Moving toward the north: A country-level classification of land sensitivity to degradation in Czech Republic

Pechanec, Vilém; Prokopová, Marcela; Salvati, Luca; Cudlín, Ondřej; Procházka, Jan; Samec, Pavel; Včeláková, Renata; Cudlín, Pavel

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2021.105567

Cited by 5 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…For the territory of the entire CR, it was found that 51 % fell into the groups of categories of critical areas (C1-C3), 38 % was located in slightly to very fragile areas (F1-F3), and only 11 % fell into the unaffected or potentially affected (UP) categories in terms of sensitivity to land degradation. Pechanec et al (2021) confirmed that the main factors contributing to land sensitivity to land degradation are climate, vegetation quality, and human pressure in the CR, as in Southern Europe. The most vulnerable areas to soil degradation were lowland districts subject to agricultural intensification and peri-urban areas subjected to urban sprawl in the CR.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

“…For the whole territory of the Czech Republic, it was found that 51 % of the national territory fell into the groups of categories of critical areas (C1-C3), 38 % fell into the groups of categories of very vulnerable areas (F1-F3), and only 11 % fell into the groups of categories of unaffected or only potentially affected areas (UP) in terms of vulnerability to land degradation. For a more detailed description of the ESAI results for the whole Czech Republic, see Pechanec et al (2021). Legend: 1, Praha; 2, Benešov; 3, Beroun; 4, Brandýs n.L.-S. Boleslav;5,Čáslav;6,Černošice;7,Český Brod;8,Dobříš;9,Hořovice;10,Kladno;11,Kolín;12,Kralupy nad Vltavou;13,Kutná Hora;14,Lysá nad Labem;15,Mělník;16,Mladá Boleslav;17,Mnichovo Hradiště;18,Neratovice;19,Nymburk;20,Poděbrady;21,Příbram;22,Rakovník;23,Říčany;24,Sedlčany;25,Slaný;26,Vlašim;27,Votice;28,Blatná;29,České Budějovice;30,Český Krumlov;…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The ESAI score ranges from 1 (lowest sensitivity to degradation) to 2 (highest sensitivity to degradation). The total ESAI index was determined in each ith spatial unit and jth year as the geometric mean of the four quality indicators, Formula 1 (Basso et al, 2000;Kosmas et al, 1999;Pechanec et al, 2021).…”

Section: Fig 1: Calculation Of the Composite Environmental Sensitive Area Index (Esai) Which Includes The Assessment Of Indicators Dividementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Maps and databases at a detailed scale of 1:10,000 for the years 2016-2019 were used to calculate the four thematic groups of indicators and the total composite ESAI index for the entire Czech Republic (Tab. 1), for detailed information see Pechanec et al (2021). In addition, the average ESAI values were calculated for the territories of 206 local municipalities with extended powers (MEPs), for 14 regions (NUTS-3), and for the entire Czech Republic (CR).…”

Section: Fig 1: Calculation Of the Composite Environmental Sensitive Area Index (Esai) Which Includes The Assessment Of Indicators Dividementioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the division of the landscape into several types, the basic characteristics according to Löw et al (2006) Cudlín O., Pechanec V., Prokopová M., Cudlín P.: Assessing the vulnerability to land degradation of (not only) rural landscapes using the ESAI indexaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 132 from 1 to 2, was divided into 8 categories in the original approach by Kosmas et al (1999). Pechanec et al (2021) also used these 8 categories for the entire CR. To compare ESAI values in 206 MEPs we used 5 predominant categories from 8 categories: slightly fragile areas (F1), moderately fragile areas (F2), highly fragile areas (F3), slightly critical areas (C1) and moderately critical areas (C2).…”

Section: Fig 1: Calculation Of the Composite Environmental Sensitive Area Index (Esai) Which Includes The Assessment Of Indicators Dividementioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the Vulnerability to Land Degradation of (Not Only) Rural Landscapes Using the ESAI Index

