Spatiotemporal analysis of land use changes along the upper part of the Vltava River valley since the mid-19th century

The Vltava River is one of the most both physically and culturally significant rivers in Czechia. Especially since the mid-19th century, the landscape of the Vltava River has witnessed transformations, most of which occurred during the modern period and were connected with the gradual construction of a set of large dams, currently known as the so-called Vltava Cascade. Although the topic of the construction of the Vltava Cascade and of resulting landscape transformations is publicly very well-known and considered significant society-wide, it is surprising that there has not yet been attempted a detailed analysis of land use changes along the whole area impacted by this phenomenon. The aim of this article is thus twofold. First, through analysis and comparison of land use changes in five case study areas located along the upper part of the Vltava River valley, it aims to present long-term transformations of the character of the Vltava River landscape. Second, it presents a possible approach to large-scale analysis of long-term land use changes through utilisation of archival large-scale maps and adequate contemporary map sources. In this way, differences in the character of land use transformations between the various parts of the river valley could be described. The development of river landscape has been complex, and both sites where land use structure has been relatively stable over the last 150 years and places where it has changed significantly were identified. Among the most important causes of local landscape transformations during the modern period were the need for regulation of river flow and for hydropower, the growth of major urban areas and the recreational function.