Analysis of land use in landslide affected areas along the Łososina Dolna Commune, the Outer Carpathians, Poland

Abstract

Land use of landslides is still a poorly investigated problem. Landslides cannot be regarded as areas unsuitable for use since they occupy a significantly large surface. The Łososina Dolna municipality in the Outer Carpathians is characterized by a very large number of landslides (16% of the total area, about 500 landslides). Land-cover analysis of this agricultural and forest municipality showed a relatively similar structure of land-cover types on areas affected and unaffected by landslides. Six categories of land cover: forest, woodland, agricultural fields, meadows, orchards and built-up areas occupy in total 98% of landslides and 89% of the municipality. On landslides forests had an 11% higher and agricultural fields a 3% lower share in land cover compared to the whole municipality area. The shares of other types of land cover, such as built-up areas, orchards, and shrubs, were very similar, with not more than a 1% difference. This indicates that despite the occurrence of landslides, these areas can still be used for economic purposes, and on sites under extensive management (e.g. meadows and pastures) landslides may cause no land-use changes.