Land Cover Changes in Selected Areas Next to Lagoons Located on the Southern Coast of the Baltic Sea, 1984–2021

Dariusz Gozdowski, Jan Žukovskis, Artūras Razinkovas-Baziukas and Elżbieta Wójcik-Gront
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Dariusz Gozdowski: Department of Biometry, Institute of Agriculture, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Jan Žukovskis: Department of Business and Rural Development Management, Vytautas Magnus University, 53361 Kaunas, Lithuania
Artūras Razinkovas-Baziukas: Marine Research Institute, Klaipėda University, 92294 Klaipėda, Lithuania
Elżbieta Wójcik-Gront: Department of Biometry, Institute of Agriculture, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-13

Abstract: The aim of the study is the evaluation of land cover changes in selected areas next to three lagoons (the Curonian Lagoon, the Vistula Lagoon and the Szczecin Lagoon) located on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea (in Lithuania, Russia, Poland and Germany) from 1984 to 2021. The changes are evaluated using multispectral (visible light—RGB and near infrared—NIR) satellite images from the Landsat 5 and Sentinel-2 sensors. Due to their high importance for ecosystem services, two main land cover types are evaluated, i.e., forest area and inland water reservoirs. The classification of the images is performed using a random forest algorithm. Areas of water bodies and forests are evaluated for the years 1984 and 2021. During period 1984–2021, positive changes in land cover are observed in all three regions included in the study. In almost all parts, with the exception of the Polish part of the area located next to the Szczecin Lagoon, of these regions, an increase in forest area is observed. The increase ranges from 0.1% (Poland, area next to the Vistula Lagoon) to 1.2% (Germany, area next to the Szczecin Lagoon). The area of inland water reservoirs has not changed significantly in the long term. Despite the global warming, no reduction in the area of these water reservoirs is observed, even new seminatural reservoirs have been created in some parts of the study area.

Keywords: land cover; land use; satellite images (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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