Cudlín

Pechanec

Prokopová

et al. 2021

Journal of Landscape Ecology

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Determining the vulnerability of land to degradation is a crucial factor enabling policy makers to take targeted actions. The main aim of this work was to determine vulnerability to land degradation using the Environmentally Sensitive Area Index (ESAI) in the territory of 206 municipalities with extended power (MEPs), regions (NUTS 3) and in the Czech Republic (CR). The other two aims were found out i) whether land degradation is affected by land use characterized by landscape types according to Löw et al. (2006) and ii) whether land degradation occurred in larger territorial units (regions) or scattered across the CR (in individual isolated MEPs). The Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) method assesses the vulnerability of an area to land degradation using a composite index containing indicators divided into four thematic groups: human activity pressure and management intensity, vegetation cover and vegetation quality, climate, and soil in the assessed area. The ESAI index is expressed on a semi-quantitative scale ranging from the lowest levels of degradation (land not affected and land potentially affected by degradation) to the highest level of degradation (land at high risk). Most MEPs with a share of more than 70 % of their area were in the category "moderately critical areas" at risk of land degradation were located in the Central Bohemia region (15 MEPs) and in the South Moravia region (14 MEPs). For the whole territory of the Czech Republic, 51 % of the territory was found to be critically vulnerable to land degradation, and 38 % of the republic area was vulnerable to land degradation. Vulnerability to land degradation was strongly influenced by the landscape type. Almost all MEPs with a predominantly agricultural landscapes were critically vulnerable to land degradation, as were about half of the MEPs in the forest-agricultural and urban landscapes and only a few MEPs in the forest landscapes. Given the selected indicators, the MEP seems to be the appropriate smallest administrative unit to assess vulnerability to land degradation in the Czech Republic. The map of individual ESAI values can be viewed free of charge online at http://www.imalbes.cz/vysledek.php. We are currently preparing a proposal for appropriate measures to prevent and reduce land degradation throughout the territory of the Czech Republic, and our proposals are coordinated with representatives of the MEPs and regions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Fig 1: Calculation Of the Composite Environmental Sensitive Area Index (Esai) Which Includes The Assessment Of Indicators Dividementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Fig 1: Calculation Of the Composite Environmental Sensitive Area Index (Esai) Which Includes The Assessment Of Indicators Dividementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Fig 1: Calculation Of the Composite Environmental Sensitive Area Index (Esai) Which Includes The Assessment Of Indicators Dividementioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Assessing the Vulnerability to Land Degradation of (Not Only) Rural Landscapes Using the ESAI Index

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et al. 2021

Journal of Landscape Ecology

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Agricultural Land Degradation in the Czech Republic

Zumr

2022

The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry

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Soil degradation has been identified as a major threat to the productivity of agricultural land. In the Czech Republic, soils are threatened primarily by water and wind erosion, but compaction, loss of organic matter, loss of soil structure stability, pollution and over-fertilization, loss of biodiversity, and soil sealing are also major concerns. Poor soil health results in many off-site effects such as surface water siltation, groundwater pollution, loss of biodiversity in the countryside, and decreasing crop yields. The Czech agricultural landscape is characterized by large fields with a very small number of interrupting elements such as furrows, paths, or balks and the crop structure is rather uniform. The state has a history of land collectivization which first took place during the twentieth century. The ongoing intensive and unsustainable industrial farming, which is often focused more on high yields of certain economically valuable crops rather than the environment, speeds up soil degradation. These problems are fortunately recognized by the stakeholders, legal authorities, and the public. There has been significant debate on sustainable landscape management and agricultural practices, and many positive examples already exist in the Czech Republic.

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Toward spatially polarized human pressure? A dynamic factor analysis of ecological stability and the role of territorial gradients in Czech Republic

Pechanec

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Salvati

et al. 2023

Environ Monit Assess

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multidimensional, diachronic analysis of 28 indicators of territorial disparities, and ecological stability in 206 homogeneous administrative units of Czech Republic over almost 30 years (1990-2018). Mixing time-invariant factors with time-varying socio-environmental attributes, a dynamic factor analysis investigated the latent relationship between ecosystem functions, environmental pressures, and the background socioeconomic characteristics of the selected spatial units. We identified four geographical gradients in Czech Republic (namely elevation, economic agglomeration, demographic structure, and soil imperviousness) at the base of territorial divides associated with the increased polarization in areas

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Moving toward the north: A country-level classification of land sensitivity to degradation in Czech Republic

Cited by 5 publications

References 72 publications

Assessing the Vulnerability to Land Degradation of (Not Only) Rural Landscapes Using the ESAI Index

Assessing the Vulnerability to Land Degradation of (Not Only) Rural Landscapes Using the ESAI Index

Agricultural Land Degradation in the Czech Republic

Toward spatially polarized human pressure? A dynamic factor analysis of ecological stability and the role of territorial gradients in Czech Republic

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