Assessing Relationships between Land Use Changes and the Development of a Road Network in the Hodonín Region (Czech Republic)

Land use changes were analysed on the basis of old and contemporary topographic maps using geographic information systems. Five sets of topographic maps were used for analyses that depict the situation in the years of 1840s, 1880s, 1950s, 1990s and 2010s (Table 1). As these sets cover the whole territory of the Czech Republic, the analyses presented here can be reproduced in any other region of the Czech Republic using land use and road data from the same periods.

The tradition of producing topographic military surveys was established in the 19th century during the Austrian Monarchy under the reign of the House of Habsburg, and continued after the establishment of the Czechoslovak state in 1918. Unfortunately due to turbulent times in the first half of the 20th century, results from topographic surveys in this period covered only minor parts of the Czech Republic (Skokanová, Havlíček 2010) and therefore were not usable in this study.

The road network was mapped on the basis of the above-mentioned topographic maps, and included only important roads. In the 19th century, the most important roads were the imperial roads, while since the 20th century the most important roads are termed 1st class roads. Thus, mapping concentrated on imperial (primary) and provincial (secondary) roads that were depicted in the maps from the 2nd and 3rd Austrian Military Surveys, and on roads of 1st (primary), 2nd (secondary) and 3rd (tertiary) class that were depicted on the Czechoslovak military topographic maps and on the Czech topographic base maps (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2

A total of 9 basic land use categories were evaluated: arable land, permanent grassland, orchard, vineyard and hop-field, forest, water area, built-up area, recreational area and other area (Skokanová et al. 2012).

Analytical digital land use maps were created in ArcGIS software. HawthsTools for ArcGIS was employed to create a hexagonal grid with centroids of the hexagons set to be 100 m apart, creating the area of one hexagon 0.866 ha (Fig. 3). In total, 164,714 polygons were created and only polygons with more than 50% of their area covering the model region were used for further analyses. Then, the prevailing land use class for each period was determined for each polygon (Fig. 3). The use of a hexagonal grid for categorizing land use maps enabled generalization in land use interpretation and the removal of land use inaccuracies caused by different map scales and positional errors. This helped to avoid the creation of narrow polygons, which often show land use changes that are frequently caused by inaccurate map drawing or interpretation rather than actual changing conditions.

Fig. 3

By comparing land use changes between two adjacent time steps, six types of processes were distinguished: afforestation – the conversion of one of the land use categories into forest; grassing – conversion into permanent grassland; agricultural intensification – conversion into arable land, orchard, or vineyard and hop-field; the construction of water areas – conversion into water area; urbanization and other anthropogenic processes – conversion into built-up area, recreational area or other area; and stable areas – no change between the two time steps (Skokanová et al. 2012, Havlíček, Chrudina 2013).

Land use categories as well as land use change processes were assessed at various distances from roads, using the following distance ranges: 0–100 m, 100–250 m, 250–500 m, 500–1000 m, 1000–2000 m, and outside of the vicinity of road network (more than 2000 m from a road). The assessment of land use development was associated with roads from the same period (i.e. land use from the 1880s corresponded with the road network from the 1880s). When assessing land use change processes in the vicinity of a road network, the process maps were related to the road network from the first assessed period (i.e. land use change processes between the 1840s and 1880s were related to the road network from the 1840s).

This takes into consideration the hypothesis that significant land use changes could have happened along an existing road network. In addition to the simply evaluating the relationship between land use changes and the road network, we also assessed the relationship between the level (class) of a road and associated land use change. For this, roads and their vicinity in each period were divided into three basic categories according to their importance in the given period.

In general, the total length of the road network significantly increased due to the gradual addition of all road categories. At the same time, the proportion of areas 2000 m away from the nearest road significantly decreased (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4

In the 1840s, the river Morava was a significant natural barrier for roads, predominantly associated with the lack of stable bridge construction in the region. While a railroad from the southwest (town of Břeclav) to northeast (town of Staré Město) led along the right bank of the Morava, the road network connecting the southwest and northeast was developed on the left bank of the Morava. Unlike the present, there was a significant road, categorized as an imperial main road, from the north (town of Veselí nad Moravou) to the south (town of Hodonín) through the important Slovak (then Hungarian) town of Skalica south of the Hodonín region (the middle road in Fig. 4 left). Main imperial roads were also situated in the western part of the region. They connected the town of Hodonín with the city of Brno via two different routes – one south and one north forking in the village of Čejč near the western border of the region (the left road in Fig. 4 left). Side imperial roads connected towns in the northern part of the region (Bzenec and Veselí nad Moravou). An important provincial road also had a north-south direction, connecting another Slovak (Hungarian) town with towns outside of the region (the rightmost road in Fig. 4 left).

