Land Cover Change and Landscape Transformations (2000–2018) in the Rural Municipalities of the Upper Silesia-Zagłębie Metropolis

Abstract

Dynamic changes in the landscape have been observed in recent years. They are particularly visible in areas with a high degree of anthropopressure. An example of such areas is metropolitan regions and their immediate rural surroundings. The purpose of this article is to identify changes in land cover in the rural municipalities within metropolises and detect the processes of landscape transformation in rural areas, which are extremely sensitive to anthropopressure. The dynamics of land cover changes in the years 2000–2018 were determined using a change index (ChI), and their directions were determined using the indicator of changes in types of land cover. Corine Land Cover for level 2 groups (1.1–4.2) was used as research material, and the Upper Silesia-Zagłębie Metropolis was selected as the model area. The greatest changes in the landscape were observed in built-up areas, industrial areas, meadows and mining areas. This is due to the disappearance of the mining industry that was traditional for this region and the ongoing suburbanization process, as well as the re-industrialization of modern industry and the abandonment of arable land in rural areas.

A multimetric approach to anthropogenic pressure analyses: A tool for measuring and mapping the human impact on the landscape

“…Popular measures for identifying and assessing anthropogenic pressure are landscape metrics (spatial or urban metrics). They are useful for landscape fragmentation and transformation analysis (Bogaert et al, 2014;Southworth et al, 2002), landscape aesthetic qualities analysis (Tenerelli et al, 2017), urbanscape analysis (Herold et al, 2002(Herold et al, , 2005Sofia et al, 2016), analysis of anthropogenic changes in landscapes (Jaeger, 2000;Pukowiec-Kurda & Sobala, 2016), or research on managing, planning, and monitoring environment quality (Leitao & Ahern, 2002). Spatial metrics are believed to be highly useful for urban sprawl analysis and comprehension because they reflect the physical dimension of its development and expansion well.…”

Preference and paradox: Local residents’ perspectives on the reuse of post‐agricultural brownfield sites

“…Land is a finite resource with many potential uses that may drive the desire to repurpose previously underutilised rural lands (Lambin & Meyfroidt, 2011) and abandoned sites that lost their function (Egidi et al., 2021; Latocha, 2020; Pukowiec‐Kurda & Vavrouchova, 2020). These derelict sites may be the result of social shifts in rural societies (Vaishar & Stastna, 2019), recent changes in rural economies (Jancak et al., 2019), de‐agrisation processes (Klusacek et al., 2021b), overuse and subsequent productivity losses (Podlasek et al., 2021), degradation of the environment (Czortek et al., 2020) or soil contamination (Bartkowski & Bartke, 2018).…”

Transformation Directions of Brownfields: The Case of the Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolis

“…The delimitation of socially degraded areas must be a verifiable process, based on relevant numerical data [101,102]. It seems that, particularly in the Silesian Province, effective and comprehensive regeneration should include brownfields [103]. In the cities under analysis, raising the living standards in the neighborhood of degraded brownfields undoubtedly requires adapting these brownfields for new functions, which would change The Act on Regeneration came into force in Poland in 2015.…”