The evolution of the floodplain forests as indicators of landscape changes in the alluvium of the Morava River

This paper is aimed to the detection and quantification of the landscape changes identified from aerial photos, reconstruction maps and actual land-use. It includes also the description of the quality and structure based on landscape indexes in a given stage and appoints at the main causes of the changes in the landscape development. The reconstruction maps of land use for the study area from several time horizons were produced in order to acquire information about the evolution of floodplain forests in the alluvium of the Morava River. The photocopies of map sheets from the second military (Frank´s) mapping from the time period 1836-1840, the photocopies of map sheets from the third military mapping from period 1876-1880 or revised maps to period 1920-1931, then the photocopies of the State maps of the Czech Republic 1:5,000 derived (SMO 5) from the period around 1953 were used to compile the map sources. The content of the above mentioned maps was transferred into the coordinate system of the Basic maps of the Czech Republic, 1: 25,000. The transfer of the map content is a complicated, time-consuming procedure influenced by the abilities and accuracy of the cartographers. The maps were digitalized into the thematic layers and then analyzed in the GIS environment. The visual interpretation of the ortho-photomaps gained through IMS service of the CENIA portal helped the detection (mapping) of the selected forest complexes in the surrounding of Olomouc. The eventual discrepancies with reality were verified by field survey. The results were processed in the software ArcGIS. The aerial photos were visually interpreted and manually digitized. The created categories of land use was then entered into the landscape analyses. The interpretation of the results from the landscape analyses is also the part of the paper.