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The paper aims to reconstruct historical road networks, focusing on an area of South-Eastern Europe (specifically on a part of northern Greece) and to contribute to the research for cultural heritage landscapes promotion. By the proposed approach, ignored cultural corridors would be revealed, paving the way for significant management and the emergence of cultural landscapes. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) tools, textual references and historical maps are utilised to identify the historical roadways. The spatial information is mined from the historical maps, whilst the descriptive information is mined from both the textual sources and the maps as well. The combination of the maps and the narratives supported an integrated classification of the roads for all periods, according to the construction style/technique, allowing the interpretations of the historical roads' landscapes. The suggested approach and the consequent maps could serve as a valuable contribution to the enhancement of heritage management of historical landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Putna-Vrancea Natural Park (PVNP) is one of the wildest mountain areas in Romania and is home to internationally important species of flora and fauna. Although the park's area is covered by forests, the last two centuries have seen several major transformations. The aim of this article is to present a historical approach to the development of habitat areas within the PVNP, with an attempt to show both the situation before and after the establishment of its protection regime. The changes in the forest area were identified using available cartographic material from 1789, 1895, 1957, 1975, 2005, and 2018. The analysis of forest distribution according to different classes of natural factors (altitude, slope, soil type, and lithology) highlighted the early 20th century when forest cover decreased at low altitudes and slopes. However, anthropogenic factors were responsible for almost all changes. The specific socio-economic system of the Vrancea Mountains, according to which the forest was and still is owned by the inhabitants of several villages, led to periods of deforestation: burning to increase the area of pastures and the unsustainable exploitation of wood by some companies that had been granted this right by the owners. In the 1960s and 1970s, the mountain pastures were reforested, and in the last 20 years, the mountain pastures have been transformed into forests. Although the use of old maps for this type of analysis has certain limitations, the results obtained provide insight into the causes of the transformation of forest landscapes in some areas of the PVNP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some of the main obstacles to the conquest and colonization of America by European powers were the scarce knowledge of the territory and the hostility of indigenous ethnic groups to its presence. Over the years, remarkable characters played the role of explorers and applying empirical methods began the survey of the territory, using the data collected and with the methods available on that time the first maps were delineated. Nearly two centuries passed and maps of South America with the Amazon River and its hydrographic basin as one of the centrals elements began to be produced by religious and scientific personalities. The purposes were totally different, but the expected result was a reliable representation of the area. Through the use of geographic information system programs and specialized software in map comparison, a temporal and comparative analysis of five old maps of the region published in the eighteenth century was carried out, with which in a graphical way the reader can visualize the updates of the mapped geographic elements and the accuracy of the work. Likewise, the selected area was digitalized and the basic cartography of each map with its respective database was created. In order to visualize the information generated through a virtual environment, a Story Map Journal in ArcGIS Online was created, it includes a summary about the life of each author, a description and the bibliographic reference of the map made, and the map compared to current data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presented research concerning the landscape evolution of the area of the Kazimierski Landscape Park assumed the analysis of landscape changes that took place in the western part of the Nałęczów Plateau in eastern Poland as a result of increased anthropopressure. To achieve this goal, the diverse data was employed: archives of the “Archeological Survey of Poland” obtained from the National Heritage Board of Poland, the registry data from the 16th century made available as part of the “Atlas Fontium” project elaborated by the Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences, old map of the Western Galicia from 1808, a tactical map of the Military Geographical Institute in Warsaw from 1937, and the “Topographic Objects Database” (BDOT10k) obtained from the Head Office of Geodesy and Cartography. Based on the analysed data, maps presenting the development of the settlement network from the moment of permanent settlement of the area up to the present state and maps showing the changes in land use in the Kazimierski Landscape Park over the last centuries have been designed.

