A GIS-Based Approach to Land Take Monitoring and Actual Land Use Analysis

Peter Lamovec (), Katarina Kuk, Barbara Černič, Tomaž Černe and Ines Lupše ()
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Peter Lamovec: Geodetic Institute of Slovenia, Jamova cesta 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Katarina Kuk: Geodetic Institute of Slovenia, Jamova cesta 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Barbara Černič: Geodetic Institute of Slovenia, Jamova cesta 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Tomaž Černe: IGEA d.o.o., Podpeška cesta 1, 1351 Brezovica pri Ljubljani, Slovenia
Ines Lupše: Ministry of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning, Spatial Planning and Construction Directorate, Dunajska cesta 48, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-20

Abstract: In September 2023, the European Commission approved a proposal for a Directive on Soil Monitoring and Resilience, representing a significant step forward in the EU’s efforts toward more sustainable land use management. The proposal mandates the monitoring of land take and soil sealing indicators but does not specify the method for determining their values. Instead, it allows for the use of scientific literature or other publicly available methods. This study presents a methodology based on GIS analyses for monitoring artificial land and the land take indicator. A quantitative analysis of two municipalities in the Podravska region in Slovenia is complemented by a qualitative assessment of detailed actual land use in these municipalities. The results show that the annual land take rate in the period 2019–2022 amounted to 881.96 m 2 /year·km 2 in the municipality of Maribor and 731.31 m 2 /year·km 2 in the municipality of Kungota. If current trends continue, the extent of (semi-)natural land will continue to decline, which is considered unsustainable. Further analysis reveals that the expansion of artificial land in these areas is mainly due to the development of new residential land, accounting for 60.8% of newly converted land in the municipality of Maribor and 50.2% in the municipality of Kungota during the period under review. As the results point to unsustainable land management, the study is aimed at policymakers and public authorities, highlighting the urgent need to limit the conversion of (semi-)natural land and to initiate land restoration measures as compensation for new land take. It may also be of interest to scientists and researchers developing methodologies for monitoring artificial land and refining land take indicators.

Keywords: land take; land use; spatial planning; artificialization; artificial land; circular spatial management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:7:p:1322-:d:1684274

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