Changes in the land use structure, which are observed in recent years, generally indicate their negative impact on ecological quality considered in the landscape scale. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine whether such a trend also applies to protected areas, such as land-scape parks (LP). As research areas four parks located within the Roztocze and Solska Forest (Poland) were selected. Three factors were analyzed as an surrogate indicators of the ecological quality: the degree of anthropogenic transformation of land cover forms, landscape diversity and the degree of landscape fragmentation. The study included data for the years 2004 and 2012 and was based on the GIS and orthophotomaps analysis. The results showed a lack of general trends for the whole analyzed region. The impact of changes in the land use structure on the ecological values can be defined as positive for Krasnobród LP and South Roztocze LP. In the case of Szczebrzeszyn LP and Solska Forest LP the impact is difficult to determine due to the different results obtained on the basis of selected indicators. Therefore, in order to totally illustrate the analyzed dependence the landscape structure in other periods of time should be analyzed, as well as the correlations between the defined changes and a variety of natural and cultural considerations.

The development of linear infrastructure increases the degree of fragmentation of natural areas and has a negative impact on biodiversity and the range of available ecosystem services. The basic competing land use model is expanded to include infrastructure development. The extended model leads to the conclusion that due to the dual impact of the infrastructure (lowering the value of ecosystem services and increasing the private rents to developed land), the size of the natural area in the long-term equilibrium will be lower compared to the basic model. The preservation of nature ceases to be profitable enough. Infrastructure also reduces the marginal costs of conversion and thus increasing the volume of natural land being converted at avery moment along the transition path. If the decisions on optimal management of natural areas and infrastructure development are undertaken together, the result is a lower density of the infrastructure network and a larger ecosystem area in the steady state.

Land cover change (LCC) is important to assess the land use/land cover changes with respect to the development activities like irrigation. The region selected for the study is Vaal Harts Irrigation Scheme (VHS) occupying an area of approximately 36, 325 hectares of irrigated land. The study was carried out using Land sat data of 1991, 2001, 2005 covering the area to assess the changes in land use/land cover for which supervised classification technique has been applied. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) index was also done to assess vegetative change conditions during the period of investigation. By using the remote sensing images and with the support of GIS the spatial pattern of land use change of Vaal Harts Irrigation Scheme for 15 years was extracted and interpreted for the changes of scheme. Results showed that the spatial difference of land use change was obvious. The analysis reveals that 37.86% of additional land area has been brought under fallow land and thus less irrigation area (18.21%). There is an urgent need for management program to control the loss of irrigation land and therefore reclaim the damaged land in order to make the scheme more viable.

To investigate and assess the effects of land use and its changes on concentrations of heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Cd, Cu, Mn, Ni, Fe) in the tributary of drinking water reservoir catchment, soils of different land use types (forest, arable land, meadows and pastures, residential areas), suspended sediment and bottom sediment were collected. Heavy metals were analyzed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The metal distribution pattern was observed, where Zn and Cd could be considered as main metal contaminants. The variation in the concentration level of Zn and Cd in studied soils showed the impact of pollution from anthropogenic activities. Also some seasonal variations were visible among the suspended sediment and bottom sediment samples which could be associated with land agricultural practices or meteorological conditions. The sediment fingerprints approach used for determining sources of the suspension in the catchment showed (Kruskal-Wallis H test, p<0.05), that only Mn and Ni were not able to be distinguished among the potential sediment sources. A multiple linear regression model described the relationship between suspended sediment and 4 types of soil samples. The results related suspended composition mostly to the samples from the residential land use. Considering the contemporary trend of observed changes in land use resulting in conversion of agricultural areas into residential and service structures these changes can be essential for the contamination of aquatic environment. This situation is a warning sign due to the rapid industrialization, urbanization and intensive agriculture in this region what can significantly affect the drinking water quality.

