Journal article

Publication year: 2005

Pages: 133-143

Journal: Journal of Environmental Management

Volume number: 75

Issue number: 2

ISSN: 0301-4797

eISSN: 1095-8630

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2004.11.022

Publisher: Elsevier

Abstract: 

Land-cover changes are caused by human activities and natural ecological processes. Thus, our study uses an interdisciplinary approach to research land-cover changes. We present a method to (i) link socio-economic/environmental factors and land-cover changes, (ii) identify indicators of land-cover changes, and (iii) distinguish between socio-economic and environmental indicators associated with local types of overall land-cover changes.

The study was conducted in the Lahn-Dill Highlands, Germany, a typical marginal rural landscape. In this region, we investigated land-cover changes occurring over the period 1945-1999. Land-cover data were derived from multi-temporal aerial photographs. Types of overall land-cover changes characterising the districts within the study area were differentiated. With the help of redundancy analysis (RDA), we analysed the relationships between land-cover changes and widely available socio-economic/environmental factors.

The results reveal that both individual land-cover changes at patch level and types of overall land-cover changes characterising districts are correlated with socio-economic and environmental factors. Whereas the stable environmental factors are drivers of land-cover changes in our rural study area, socio-economic factors introduced into the analysis mostly result from land-cover changes. We identified correlative socioeconomic indicators that cannot explain land-cover changes, but that in combination with the environmental factors can be used to greatly facilitate the reconstruction of past land-cover changes and thus lead to a better knowledge of land-cover history. Based on the types of overall land-cover changes, the results of the study can be adopted for the study of land-cover changes in other regions.

Harvard Citation style: Hietel, E., Waldhardt, R. and Otte, A. (2005) Linking socio-economic factors, environment and land cover in the German Highlands, 1945–1999, Journal of Environmental Management, 75(2), pp. 133-143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2004.11.022

APA Citation style: Hietel, E., Waldhardt, R., & Otte, A. (2005). Linking socio-economic factors, environment and land cover in the German Highlands, 1945–1999. Journal of Environmental Management. 75(2), 133-143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2004.11.022