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LAND COVER CHANGES IN THE OGOSTA VALLEY FOR THE PERIOD 1993-2019

Velimira Stoyanova, Tsvetan Kotsev, Emilia Tcherkezova, Georgi Zhelezov, Nelly Koleva

Abstract

The current research aims to present land cover changes for the period 1993-2019 in the arsenic-contaminated Ogosta River valley in the context of the contaminant dispersal in the soils of the river floodplain caused by the agricultural practices and land use. The investigation is conducted for two test sites situated in the upper and lower stretch of the valley near the villages of Gorna Kovatchitsa and Mihaylovo, respectively. The changes are established for the fourth level of the CORINE Land Cover nomenclature, which is developed for the PHARE countries [1]. Nineteen classes are defined in the study areas. As expected, the classes which indicate arable lands are most common in the valley?s bottom due to its flat topography and fertile soils, followed by the orchards and built-up areas of the settlements. The land cover changes have a similar pattern in the two test sites. Vegetable gardens, orchards and vineyards have significantly reduced their area or disappeared completely. The assumed reason is the lack of labour force as a result of the depopulation of this region of Bulgaria. They are abandoned or replaced by crops which allow mechanized cultivation. Some of the arable lands are also left not cultivated and are gradually grassed or covered with bush vegetation. Because of the higher share of orchards and abandoned arable lands in the upper stretch of the Ogosta Valley, the land cover changes there are deeper compared to its lower part. The transformation of the land cover cause reduction of the irrigated lands like vegetable gardens and orchards, thus decreasing the transfer of arsenic and heavy metals from the contaminated Ogosta River to the soil in the floodplain via irrigation.

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DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/sgem2020/2.2/s10.028

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