Landscapes are becoming increasingly similar
GeoAI is a powerful tool for unlocking information from old maps. We used it to accurately distinguish between nine classes of historical land use, such as arable land, grassland or heathland. We compared maps from 1774, 1873 and 1969 with a map of land use in 2022. This was an OIS project in collaboration with Digitaal Vlaanderen, the Agency for Agriculture and Sea Fisheries and VITO.
In the first period (1774-1873), half of the area of heathland, the intertidal zone, marshland and long-established forest disappeared due to reclamation. In the following period (1873-1969), the focus shifted from cropland to livestock farming. As a result, the area of grassland increased significantly. In the last period (1969-2022), we see a sharp expansion of the built-up area and gardens at the expense of all other land use.
We studied not only the evolution in surface area, but also the interspersion between land use and the relationship with natural soil characteristics. Until the 19th century, there was a strong link between land use and soil: grasslands were only present in valleys and polders, heathland on sandy soils and fields on dry, often loamy soils. After 1873, this link weakened and all forms of land use became interspersed.
As a result, the unique characteristics of historical landscapes have faded which resulted in the homogenization of previously distinct landscapes.
Image above: From the end of the 19th century, the area of grassland increased significantly. The photo shows grassland (left) created by fertilising heathland (right).
(Massart 1905, KU Leuven collection. 2Bergen Campus Arenberg)