Durability of forest cover in the Ochotnica Valley (Gorce mts.) and in the Solinka Valley (Bieszczady mts.) in the 18th-21st centuries

Abstract

Forests in the Carpathians are increasing their range mainly due to the expansion in former agricultural areas. In this study conducted for two valleys (88 and 69 km2) topographical maps from 18th to 20th century and an orthophotomap were used in order to determine the durability of forest cover. This durability is understood as the period of time during which a given area was presumably occupied by forest. A digital elevation model (DEM) and a digital surface model (DSM) of 1x1m resolution were applied to investigate the relationship between forest cover durability and altitude, slope, aspect and the mean height of trees. The variety of spatial structure of forest cover durability results mainly from the differences of the examined valleys accessibility. Positive correlation between forest cover durability and the mean height of trees and altitude found for both valleys. A directly proportional relationship between forest cover durability and slopes also occurs in the Solinka Valley.