IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v12y2023i9p1774-d1238983.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Using Diachronic Cartography and GIS to Map Forest Landscape Changes in the Putna-Vrancea Natural Park, Romania

Author

Listed:
  • George-Adrian Istrate

    (Faculty of Geography and Geology, Doctoral School of Geosciences, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, Carol I Boulevard, No. 11, 700506 Iasi, Romania)

  • Vasilică Istrate

    (Active Intervention in the Atmosphere, Răcari Str., No. 5, 031827 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Adrian Ursu

    (Faculty of Geography and Geology, Department of Geography, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, Carol I Boulevard, No. 11, 700506 Iasi, Romania)

  • Pavel Ichim

    (Faculty of Geography and Geology, Department of Geography, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, Carol I Boulevard, No. 11, 700506 Iasi, Romania)

  • Iuliana-Gabriela Breabăn

    (Faculty of Geography and Geology, Doctoral School of Geosciences, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, Carol I Boulevard, No. 11, 700506 Iasi, Romania
    Faculty of Geography and Geology, Department of Geography, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, Carol I Boulevard, No. 11, 700506 Iasi, Romania)

Abstract

The Putna-Vrancea Natural Park (PVNP) is one of the wildest mountain areas in Romania and is home to internationally important species of flora and fauna. Although the park’s area is covered by forests, the last two centuries have seen several major transformations. The aim of this article is to present a historical approach to the development of habitat areas within the PVNP, with an attempt to show both the situation before and after the establishment of its protection regime. The changes in the forest area were identified using available cartographic material from 1789, 1895, 1957, 1975, 2005, and 2018. The analysis of forest distribution according to different classes of natural factors (altitude, slope, soil type, and lithology) highlighted the early 20th century when forest cover decreased at low altitudes and slopes. However, anthropogenic factors were responsible for almost all changes. The specific socio-economic system of the Vrancea Mountains, according to which the forest was and still is owned by the inhabitants of several villages, led to periods of deforestation: burning to increase the area of pastures and the unsustainable exploitation of wood by some companies that had been granted this right by the owners. In the 1960s and 1970s, the mountain pastures were reforested, and in the last 20 years, the mountain pastures have been transformed into forests. Although the use of old maps for this type of analysis has certain limitations, the results obtained provide insight into the causes of the transformation of forest landscapes in some areas of the PVNP.

