Determination of Plot Patterns and Their Changes in\ud Slovenian Rural Areas \ud

Abstract

Fields, i.e. enclosed areas of arable land, are distinguished according to parcel shape and size, land\ud fragmentation, land dispersion, and land use. The description of characteristics of a space, including a\ud field, is unique when expressed in measurable, i.e. quantifiable values (indicators or indices), and this\ud was the subject dealt with in this doctoral thesis. We designed a set of mutually independent indices\ud determined either at the level of a unit, a class, or an area. The values of the indices were determined\ud for the selected 22 fields as irregular blocks, furlongs, continuous strips, and enclosures based on the\ud 2015 data and for selected fields also the data from the Franciscan Cadastre. The analysis of the\ud obtained index values and statistical data processing showed that field characteristics are well\ud described by the parcel shape index (IOP), index of land fragmentation (K), index of land dispersion\ud (SD), and the Simpson’s Diversity Index (SIDI). The low IOP index points to irregularly shaped\ud parcels as fields in irregular blocks and enclosures. Furlongs and fields in winegrowing areas have a\ud high IOP, which points to parcels of more regular shapes. Enclosures and fields in winegrowing areas\ud have high K and SD indices, which points to small land fragmentation and land dispersion. In all other\ud types of fields, land fragmentation and land dispersion are strong (low K and SD indices). Fields in\ud winegrowing areas particularly stand out in terms of land use diversity (SIDI index). We also found\ud that using only one index it is difficult to distinguish between the types of arable land division, while\ud this is possible if we use more indices. This was confirmed using the hierarchical clustering method to\ud classify the test fields, based on the statistical values of the indices, into irregular blocks, furlongs,\ud continuous strips, and enclosures and, as a separate group, fields in winegrowing areas. Notably, due\ud to the deviation of the indices for the fields in winegrowing areas from other types of arable land\ud division, we propose that these fields are classified as a separate type of arable land division. The\ud comparison of indices in two time periods confirmed the practical application of the indices for\ud identifying the changes in space, which could be reasonably used in continuous monitoring of land\ud use. The SIDI index points to significant changes in land use in two periods, while the parcel shapes as\ud well as land fragmentation and dispersion did not change significantly. Even though the indices were\ud formed to describe field characteristics, they can be also used for describing various spatial\ud phenomena, as proposed in the final chapters of this thesis