In the 1880s the road network dynamically grew in response to needs for transporting agricultural commodities, building materials, energy materials, industrial products, as well as passengers at both medium and local distances (Table 2). The north/south imperial road was still significant. However its route was slightly changed by the building of a bridge across the Morava, which resulted in a weakening importance of routes running through Skalica. Two imperial routes connecting Hodonín with Brno were still major roads. A new imperial road was built from Hodonín to the town of Dubňany, situated northwest of Hodonín and an important mining and glassmaking centre in the region. Another imperial road was built in the western part of the region from the village of Čejč to the town of Břeclav, but this road was not finished. Provincial roads were built mainly in the north-western and eastern part of the region. A route between Hodonín and Břeclav also gained the status of a provincial road.

In the 1950s the proportion of the highest road class in the network (1st class, formerly imperial roads) did not significantly change in comparison to the previous period (Table 2). The importance of the southern route between Hodonín and Brno and the road between Hodonín and Dubňany was reduced, and the north-south road from Čejč to Břeclav became even less important. 2nd class roads that corresponded to provincial roads from previous periods became more important, predominantly connecting towns and villages in the northern and eastern parts of the region.

Between the 1950s and 1990s the total length of the road network very slightly increased (by about 5%) but there were significant changes in the length of roads belonging to different classes. The length of 1st class roads increased by more than 40% and the length of 2nd class roads increased by about 64% (Table 2) at the detriment of 3rd class roads, which decreased by 25%. These numbers indicate that the basic development of the road network (construction of roads) was finished by the 1950s. Since then the Hodonín region experienced only a slight densification of the road network; however, there were significant changes in the categorization of roads. These changes reflect the turbulent political and economic changes of the period. The qualitative increase in the road network was also enhanced by the gradual increase of motorization connected with the increase in mobility of both goods and people.

Between the 1990s and 2010s basically no new roads were constructed in the region. The only new construction was associated with a roundabout in a village on one 1st class road. Table 1 also shows that no significant changes occurred in the length of road categories. However, a detailed analysis revealed a switch between 1st class and 2nd class roads resulting in a slight decrease in the length of 1st class roads (by 6.3%).

The Hodonín region is an important agricultural region in the Czech Republic. The proportion of arable land was highest in all periods (Table 3, Figs 5, 6). Thanks to the agricultural revolution in the second half of the 19th century and the development of the food industry, the proportion of arable land increased to 55% in the 1880s. A further increase of arable land (by 3%) in the 1950s was associated with the collectivization of agriculture as a form of agricultural intensification. This occurred not only in lowlands and hilly lands but was also actively practiced in the mountains of the White Carpathians and Chřiby. In most cases, arable land was converted from the original permanent grassland. In the later periods (1990s and 2010s) the proportion of arable land declined, predominantly through a transition to built-up areas or large vineyards and orchards.

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

The largest changes were seen for permanent grassland, where the proportion significantly dropped from 26% to 7%. Grassland areas were destroyed especially along rivers and in hilly lands (Figs 5, 6). Nowadays, the majority of permanent grasslands are situated in the mountains of the White Carpathians, Chřiby and Ždánický les; some meadows and pastures were restored with the help of state subsidies.

The area of forest gradually increased. Forests were found in both lowlands around Hodonín in the south and Bzenec in the north and in the mountains (Table 3, Figs 5, 6). The most significant change connected with forest was associated with the systematic afforestation of a formerly pastoral area around Bzenec that occurred in the second half of the 19th century.

The proportion of vineyards and orchards was highest in the last two periods, and significantly increased in the period of large-scale socialist agricultural management. Water areas were largely drained in the second half of 19th century and turned into arable land. On the other hand, the majority of water areas in the Kyjovka basin (north-western part of the region) have been gradually re-established for fish production. Built-up areas gradually increased (Table 3, Figs 5, 6), and this growth accelerated in the second half of the 20th century. This was associated not only with urbanisation in the cities due to the construction of residential, service, industrial and transportation sites, but also with the growth of villages linked with the construction of agricultural sites. Recreational areas were represented by colonies of secondary homes in the foothills of the White Carpathians and Chřiby, and garden colonies in the vicinity of the towns of Hodonín and Kyjov. The proportion of these recreational areas increased especially over the last 20 years. Other areas are mainly associated with sand and clay pits and dump sites.