Suggested Citation

  • George-Adrian Istrate & Vasilică Istrate & Adrian Ursu & Pavel Ichim & Iuliana-Gabriela Breabăn, 2023. "Using Diachronic Cartography and GIS to Map Forest Landscape Changes in the Putna-Vrancea Natural Park, Romania," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-21, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:9:p:1774-:d:1238983
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/9/1774/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/9/1774/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fei Chen & Xiaoyong Bai & Fang Liu & Guangjie Luo & Yichao Tian & Luoyi Qin & Yue Li & Yan Xu & Jinfeng Wang & Luhua Wu & Chaojun Li & Sirui Zhang & Chen Ran, 2022. "Analysis Long-Term and Spatial Changes of Forest Cover in Typical Karst Areas of China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-20, August.
    2. Dina Statuto & Giuseppe Cillis & Pietro Picuno, 2017. "Using Historical Maps within a GIS to Analyze Two Centuries of Rural Landscape Changes in Southern Italy," Land, MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-15, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Salvatore Di Fazio & Giuseppe Modica, 2018. "Historic Rural Landscapes: Sustainable Planning Strategies and Action Criteria. The Italian Experience in the Global and European Context," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-27, October.
    2. Katarzyna Kocur-Bera & Anna Lyjak, 2021. "Analysis of Changes in Agricultural Use of Land After Poland’s Accession to the EU," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(4), pages 517-533.
    3. Kyung Wook Seo & Sugie Lee, 2019. "Oxcart Route in the City: Tracking the Urbanization Process of an Agricultural Village in Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-17, April.
    4. Alessia Cogato & Andrea Pezzuolo & Claus Grøn Sørensen & Roberta De Bei & Marco Sozzi & Francesco Marinello, 2020. "A GIS-Based Multicriteria Index to Evaluate the Mechanisability Potential of Italian Vineyard Area," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-17, November.
    5. Corrado Cencetti & Filippo Paciotti & Ettore A. Sannipoli & Ubaldo E. Scavizzi, 2023. "The Multidisciplinary Approach in the Study of Landscape Evolution: The Fluvial Capture of the San Donato Creek (Gubbio, Central Italy), an Example of Hydrological Regime and Hydrogeological Risk Chan," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-24, March.
    6. Mara Balestrieri & Amedeo Ganciu, 2018. "Landscape Changes in Rural Areas: A Focus on Sardinian Territory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-16, January.
    7. Zhiwei Wan & Xi Chen & Min Ju & Chaohao Ling & Guangxu Liu & Fuqiang Liao & Yulian Jia & Meixin Jiang, 2020. "Reconstruction and Pattern Analysis of Historical Urbanization of Pre-Modern China in the 1910s Using Topographic Maps and the GIS-ESDA Model: A Case Study in Zhejiang Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-18, January.
    8. Chiara Minioto & Francesco Martinico & Maria Rosa Trovato & Salvatore Giuffrida, 2023. "Data and Values: Axiological Interpretations of Building Sprawl Landscape Risk in the Rural Territory of Noto (Italy)," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-32, June.
    9. Andrea Garzulino & Maria Paola Borgarino & Davide Del Curto, 2021. "When GIS Joins the Conservation Management Plan of a 20th-Century Architectural Heritage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-37, April.
    10. Salvador García-Ayllón, 2018. "Predictive Diagnosis of Agricultural Periurban Areas Based on Territorial Indicators: Comparative Landscape Trends of the So-Called “Orchard of Europe”," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-22, May.
    11. Vincenzo De Santis & Angela Rizzo & Giovanni Scardino & Giovanni Scicchitano & Massimo Caldara, 2023. "A Procedure for Evaluating Historical Land Use Change and Resilience in Highly Reclaimed Coastal Areas: The Case of the Tavoliere di Puglia (Southern Italy)," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-26, March.
    12. Valentina Santarsiero & Antonio Lanorte & Gabriele Nolè & Giuseppe Cillis & Biagio Tucci & Beniamino Murgante, 2023. "Analysis of the Effect of Soil Erosion in Abandoned Agricultural Areas: The Case of NE Area of Basilicata Region (Southern Italy)," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-22, March.
    13. Yangyang Wu & Jinli Yang & Siliang Li & Chunzi Guo & Xiaodong Yang & Yue Xu & Fujun Yue & Haijun Peng & Yinchuan Chen & Lei Gu & Zhenghua Shi & Guangjie Luo, 2023. "NDVI-Based Vegetation Dynamics and Their Responses to Climate Change and Human Activities from 2000 to 2020 in Miaoling Karst Mountain Area, SW China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-24, June.
    14. Ioannis N. Vogiatzakis & Theano S. Terkenli & Maria Gabriella Trovato & Nizar Abu-Jaber, 2018. "Landscapes in the Eastern Mediterranean between the Future and the Past," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-5, December.
    15. Yue Li & Huacai Geng, 2022. "Evolution of Land Use Landscape Patterns in Karst Watersheds of Guizhou Plateau and Its Ecological Security Evaluation," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-17, December.
    16. Li Wu & Jing Zhou & Binggeng Xie, 2023. "Comparative Analysis of Temporal-Spatial Variation on Mountain-Flatland Landscape Pattern in Karst Mountainous Areas of Southwest China: A Case Study of Yuxi City," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-17, February.
    17. Aleksandra Gierko, 2021. "Towards an Understanding of the Pre-War Landscape Transformations in the Face of Contemporary Urban Challenges on the Example of Gajowice in Wrocław," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-27, May.
    18. George D Malaperdas & Vayia V Panagiotidis, 2018. "The aspects of Aspect: Understanding land exposure and its part in geographic information systems analysis," Energy & Environment, , vol. 29(6), pages 1022-1037, September.
    19. Anna Roccati & Fabio Luino & Laura Turconi & Pietro Piana & Charles Watkins & Francesco Faccini, 2018. "Historical Geomorphological Research of a Ligurian Coastal Floodplain (Italy) and Its Value for Management of Flood Risk and Environmental Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-24, October.
    20. Zaheer Abbas & Guang Yang & Yuanjun Zhong & Yaolong Zhao, 2021. "Spatiotemporal Change Analysis and Future Scenario of LULC Using the CA-ANN Approach: A Case Study of the Greater Bay Area, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-26, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:9:p:1774-:d:1238983. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.