László SÜTŐ¹, Zoltán DOBÁNY², TiborJózsef NOVÁK³, Balázs ADORJÁN⁴, József INCZE³ & Péter RÓZSA^5
1Department of Environmental Geography and Geoinformatics, Eszterházy Károly University, 3300 Eger, Eszterházy tér 1., Hungary; suto.laszlo@uni-eszterhazy.hu
²Institute of Tourism and Geography, University of Nyíregyháza, 4400 Nyíregyháza Sóstói 31/b. Hungary; dobany.zoltan@nye.hu
³Department of Landscape Protection and Environmental Geography, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen Egyetem tér 1., Hungary; novak.tibor@science.unideb.hu; injocooo@hotmail.com
⁴Department of Botany, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen Egyetem tér 1., Hungary; atomado@gmail.com
⁵Department of Mineralogy and Geology, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen Egyetem tér 1., Hungary, rozsa.peter@science.unideb.hu

LONG-TERM CHANGES OF LAND USE/LAND COVER PATTERN IN HUMAN TRANSFORMED MICROREGIONS – CASE STUDIES FROM BORSOD-ABAUJ-ZEMPLÉN COUNTY, NORTH HUNGARY

Full text

Using historical geographic and landscape ecological methods three North Hungarian landscape units that underwent different types of anthropic impact were studied. Viticulture in the Nagy Hill of Tokaj was founded more than eight centuries ago, however, due to economic crises and the phylloxera epidemic extension of the vineyards has fallen to less than one-half during 250 years; wetlands and grassland of the Taktaköz were changed by arable lands after river regulation and flood prevention performed in the second half of the 19^th century; and traditional land use/land cover pattern of the East Borsod Coal Basin has been transformed by coal mining and industrialization from the end of the 19^th century. On the basis of study on transformation of land use/land cover patterns, consequences concerning landscape planning of the studied areas can be drawn. (1) Vineyards of the Nagy Hill of Tokaj have represented a traditional land use category in the area for many centuries; therefore, re-plantation of the abandoned vineyards would be the reasonable purpose. (2) In the Taktaköz arable lands have become dominant land use elements. Although the recent land use pattern can be regarded as traditional, the ancient wetlands and grasslands could be, at least partly, restored by significant landscaping work. (3) In the East Borsod Coal Basin the extension of forest has spontaneously increased after the closure of coal mines, therefore, the pre-mining landscape pattern could be more-or-less restored without considerable landscape transforming action.