Land use changes were assessed by using land use change processes. Plots in stable use always significantly prevailed between the periods compared (Fig. 7), with a proportion of about 80% in the first three periods. The time interval of periods for comparison varied between 25 and 80 years due to availability of historical sources. In each period about 20% of the region was affected by land use changes. The interval between the last two periods was only 25 years, and yet land use changes occurred in about 12% of the region.

Fig. 7

Agricultural intensification, i.e. conversion to arable land, orchards and vineyards, was always among the most important processes (Fig. 7). Afforestation was also high between the 1840s and 1880s and between the 1880s and 1950s, when it was associated with afforestation of the so-called Moravian Sahara near Hodonín. Urbanisation and other anthropogenic processes dominated during the 20th century (Fig. 7). Besides the construction of residential areas (both family houses and blocks of flats), this was reflected in the construction of agricultural and industrial objects and the establishment of mining sites and dump sites. The intensity of this process decreased in the last twenty years, caused by the economic decline of the region. During the past twenty years the process of grassing slightly increased (Fig. 7), mostly in mountain areas and spurred by state subsidies. The construction of water areas was insignificant from the perspective of the area affected; this process was most significant between the 1880s and 1950s when a fish pond system was renewed on the river Kyjovka.

Our assessment of the relationship between land use changes and the road network showed that stable areas were situated farther from roads (Fig. 8). Remote localities and inaccessible terrain were covered mainly by forest. The only exception occurred in the 19th century (between the 1840s and 1880s). In this period, strong agricultural intensification, systematic afforestation and draining of water areas dominated in areas more than 2000 m away from a road. Stability in the last comparative period was influenced among other factors by the fact that there were stable settlements or stable arable fields near roads, and changes between the 1990s and 2010s were less intensive.

Fig. 8

Between the 1840s and 1880s, the importance of a high-quality road network for transport of agricultural goods, namely technical crops for sugar factories, distilleries, mills and other manufacturing industries, was clear. Due to limited transportation options for farmers and food processors in the 19th century, suitable grassland areas in the vicinity of roads were converted to arable land (Fig. 9). This could be observed especially around imperial roads. In later periods the dynamics of agricultural intensification in the immediate vicinity of roads decreased. The second half of the 20th century experienced quite strong pressure for acquiring new areas with arable land due to the socialist agriculture system associated with political decisions to obtain self-sustained agriculture. This was reflected in the spread of arable land farther from roads and was further stimulated by better accessibility for agronomic equipment (tractors, harvesters). The landscape farthest from roads was usually less attractive for agriculture and therefore agricultural intensification there was mostly avoided.

Fig. 9

Urbanisation and other anthropogenic processes were clearly linked with the vicinity of roads, because roads served as a link between settlements, and with the exception of the oldest imperial roads and present highways were systematically routed between individual settlements (Fig. 10). This process was strongly manifested from the end of the 19th century until the end of the 20th century. The tight relationship with the vicinity of roads was associated predominantly with the location of industrial and agricultural sites on the outskirts of settlements, since the distance from a factory to a road was usually a determining prerequisite for building such sites (easy access for transport of goods, less impact on residents, etc.). Dump and mine sites did not require direct connections to high-quality roads and therefore were established in more distant localities.

Fig. 10

The localization of main routes (both imperial and provincial roads) together with the localization of crossroads had fundamental impacts on the development of settlements. This was reflected in the spread of settlements along these roads, and in some cases the settlements became linked both physically and administratively. The localization of a settlement on an important crossroad manifested not only in the increase of residential area but also in the construction of new industrial factories and service establishments.

The intensity of afforestation was always higher in more distant parts of the region (Fig. 11). The difference was especially pronounced between the 1840s and 1880s when a forest-pastoral area around Bzenec with no significant roads was afforested. In the last twenty years differences in the intensity of afforestation at different distances from major roads were very minor, due to the high density of the road network since the 1990s. Figure 11 also shows a decrease of afforestation in remote areas after 1880. This was caused by the already-mentioned relative stability of land use in these areas with predominant forests.

Fig. 11

The process of grassing was most widespread at intermediate distances from roads (Fig. 12), with mainly the steep slopes of uplands and mountains being grassed. These slopes are generally at intermediate distances from major roads and are accessible predominantly by local roads. The drop in the intensity of grassing in areas more than 2000 m away from major roads can be again explained by the relative stability of land use in these areas.

Fig. 12