Understanding landscape change using historical maps. Case study Sinaia, Romania

Abstract

The aim of this study is to produce a long term analysis of land cover change in Sinaia (Romanian Southern Carpathians), based on a time series of five maps, realised in the years 1790, 1912, 1970, 1990 and 2009. The maps were digitised and for each of the corresponding time periods, the binary change map and the trajectory of change were generated. The maps were produced within a Geographical Information System (GIS) based on a land cover change derived from cartographic digitisation. The scale of the maps created is 1:100,000 and the area is 5727 ha. The comparison of the maps was completed by using appropriate quantitative techniques and documentary sources or subsequent studies. At a historical scale, the main phenomenon was that of forestation, which mainly occurred during the 19th century. In the first part of the 20th century, Sinaia developed as an elegant tourist location and during the second part of the century it became an urban centre, and this evolution left its mark on the landscape structure. Today, an increasing urban pressure can be identified, due to residential expansion and mass-tourism.