<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Agricultural land covers more than half the area of metropolitan areas in Poland, and is therefore particularly prone to the influences of the processes associated with their development. The aim of the study was to analyse changes in agricultural land cover within the metropolitan areas of Poland for the years 1990–2012; and to capture their dynamics, types and directions. The percentage share of the total study area, for each of the forms of agricultural land cover and their changes were traced, with the spatial distribution of the changes also being determined. The results of the study show that in metropolitan areas, agricultural land cover is undergoing transformations that do not result in the loss of agricultural lands, or that involve a decrease in surface area due to their change into anthropogenic forms of land cover. The greatest transitions occurred between 2000 and 2006 and were observed in the outer zones of metropolitan areas.</p></abstract>

Agricultural land covers more than half the area of metropolitan areas in Poland, and is therefore particularly prone to the influences of the processes associated with their development. The aim of the study was to analyse changes in agricultural land cover within the metropolitan areas of Poland for the years 1990–2012; and to capture their dynamics, types and directions. The percentage share of the total study area, for each of the forms of agricultural land cover and their changes were traced, with the spatial distribution of the changes also being determined. The results of the study show that in metropolitan areas, agricultural land cover is undergoing transformations that do not result in the loss of agricultural lands, or that involve a decrease in surface area due to their change into anthropogenic forms of land cover. The greatest transitions occurred between 2000 and 2006 and were observed in the outer zones of metropolitan areas.

<bold>Agricultural land</bold> cover changes in metropolitan areas of Poland for the period 1990–2012

Departament of Geoinformation, Institute of Urban Geography and Tourism Studies, Faculty of Geographical Sciences, University of Lodz, Poland

Miscellanea Geographica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

 cover changes in metropolitan areas of Poland for the period 1990–2012

Agricultural land covers more than half the area of metropolitan areas in Poland, and is therefore particularly prone to the influences of the processes...

Agricultural land cover changes in metropolitan areas of Poland for the period 1990–2012

Published Online: Jun 16, 2016

Page range: 39 - 45

Received: Aug 13, 2015

Accepted: Jan 12, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/mgrsd-2016-0005

Keywords
Land cover changes, agricultural land, metropolitan areas, Poland, GIS

© 2016 Marta Nalej, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Agricultural land cover changes in metropolitan areas of Poland for the period 1990–2012

Published Online: Jun 16, 2016

Page range: 39 - 45

Received: Aug 13, 2015

Accepted: Jan 12, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/mgrsd-2016-0005

KeywordsLand cover changes, agricultural land, metropolitan areas, Poland, GIS

© 2016 Marta Nalej, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Land cover changes, agricultural land, metropolitan areas, Poland, GIS