The aim of the study is to present landscape changes in the nineteenth century in the central part of the Upper Silesian Industrial District, which is the municipality of Katowice (southern Poland). The comparison of changes, particularly components of the geographical environment, is based on two time periods – the year 1827 and 1883. Nineteenth-century maps were georeferenced, digitized and a series of thematic spatial visualizations presenting quantitative changes were generated by means of the Geographic Information System (GIS). The scale of the visualization created is 1:100,000 and the area is 16,400 ha. The spatial visualization of quantitative landscape change shows the development of the anthropogenic pressure in the form of settlement areas, raw materials extraction places, roads, and the decrease of natural environments, such as forests, rivers, and water bodies. These changes were caused mainly by the exploration of underground deposits and the rapidly growing population of Upper Silesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes a localization of Müller’s maps of regions of Bohemia from 1712 to 1718. Original maps represent the territories within regional boundaries in approximate scale 1: 100 000. It is relatively problematic to extract spatial information from the maps based on precise geodetic control and well-known cartographic projection. A different approach must be chosen in case of old maps without geodetic control and identifiable cartographic projection. In such a case the identical points whose coordinates in the reference coordinate system are known must be identified in the old map and their cartometric coordinates measured. This is also the case of manuscript Müller’s maps. For creation of a transformation key the suitable input data must be selected. As the most frequented features on these maps are settlements it was decided to use this part of planimetric component. Several ways how to use the settlements for transformation were explored in order to find out the most appropriate way of localization of these rare old maps. For purpose of old maps localization the database of settlements (DBS) was used. This database is based on the Territorial Identification Register of Basic Settlement Units (TIR-BSU) which has been created in 1992–2004 and contains current coordinates of settlements. Furthermore, after transformation, the analysis of the visualization accuracy of watercourses was done. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Old maps convey messages about early spatial arrangements. In some cases, they also tell a story, and hence can be qualified as 'history maps'. The interpretation of such maps is not easy, because they are witnesses to a strong dichotomy between the static representation of the landscape and the dynamic sequence of historical events. Digital Thematic Deconstruction allows to break through the iconographie composition and to extract the visual discourse from such an image stuffed with information. In this article, the method is applied to the bird's-eye view of the siege ofYpres in 1383, engraved by Guillaume du Tielt at the beginning of the seventeenth century, in order to assess the accuracy of the mapped topography and to get at the visual narrative. The results not only help interpret the meaning of such a history map, but also offer perspectives for comparing and juxtaposing history maps and textual records. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While continuing researches on ancient cartography the publication is aimed at viewing maps of Lithuania Minor and Prussia in the perspective of historical events, with a special emphasis on most important historical events as well as cartography development moments. The method used is analysis of different maps, by different authors, found in cartographical archives. The article presents the authors and designers 37 maps of Lithuania Minor and Prussia and discusses map characteristics. It also provides links that are helpful for the readers interested in a more detailed studies of specific maps. Summarizing research results the authors conclude that ancient maps where Lithuania Minor is marked are true historical witnesses helping to understand long and complicated formation process of Lithuania Minor and the state of Lithuania; however the analysis alone is insufficient to fully reveal its historic concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have recently been devoted to the study of landscape change, and some have even focused on an analysis of the dynamics of forest cover change. However, few of the studies have worked on a methodology for making a detailed investigation of long-term forest change dynamics based on historic cartographic sources. The goal of this study is to further develop a method for analyzing long-term changes in forest cover on the basis of old maps and orthophoto maps in the GIS environment. The study area is located in Central Bohemia, to the east of Kutná Hora, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The area consists of 21 cadastral units with a total area of 113 km. The maps of the First (1780), Second (1851) and Third Military Surveys (1877) and the present-day orthophotomap (2007) of the Czech Republic were used as data resources. Source data have been processed in GIS. Forest cover is the subject of our study. However, the term is perceived from a broader perspective. What we call forest cover in our study refers to forest wood elements and other wood species in the landscape. In this study, forest cover has been structurally considered as a whole, without dividing it into the two categories mentioned. We counted the extent of the forest cover in each particular time horizon in hectares and as a percentage of the area under study, also the absolute changes in forest cover between the individual time horizons in hectares as well as the intensity of the changes in forest cover in hectares per year. The spatial changes in forest cover were evaluated in a GIS environment using specialized features to analyze spatial variation. The forest cover occupied 16.60% (1,880 ha) of the total area in the First Military Survey (1780). In 2007, the proportion was slightly higher at 16.64% (1,884 ha). More than half of all forest land (53%) from the time of the Second Military Survey (1851) survived until 2007. Not only the information on absolute changes but also the information on the rate of change is of great importance. The old Military Survey maps and the orthophotomap enable us to carry out studies of long-term changes in forest cover. However, the geodetic inaccuracy of the First Military Survey maps precludes reliable and exact quantification of the landscape changes between the