Monitored area<\/h3>\n
Brdsk\u00e1 vrchovina (The Brdy Highlands) is divided into H\u0159ebeny, central Brdy, and southern Brdy [8, 9]. Brdsk\u00e1 vrchovina also include the sub-units P\u0159\u00edbramsk\u00e1 pahorkatina and Brdy itself, consisting of three districts (T\u0159emo\u0161ensk\u00e1 vrchovina, T\u0159em\u0161\u00ednsk\u00e1 vrchovina, and Stra\u0161ick\u00e1 vrchovina) [9]. H\u0159ebeny, sometimes called Brdsk\u00e9 H\u0159ebeny or H\u0159ebeny Brdy, represent a\u00a0forested belt stretching in the NE-SW direction between Prague and Pilsen, more specifically between the Vltava valley, near Zbraslav, and the Litavka valley. In 2009, H\u0159ebeny Nature Park was designated in the majority of Brdy H\u0159ebeny, covering 184 km2<\/sup> [10].<\/p>\n An up-to-date geomorphological division:<\/p>\n H\u0159ebeny subunit is located in the north-eastern part of Brdsk\u00e1 vrchovina. It is a\u00a0rugged highland with an area of 125.08 km2<\/sup>, a\u00a0mean height of 440 m, and a\u00a0mean slope of 7\u00b0. It is composed of formations of Cambrian and Ordovician shales, sandstones, greywacke, conglomerates and quartzites, Proterozoic dacites, andesites and tuffs; these form a\u00a0single wide structural ridge of the SW-NE direction with significant steep marginal slopes (covered with boulder and block rubble on the NW), transversely disturbed by the Vltava valley and V\u0161enorsk\u00fd potok. The highest point is Studen\u00fd vrch, at 660.30\u00a0m above sea level, in Studensk\u00e1 vrchovina [9].<\/p>\n The monitored area was delimited by the boundaries of the current cadastral areas (hereinafter c. a.) (Fig.\u00a01<\/em>). It was chosen to represent predictors of the development of watercourses and wetlands in the landscape area \u201cDob\u0159\u00ed\u0161sko-Mn\u00ed\u0161sko\u201d, located on the north-eastern edge of H\u0159ebeny [11]. The main criterion for the selection of the monitored area was its location in the hitherto little-analysed area of Central Bohemia, in the geomorphological subunit H\u0159ebeny. Another criterion was the location of the study area in a\u00a0moderately cold landscape of hills and highlands [12]. The local landscape is a\u00a0mosaic of forests, large agricultural fields, and smaller settlements. It also serves as an important leisure facility for the capital city of Prague [13].<\/p>\n Four c. a. were selected, with a\u00a0total area of 3,785.57 ha [14]. The natural topographical and economic centre of the area, Mn\u00ed\u0161ek pod Brdy c. a., was intentionally omitted from the selection. Mn\u00ed\u0161ek pod Brdy has had the status of a\u00a0town since the 14th<\/sup> century [15]. Its character does not correspond to the rural type of settlement, and its territory is therefore not suitable for comparison with the surrounding rural regions.<\/p>\n The imaginary axis of the monitored area is the D4 motorway leading from Prague in a\u00a0south-westerly direction; its route approximately follows the route of the historic Golden Trail. The Golden Trail from Prague to Passau had a\u00a0major impact on the cultural development of the local landscape. Historically, the area belonged to the prince and later royal states. Continuous forest stands predominated here, in which the royal hunting lodges were located (the current chateau in Mn\u00ed\u0161ek pod Brdy, Varga\u010d in Dob\u0159\u00ed\u0161, T\u0159i Trubky near Stra\u0161ice, etc.). A\u00a0number of plots of land in the vicinity of Mn\u00ed\u0161ek pod Brdy came into the ownership of the church as a\u00a0prince or royal gift. Monasteries colonized the area and established villages. The monitored area thus belonged to the later colonized areas of the middle Povltav\u00ed [16].<\/p>\n Over the past twenty years, new construction has multiplied due to good connections, clean air, and proximity to Brdy H\u0159ebeny. The population almost doubled from the beginning of 2001 to the end of 2020 (\u010cisovice: 703 inhabitants => 1,104 inhabitants; \u0158itka: 604 inhabitants => 1,228 inhabitants; Kyt\u00edn: 331\u00a0=> 543 inhabitants; Nov\u00e1 Ves pod Ple\u0161\u00ed: 731 => 1,286 inhabitants) [17].<\/p>\n The original agricultural character of the c. a. in the monitored area was replaced by a\u00a0residential and recreational function. The historically predominant arable land gave way to new urban and suburban development. At present, a\u00a0minimum of the population is tied to agriculture, most of them commute to work, and a\u00a0significant part of the development is used for recreational purposes [11].<\/p>\n The basis for data processing were archival map data, map data from 2020, and field research carried out during 2020. The actual processing of the obtained data took place in 2021.<\/p>\n The basic documents for the creation of a\u00a0vector layer for the analysis of the development of the monitored area were map sheets of the Imperial Mandatory Imprints of the Stable Cadastre (showing the state of the area in 1840 at a\u00a0scale of 1 : 2,880) [20] and a\u00a0coordinated orthophotomap from 2020, ZABAGED\u00ae and Basic Map of the Czech Republic 1 : 10,000 (BM 10), all available on the \u010c\u00daZK Geoportal [21] as a\u00a0WMS service.