Land Use Changes in Relation to Selected Physical Geographical Features from the Viewpoint of Marginalization—The Case of Svečinske Gorice, Slovenia

Abstract

Svečinske gorice is a hilly area south from Austrian-Slovenian border that has long been considerably marginal in comparison with Austrian side of the border. However, vineyard areas of this region are among the most vital ones in Northeastern Slovenia. Nevertheless, the region has not been spared from the processes of deagrarization and subsequent land use changes which are going in the direction of the abandonment of cultivated areas, greening, overgrowth and afforestation that can all lead to further marginalization. The article presents the results of the analysis of land use changes in the area of Svečinske gorice between 2000 and 2015 in relation to selected physiographic features. Main focus was on cultivated areas, particularly vineyard areas. The directions of land use changes for the studied period were analysed too and are also be presented.