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Assessment of the Impact of Population Reduction on Grasslands with a New “Tool”: A Case Study on the “Mountainous Banat” Area of Romania

Author

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  • Luminiţa L. Cojocariu

    (Faculty of Agriculture, University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I” from Timisoara, 300645 Timisoara, Romania
    Agricultural Research and Development Station Lovrin, 307250 Lovrin, Romania)

  • Loredana Copăcean

    (Faculty of Agriculture, University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I” from Timisoara, 300645 Timisoara, Romania)

  • Adrian Ursu

    (Faculty of Geography and Geology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, 700506 Iași, Romania)

  • Veronica Sărăţeanu

    (Faculty of Agriculture, University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I” from Timisoara, 300645 Timisoara, Romania)

  • Cosmin A. Popescu

    (Faculty of Agriculture, University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I” from Timisoara, 300645 Timisoara, Romania)

  • Marinel N. Horablaga

    (Faculty of Agriculture, University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I” from Timisoara, 300645 Timisoara, Romania
    Agricultural Research and Development Station Lovrin, 307250 Lovrin, Romania)

  • Despina-Maria Bordean

    (Faculty of Food Engineering, University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I” from Timisoara, 300645 Timisoara, Romania)

  • Adina Horablaga

    (Faculty of Agriculture, University of Life Sciences “King Mihai I” from Timisoara, 300645 Timisoara, Romania)

  • Cristian Bostan

    (Agricultural Research and Development Station Lovrin, 307250 Lovrin, Romania)

Abstract

The landscapes and, implicitly, the surfaces of secondary grasslands in the mountain areas have been intensively modified and transformed by humans. In this context, this paper analyses the spatial and temporal changes of grassland surfaces following the impact of human population reduction. Thus, the study proposes the implementation of the Grassland Anthropic Impact Index (GAII) as a “measurement tool” to functionally link the two components, grassland surface and human population. The spatiotemporal analyses are based on Corine Land Cover data and demographic data, processed via Geographic Information Systems (GIS) methods and the Land Change Modeler (LCM) tool. The research shows that over a period of 28 years, the population, which was continuously decreasing, caused a series of transformations to the grasslands over an area of 33343 ha. The influence of the reduction in the number of inhabitants was also demonstrated by the direction of the changes produced in the grassland surfaces: in the better populated areas, the grasslands expanded over lands with other uses, and in the sparsely populated areas, they were abandoned. GAII values generally increase with the decrease of the population in the target area, meaning that for an inhabitant (potential user) a greater grassland surface is reported, resulting in a greater responsibility for the management of this resource on a space and time scale. Following the evaluation of the trend of the last 28 years, it was observed that the depopulation of mountain areas can be seen as a threat to grassland ecosystems, either through the transition to other categories of use, or through abandonment. The implications of these phenomena are much broader: they produce chain reactions and affect other components of the regional geosystem.

Suggested Citation

  • Luminiţa L. Cojocariu & Loredana Copăcean & Adrian Ursu & Veronica Sărăţeanu & Cosmin A. Popescu & Marinel N. Horablaga & Despina-Maria Bordean & Adina Horablaga & Cristian Bostan, 2024. "Assessment of the Impact of Population Reduction on Grasslands with a New “Tool”: A Case Study on the “Mountainous Banat” Area of Romania," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-30, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:2:p:134-:d:1325799
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lintao Liu & Shouchao Yu & Hengjia Zhang & Yong Wang & Chao Liang, 2023. "Analysis of Land Use Change Drivers and Simulation of Different Future Scenarios: Taking Shanxi Province of China as an Example," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-19, January.
    2. Xuan Li & Li Rong & Mengmeng Zhang & Wensong Yang & Zhen Zeng & Chengjun Yuan & Qi Wang, 2022. "Temporal Changes in Land Use, Vegetation, and Productivity in Southwest China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-18, August.
    3. S. Modugno & S. C. M. Johnson & P. Borrelli & E. Alam & N. Bezak & H. Balzter, 2022. "Analysis of human exposure to landslides with a GIS multiscale approach," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 112(1), pages 387-412, May.
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