Assessment of Changes in a Viewshed in the Western Carpathians Landscape as a Result of Reforestation

Michał Sobala, Urszula Myga-Piątek and Bartłomiej Szypuła
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Michał Sobala: Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia, 41200 Sosnowiec, Poland
Urszula Myga-Piątek: Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia, 41200 Sosnowiec, Poland
Bartłomiej Szypuła: Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Silesia, 41200 Sosnowiec, Poland

Land, 2020, vol. 9, issue 11, 1-17

Abstract: A viewshed analysis is of great importance in mountainous areas characterized by high landscape values. The aim of this research was to determine the impact of reforestation occurring on former pasturelands on changes in the viewshed, and to quantify changes in the surface of glades. We combine a horizontal and a vertical approach to landscape analysis. The changes in non-forest areas and the viewshed from viewpoints located in glades were calculated using historical cartographic materials and a more recent Digital Elevation Model and Digital Surface Model. An analysis was conducted using a Visibility tool in ArcGIS. The non-forest areas decreased in the period 1848–2015. The viewshed in the majority of viewpoints also decreased in the period 1848–2015. In the majority of cases, the maximal viewsheds were calculated in 1879/1885 and 1933 (43.8% of the analyzed cases), whereas the minimal ones were calculated in 2015 (almost 57.5% of analyzed cases). Changes in the viewshed range from 0.2 to 23.5 km 2 with half the cases analyzed being no more than 1.4 km 2 . The results indicate that forest succession on abandoned glades does not always cause a decline in the viewshed. Deforestation in neighboring areas may be another factor that has an influence on the decline.

Keywords: viewshed; landscape changes; reforestation; secondary succession; the Carpathians; archival maps (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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