Land use in the Drava basin: Past and present

Abstract

Current land use in the Drava River Basin (DRB) and its recent changes are detected from the data of the CORINE Land Cover (CLC) inventory, which allows a multitemporal analysis for the time period 1990–2012. Further data, like a DEM, were taken from the European Environmental Agency database. In order to provide a good overview, 11 land use classes were defined. Their distribution as well as their changes are shown in maps and analyzed statistically. The most striking results are (i) the clear dominance of the land use class forests (46% of the DRB), (ii) a pronounced differentiation of land use between the eastern and the western part of the catchment, both for natural and cultural reasons, and (iii) a relatively satisfactory environmental status, reflected among others by a high proportion of protected areas.