Quantifying and understanding global land use change and its spatial and temporal dynamics is critical to supporting international policy debates. The main area of transformation of spatial structures nowadays are suburban areas of the largest cities. Constant land development and urbanization, including such forms as urban sprawl, influence significant changes in land use. The aim of this study was to analyse a land use change pattern in a selected rural area which is under pressure of spatial development of a regional city. Data used for a land use change detection was based opensource Urban Atlas dataset for 2006, 2012, and 2018, enriched by recent update from 2021 orthophoto map. Spatial analyses presenting statistics of land use change were conducted in QGIS. Besides analysis of land use change, the paper discusses observed spatial patterns also taking into account changing social, environmental and economic conditions and spatial policies influencing land cover complexity. Understanding these dynamics would help better spatial management of real estates for more sustainable land development.

The study of changes in grassland was conducted on the territory of individual counties of the West Pomeranian Voivodship. Based on data collected in the Valorisation of the Agricultural Production Space of Poland and spatial data (an electronic 1:5000 soil and agricultural map) the basic information on the use of agricultural land in the 70s of the 20th century. Changes in use over time were analysed based on data the Statistics Poland (Pol.: Główny Urząd Statystyczny – GUS), General Geographic Database and The Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture Crop Register (Pol.: Agencja Restrukturyzacji i Modernizacji Rolnictwa – ARiMR).
The studies showed that in the West Pomeranian Voivodship, a successive decrease in the share of permanent grasslands (0.9%) and arable lands (1.4%) is observed. There is a spatial variation in the share of permanent grassland in the province’s counties, with a distinction between northern and southern counties. The main direction of change in grassland area is arable land, which applies to counties with the highest share of permanent grassland (PG) and counties with a high share of the best soils and forest direction. Land quality was the main factor determining the direction of grassland changes, with the best PG converted to arable land or for investment purposes. In contrast, the weakest were converted to forestry or spontaneously wooded through abandonment. The main reasons for changes in grassland areas in the West Pomeranian Voivodship were: conversion of use to arable land, afforestation of grasslands, land use for urban planning purposes, leaving land fallow and conversion for constructing fishponds.

Changes of land use, population and climate cause spatial and temporal changes in renewable water resources. For better understanding of the changes and effective management of water resources, hydrological investigations in river catchments are carried out around the world. A special investigation involves a study of hydrological processes in small site-specific catchments. The aim of the study is to analyse three characteristic river flows of a small lowland river on the basis of field surveys over two multiannual periods and to evaluate the applicability of indirect methods for determining characteristic flows in the catchment. Hydrological studies in the small agricultural catchment of the Mławka River, located in the Mławka Hills mesoregion, a part of the North Mazovian Lowland macro-region, have continued since 1966. The recorded data were used to determine daily flows and selected characteristic flows for multiannual periods of 1966–1990 and 1991–2020. To determine characteristic flows with indirect methods, three regional formulae and isorea methods were used. The study showed a decrease in renewable water resources over the period. In the multiannual periods, the average flow at the gauge station of Mławka River decreased by 15.6%. The outflow coefficient decreased from 0.303 to 0.265. The minimum annual flows also decreased by 29.1% and annual maximum flows showed an average increase by 19.7%. The use of indirect methods to determine the mean flow yielded results that converged with those from the second multiannual period.

Changing atmospheric conditions, including above all the deepening extreme weather phenomena, are increasing from year to year. This, in consequence, causes an increase in the incidence of low outflows.
The study compares low water levels for two catchments: Biała Woda and Czarna Woda, and phosphorus and nitrogen load using the Nutrient Delivery Ratio (NDR) model in InVEST software. The objective of the NDR is to map nutrient sources from catchment area and transfer to the river bed. The nutrient loads (nitrogen and phosphorus) spread across the landscape are determined based on a land use (LULC) map and associated loading rates described in literature. The studies have shown that low water levels have been more common recently and pose the greatest threat to the biological life in the aquatic ecosystems. The structure of land use is also of great importance, with a significant impact on the runoff and nitrogen and phosphorus load. Phosphorus and runoff from surface sources to the water of Biała Woda and Czarna Woda catchments area has been reduced in forested areas. Only higher run-offs are observed in the residential buildings zone. The nitrogen load was also greater in the lower (estuary) parts of both catchments, where residential buildings dominate.