Long-term analysis of land cover changes resulting from mining activities: Strzelin case study (S-W Poland)

Area of Science:

• Geosciences
• Environmental Science
• Cartography

Background:

• Mining activities, specifically granite and gneiss extraction, cause significant long-term land cover changes.
• Understanding these transformations is crucial for effective spatial planning and environmental management.
• Previous analyses often lack the extended temporal scope to capture full post-mining impacts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a long-term analysis of land cover changes in the Strzelin quarries from 1884 to 2023.
• To develop and apply a methodological framework for reconstructing post-mining land transformations.
• To assess the impact of mining on landscape dynamics, including vegetation succession and water body formation.

Main Methods:

• Integration of historical cartographic sources (e.g., 19th-century Messtischblatt maps) with modern geospatial data (orthophotos, databases).
• Development of a land cover classification system adapted for mining environments.
• Georeferencing, manual vectorization, classification, and topological validation for temporal consistency.

Main Results:

• A nearly threefold increase in mining site area observed between 2004 and 2023.
• Identification of spontaneous vegetation succession and new water body formation in liquidated mining areas.
• Documentation of concurrent urbanization and infrastructure development alongside mining activities.

Conclusions:

• The study demonstrates substantial landscape alterations due to mining over more than a century.
• The developed methodology provides a robust approach for analyzing land use and land cover (LULC) changes in post-mining areas.
• The findings support evidence-based spatial planning, land reclamation, and heritage preservation in similar industrial environments.