Prokuplje Municipality

Abstract

The monitoring of the territory of Prokuplje Municipality was done based on 1 : 25,000 topographic maps in three different time periods (1969, 1974, and 1984) and land cover map in 2012. Analogous topographic maps done in 1969, 1974, and 1984 were used, while in 2012 the land cover map obtained by using CORINE-like approach was used. Topographic maps are developed by aerial campaign, and today they are replaced by satellite images. Topographic maps were scanned, and raster form was transformed to vector data with Geo Media Professional 6.1 and Global Mapper software. The monitoring in the period of 1969–2012, on the area of 758300000 m2, was performed, where some parameters were analyzed. In particular, the changes of natural resources, primarily forest lands, were observed as well as the type of land susceptible to primary erosion, including the level of urbanization and level of agricultural land. The obtained results clearly showed changes in forestation within the 43-year-long period, as well as changes in primary erosion and urbanization, while at the level of agricultural land, slight changes were found. The paper also involved transition of social factors from 1969 to 2012, expressed as a change between the earth and forest layer.

Roma seminomadic tradition between social inclusion and the protection of natural resources a Case study of the Toplica District (Serbia).pdf

“…The pressure on broad-leaved forests which are most frequent in the territory of the Toplica District has the following values: in the municipality of Kuršumlija this area is 30.2 km 2 , in the municipality of Prokuplje the area is 183.5 km 2 , while in the municipality Žitorađa it is 36.3 km 2 . The increase in the total amount of forestation can clearly be explained by the fact that forests have been returning to their initial habitats (Valjarević et al, 2014). Based on the obtained results covering a long period, it can be concluded that the forestation increased greatly, which indicates a decreased number of settlements (according to the Census of the Republic of Serbia from 2011, numerous villages to 2012, the level of industrialization considerably decreased.…”

“…The Toplica District, particularly the municipality of Kuršumlija, has very large afforested areas, except Žitoradja (Kuršumlija 63%, Prokuplje 39%, Žitoradja 12%, Blace 37%). Due to a negative birth rate, in the municipality of Prokuplje forests have been returning to their former habitats (Valjarević et al, 2014;Valjarević et al, 2018). At first glance, this scenario has positive effects on the environment and natural capacity of the District.…”

Estimation of potential soil erosion reduction using GIS-based RUSLE under different land cover management models: A case study of Pale Municipality, B&H

“…Similar studies have also been conducted in surrounding countries (Diodato, 2006;Mikoš et al, 2010;Simic Belnovic et al, 2013;Valjarević et al, 2014;Blinkov, 2015;Zdruli et al, 2016;Traykova-Pavlova et al, 2017;Bon Gregorič et al, 2018;Micić Ponjiger et al, 2021;Milentijević et al, 2021;Pandey et al, 2021). The RUSLE method in combination with GIS has been used in numerous modern works and research studies (Kouli et al, 2008;Prasannakumar et al, 2012;Tošić et al, 2013;Blackey et al, 2015;Efthimiou, 2016;Nasir and Selvakumar, 2018;Lanorte et al, 2019;Nolė et al, 2020;Polykretis et al, 2020;Milentijević et al, 2021;Sánchez Sánchez et al, 2021), which led to very satisfactory results.…”

Integrating forest windthrow assessment data in the process of windscape reconstruction: Case of the extratropical storms downscaled for the Gutai Mountains (Romania)

“…Nevertheless, displaying information through high-quality visualization became available due to the increasing computing power, internet mobile connectivity, and overall technological advances (Valjarević et al, 2014;Niemets et al, 2018;Stankov et al, 2019;Valjarević et al, 2020;Morar et al, 2021;Valjarević et al, 2021).…”