Land development plays a fundamental role in today’s spatial planning systems. On one hand, we refer to (planned) land use as the main instrument in implementing local spatial plans; on the other hand, we refer, in particular, to land use changes, thereby reflecting continuous changes in social, economic and environmental factors. It is important to follow land use changes in rural areas because of their influence on food security, environmental hazard, cultural landscape preservation, etc. The study presented in this paper articulates analyses of land use changes and development, statistical and spatial data and density-level investigations of vineyard areas in Goriska Brda, Slovenia. The wide span of land use data available (from 2002 to 2015) and the cross-tabulation matrix methodology enabled detailed analyses of vineyards as a land use category. Changes in land category were analysed according to the net change and swap of the categories and the gross gains and gross losses of the categories in comparison with other land use categories. The study found that the land use category of vineyards changes seemingly randomly or systematically. By comparing land use categories over several time periods, the study determined that the size and speed of change varied across different time intervals. Furthermore, the identified land use changes were assessed in the context of their high pressure on agricultural land. The study shows the different trends shaping the transformative agrarian landscape.

 

 

This abstract was accepted to be presented at the conference entitled “40 Years of Horticulture Education in Cluj-Napoca†Cluj-Napoca, September 27, 2017, being included in ‘Book of Abstracts’ of this special-anniversary event (http://conference.shst.ro). All accepted papers will be published in a special issue of Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca journal.