Spatial visualization of quantitative landscape changes in an industrial region between 1827 and 1883. Case study Katowice, southern Poland

Abstract

The aim of the study is to present landscape changes in the nineteenth century in the central part of the Upper Silesian Industrial District, which is the municipality of Katowice (southern Poland). The comparison of changes, particularly components of the geographical environment, is based on two time periodsthe year 1827 and 1883. Nineteenth-century maps were georeferenced, digitized and a series of thematic spatial visualizations presenting quantitative changes were generated by means of the Geographic Information System (GIS). The scale of the visualization created is 1:100,000 and the area is 16,400 ha. The spatial visualization of quantitative landscape change shows the development of the anthropogenic pressure in the form of settlement areas, raw materials extraction places, roads, and the decrease of natural environments, such as forests, rivers, and water bodies. These changes were caused mainly by the exploration of underground deposits and the rapidly growing population of Upper Silesia.

Permanent areas and changes in forests, grasslands, and wetlands in the North European Plain since the eighteenth century—a case study of the Kościan Plain in Poland

“…In cartographic studies, the retrogressive method is an approach that involves the analysis and interpretation of historical maps, charts, or aerial photographs to understand changes in land cover and landscape over time 72 . This method allows cartographers and researchers to examine past land cover patterns and identify historical trends and transformations in the landscape 73 , 74 . While older cartographic materials may lack the precision of modern surveys, they provide crucial baseline information for assessing historical land cover patterns and natural features with the use of modern GIS software 75 , 76 .…”

Creating a 3D Model of the Existing Historical Topographic Object Based on Low-Level Aerial Imagery

“…To create the model, the authors used a part of Messtischblätter from 1911 at the scale of 1:25,000. The map included a contour line drawing of the 1.25 interval Lorek and Medyńska-Gulij 2019;Cybulski et al 2020). Each contour line was vectorised as a polygon (Fig.…”

Interactive Web-Map of the European Freeway Junction A1/A4 Development with the Use of Archival Cartographic Sources

“…Maps were registered to the current WGS-84 coordinate system (EPSG 4326). The registration was made by means of affine transformation based on 4 ground control points [3]. Due to incomplete cartometricity, the georeferencing of the oldest map required particular care.…”

“…The analysis of cartographic materials presenting the spatial development of Gliwice proves that this area has played an important part in the road system of the region, country and even part of Europe since 19th century [3]. Obtaining and visualizing spatial data concerning major roads and how they crossed over a span of nearly two hundred years is significant in order to be able to demonstrate changes in space use.…”