<\/p>\n Georeferencing of archival map sheets of the Imperial Mandatory Imprints of the Stable Cadastre in the S-JTSK East North coordinate system, connection of current documents using the WMS service, and subsequent creation of a\u00a0polygon layer of the .shp format took place in the ArcGIS environment, in the ArcMAP 10.7.1 program. Each polygon was defined by its identification number, the type of wetland, and the year in which it occurred in the area. The initial data processing took place in a\u00a0GIS environment. It was a\u00a0calculation of the area of polygons and line lengths. The resulting values were exported and interpreted in the form of tables in Microsoft Excel 2016. As part of the processing of these map and tabular outputs, the article presents results concerning the change in area and location of individual types of wetlands. According to stability, wetlands were differentiated as continuous, defunct, and new (Tab.\u00a01<\/em>). Based on available data, three types of wetland habitats were classified: wet meadows, wet meadows with woody plants, and ponds (Tab.\u00a03<\/em>); it was thus possible to identify them in both monitored periods.<\/p>\n A hypothesis of a significant decrease in wetlands was established in connection with the change of land use from purely agricultural to predominantly urban, and to the intensification of agriculture in the remaining cultivated areas. The set of impulses that leads to such changes in the landscape is called the driving forces. The concept of land use driving forces is the basic term used to explain the reasons for landscape changes [24]. A characteristic feature of driving forces is their interconnectedness, diversity, and difficulty in defining them [25]. However, despite this diversity, driving forces tend to be divided into different categories. The basic division of driving forces is into two categories, depending on the relationship of their origin to human society, namely social driving forces and natural conditions [26]. Subsequently, social driving forces can be divided into four basic categories: economic, technological, political,\u00a0and cultural [27]. The assumption was that the intensification of agriculture and urbanization in this area was the result of the first three above-mentioned driving forces; urbanization, due to the recreational use of the area, was also influenced by cultural driving forces.<\/p>\n A\u00a0common feature of all studied c. a. is a\u00a0significant decrease in the total area of wetlands\u00a0\u2013 it decreased from 289.34 ha in 1840 (7.6% of the monitored area) to 39.26 ha in 2020 (1.04% of the monitored area) (Tab.<\/em>\u00a02<\/em>, Fig.\u00a02\u20139<\/em>). The most dominant wetland type (out of all types according to stability, i. e. including defunct wetlands) in the monitored area are wet meadows\u00a0\u2013 they cover 283.87 ha, i. e. they make up 89.35% of wetland types. Wet meadows with woody plants and ponds are located only on 27.92 ha, or 5.91 ha, i. e. it makes up 8.79%, or 1.86% of wetland types.<\/p>\n Wet meadows according to stability significantly predominate\u00a0\u2013 the defunct ones have an area of 271.57 ha (95.67%), while continuous and new meadows occupy 9.49 ha (3.34%), or 2.81 ha (0.99%).<\/p>\n On the other hand, minor wetland types (i. e. wet meadows with woody plants and ponds) record an increase in their total area over time; however, due to their small proportion in the monitored area, they cannot reverse the overall trend for wetlands given by predominant wet meadows.<\/p>\n According to stability, new wet meadows with woody plants predominate\u00a0\u2013 on an area of 22.39 ha (80.19%); in contrast, defunct ones occupy 5.53 ha (19.81%). As a\u00a0continuous type of wetland according to stability, wet meadows with woody plants do not occur. According to stability, ponds are mostly represented by new ones\u00a0\u2013 on an area of 3.16 ha (53.47%), continuous and defunct ones occupy 1.41 ha (23.86%), or 1.34 ha (22.67%).<\/p>\n In all four c. a., the results and trends are similar to those in the entire monitored area, i. e. the largest area of defunct wetlands and the smallest area of continuous wetlands. However, there are minor differences; for example, in \u0158itka and Kyt\u00edn c. a., wet meadows with woody plants occur only as new wetlands. As a continuous type wet meadows are almost non-existent in \u0158itka c. a. and have a\u00a0smaller area than new wet meadows. The same applies to ponds in Nov\u00e1 ves pod Ple\u0161\u00ed c. a. In \u0158itka c. a., the total area of wetlands according to stability is considerably smaller than in other c. a. (4.7 times smaller than in Nov\u00e1 Ves pod Ple\u0161\u00ed c. a., 5.6 times smaller than in Kyt\u00edn c. a. and 7.9 times smaller than in \u010cisovice c. a.). The entire area of \u0158itka c. a. is about 3 times smaller in relation to all other individual c. a. (Tab.\u00a03<\/em>, Fig.\u00a02\u20139<\/em>).