A coarse-scale analysis of land cover dynamics along the European Green Belt from 1990-2000

摘要

The political separation of Europe into the Eastern and Western Block has caused the establishment of a highly secured borderline of more than 8,500 km length. For a period of nearly 40 years, various types of biotopes could preserve along this borderline. After the disappearance of the frontier, important socioeconomic changes occurred and induced land use and land cover changes. In order to protect the natural reserves, detailed information for large-scale monitoring are required. The goal of present study was to evaluate the applicability of CORINE data for monitoring the Green Belt and to identify the major land cover changes between 1990 and 2000. The interrelationship to socio-economic developments was investigated using population statistics and DMSP Nighttime-Lights. The results show that only up to 1 percent of the study area was affected by land cover changes, mainly driven by intensification of agriculture, deforestation and urbanisation.