Analysis of land use changes based on austrian cadastre maps: A case study, pisarzowa, lesser Poland voivodeship

Abstract

Aim of the study: The purpose of this work is to analyze the changes in land use that have occurred in a selected area from 1846 to 2022. The analysis was conducted on the basis of Austrian cadastral maps and the current cadastral map. Material and methods: A historical analysis of land use changes was conducted in the area of the village of Pisarzowa, located in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Limanowa County, Limanowa commune. For the analysis, scans of Austrian cadastral maps from 1846 obtained from the National Archives in Kraków were used. As comparative data, a digital cadastral map obtained from the Limanowa County Office of Geodetic and Cartographic Documentation was used. Spatial analyses were conducted using the geoprocessing tools of the QGIS program. Results and conclusions: The analysis resulted in a comparison of the areas of the individual land uses in 1846 and 2022. The observed land use changes confirm the increase in the area of built-up and urbanized land, as well as the increase in the area of forest and wooded and shrubland land at the expense of the area of agricultural land. A map of areas in Pisarzowa was created, where changes in land use have occurred over the years. Over a period of 176 years, more than half of the land in the analyzed area remained in its original form of use.