<\/p>\n On defunct areas of wet meadows, i. e. the predominant wetland habitat, in Kyt\u00edn c. a., permanent grasslands (42%), forest and shrubs (18 and 17%, respectively) currently occur most frequently; in Nov\u00e1 Ves pod Ple\u0161\u00ed c. a., the same applies for permanent grasslands (38%), arable land and forest (30 and 27%, respectively), and in \u010cisovice c. a., the same applies for permanent grasslands and arable land (40 and 28%, respectively); however, forest and development, including gardens on the site of defunct wetlands, also account for a\u00a0significant share (14 and 13%, respectively). In \u0158itka c. a., on the site of wet meadows there are permanent grasslands (35%), forest and development, including gardens (both 27%), arable land (12%) and also a\u00a0relatively significant area of defunct wet meadows with woody plants. On their site, arable land and development, including gardens, are equally represented.<\/p>\n Fig.\u00a010\u201313<\/em> present examples of wetland habitat types from field research in the monitored area.<\/p>\n Selected sites in the monitored area are characterized by a\u00a0specific attribute\u00a0\u2013 their area is almost 50% forested and, due to its location at the foot of H\u0159ebeny, it serves as springs for part of the Lower Vltava and Berounka river basins. Thus far, Brdy forests have been systematically examined only irregularly (with the exception of Brdy Protected Landscape Area). Therefore, this paper could not completely objectively assess the historical locations of forest wetlands. However, it did monitor the declining trend in the occurrence of wetlands in the current forest and non-forest area of the monitored area. The chosen method of wetland detection in the landscape is of limited use due to a\u00a0certain inaccuracy of the maps of the stable cadastre (mainly due to insufficient historical interception of waterlogged forests) [28]. However, with regard to the availability of historical data on the topic, it is a\u00a0good means of obtaining the basis for subsequent analysis. Due to the temporal and spatial extent of this research, the used method is relatively quick. The verification results revealed shortcomings in the location of historic wetlands; however, the combination of field research together with the ZABAGED\u00ae layer, BM 10 and the current orthophotomap is sufficiently objective to identify the current wetlands.<\/p>\n\n
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<\/a>\nFig.\u00a01. Monitored area (current borders of cadastral area) on the basis of the current orthophotomap [21] and 2nd military mapping (mapped 1836\u20131852, 1 : 28,800) [22]<\/h6>\n
Description of the monitored area in terms of geomorphology, climate, vegetation, and water in the landscape<\/h3>\n
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METHODOLOGY<\/h2>\n
Documentation for data processing<\/h3>\n
Programs used and data processing<\/h3>\n
Tab.\u00a01. Wetland classification according to stability occurrence in individual periods<\/em><\/h5>\n
<\/a><\/h3>\nDetermining the hypothesis of landscape changes in the monitored area and the expected driving forces<\/h3>\n
RESULTS<\/h2>\n
Tab.\u00a02. Total proportion of wetlands in individual periods in absolute [ha] and relative\u00a0[%] values<\/em><\/h5>\n
<\/a>\n<\/a><\/h6>\nFig.\u00a02. Location of wetland habitats in the \u010cisovice cadastral area in 1840. Background data OpenStreetMap [23]<\/h6>\n
<\/a><\/h6>\nFig.\u00a03. Location of wetland habitats in the \u010cisovice cadastral area in 2020. Background data OpenStreetMap [23]<\/h6>\n
<\/a><\/h6>\nFig.\u00a04. Location of wetland habitats in the Kyt\u00edn cadastral area in 1840. Background data OpenStreetMap [23]<\/h6>\n
<\/a><\/h6>\nFig.\u00a05. Location of wetland habitats in the Kyt\u00edn cadastral area in 2020. Background data OpenStreetMap [23]<\/h6>\n
<\/a>\n<\/h6>\n
Fig.\u00a06. Location of wetland habitats in the \u0158itka cadastral area in 1840. Background data OpenStreetMap [23]<\/h6>\n
<\/a><\/h6>\nFig.\u00a07. Location of wetland habitats in the \u0158itka cadastral area in 2020. Background data OpenStreetMap [23]<\/h6>\n
<\/a><\/h6>\nFig.\u00a08. Location of wetland habitats in the Nov\u00e1 Ves pod Ple\u0161\u00ed cadastral area in 1840. Background data OpenStreetMap [23]<\/h6>\n
<\/a><\/h6>\nFig.\u00a09. Location of wetland habitats in the Nov\u00e1 Ves pod Ple\u0161\u00ed cadastral area in 2020. Background data OpenStreetMap [23]<\/h6>\n
<\/a><\/h6>\nFig.\u00a010. Wet meadow in the locality And\u011blsk\u00e9 schody in the Nov\u00e1 Ves pod Ple\u0161\u00ed cadastral aea<\/h6>\n
<\/a><\/h6>\nFig.\u00a011. The wide floodplain of the Bojovsk\u00fd creek in the \u010cisovice cadastral area classified as a\u00a0wet meadow<\/h6>\n
<\/a><\/h6>\nFig.\u00a012. The floodplain of the Chouzav\u00e1 creek in the Kyt\u00edn cadastral area classified as a\u00a0wet meadow with woody plants<\/h6>\n
<\/a><\/h6>\nFig.\u00a013. The littoral zone of the Ml\u00fdnec pond in the \u0158itka cadastral area<\/h6>\n
DISCUSSION<\/h2>\n