First Military Survey and the Second Military Survey, and also between the First Military Survey and present-day (orthophoto map). These maps cannot be used for evaluating forest cover changes on the level of individual plots. The method presented in our paper may contribute to a better understanding of the long-term dynamics of forest land, covering a period of more than 250 years. This knowledge can be applied in forest management planning procedures. Apart from their application in forestry, the methods presented in this study may be of interest for historians and biologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The underlying goal of the study is to further develop and refine an existing method for making a detailed analysis of long-term changes in land cover on the basis of old Military Survey Maps and on orthophotograph maps in the GIS environment. This method may contribute to a better understanding of the long-term landscape dynamics over a period of more than 250 years. The knowledge that is acquired can be applied in landscape planning procedures in order to provide relevant landscape management in the future. The study was carried out in the lowland area of Nové Dvory and Žehušice, Czech Republic, which comprises 21 cadastral units (a total area of 113 km2). The area is located in Central Bohemia, to the east of the town of Kutná Hora, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The area of Nové Dvory and Žehušice is an intensively utilized agricultural landscape. The maps of the and the present-day orthophotograph map of the Czech Republic were used as data resources. They have been digitized, interpreted and analysed in the GIS environment. The changes in the main land cover categories correspond to the change trends in the agricultural landscape types in the Czech Republic as a whole. The most significant features of the dynamic landscape changes in the study area are a decrease in permanent grasslands (from 18% to 5%) and a decrease in water surfaces (from 6% to less than 1%), especially due to pond drainage at the end of 18th century and in the first half of 19th century, as a result of attempts to obtain more arable land. The growth of arable lands was the most remarkable change (from 53% to 67%). The Military Survey Maps provide a suitable basis for analysing and evaluating the development trends in the landscape macrostructure. However, the main shortcoming of the First Military Survey maps is that they suffer from some geodetic inaccuracy, and therefore support only an approximate quantification of the landscape changes between the First Military Survey and the other time horizons. The maps cannot be used for analyses of changes in the landscape microstructure, due to their inaccurate specification of landscape segments, and due to the scale of the original maps (scales ranging from 1:25,000 to 1:28,800), which makes them unusable for evaluating changes at the level of individual plots. When analysing the changes in the line segments on the Military Survey Maps, it is more appropriate to observe the changes in the development of the length characteristics, rather than the changes in the development of the area. Present-day orthophotograph maps are a suitable source material for surveying the state of the land covers, and for evaluating changes to them, over large areas. The legibility of the orthophotograph map depends on many factors, and these need to be taken into consideration. The method used for defining the land cover categories can have a distinct influence on the interpretation of the landscape development in the area under investigation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

One of the key topics of research and development activities of the Moravian Library in Brno is centered on old maps: their digitization, online publication including GIS standard compliance and also development of free software tools and services. This paper describes results achieved by the OldMapsOnline.org project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Vltava River and its surroundings had many different faces and functions in the past centuries. The Vltava is the longest river running through the heart of Bohemia, probably the most famous and popular river in the Czech Republic, one of the national symbols, important trade and transport route in the past, river with beautiful landscape favourite by poets, travellers, and tourists, place where the biggest dam reservoir system in the Czech Republic was built, popular recreational area in the present and many more. Therefore, many different documents are dealing with the Vltava River and its riverine landscape. The main objective of the project supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic is to create comprehensive information system about the Vltava River aggregating and incorporating various historical and modern documents and data. This system will allow maintaining and documenting a wealth of information about the history of the Vltava River, including immovable and movable cultural heritage using new technologies. The project is focused on the upper three quarters of the Vltava River from its springs to confluence with the Berounka River close to Prague in the period from mid 18th century up to the present day. Riverine landscape along the Vltava underwent an intensive transformation in many aspects. Firstly, the cultural landscape with mostly minor settlement combined with appreciated but even feared wild natural narrow valleys has changed intensively along with a construction of the dam cascade especially in the middle part of the river in the second half of the 20th century. Small but widespread settlements, transport function of the river and wild nature were replaced by dams producing electric energy and retaining extensive water reservoirs providing water supply and protection from frequent inundations and last but not least being very popular for recreation. Unfortunately, many houses, water mills, chapels, churches, picturesque natural places, etc. have been flooded. The former face of the Vltava riverine landscape is preserved only in various archival documents and their online presentation is the main project goal. There are large volumes of miscellaneous historical and modern data sources dealing with the Vltava river which are being used in the project. Extensive research of various public and institutional archives is currently still being carried out. Some resources such as old photographs and postcards are found also in private collections. First of all, there are various works from old cadastral maps, old river maps with cross sections, longitudinal profiles of the river, old site plans and interesting building plans, State Derived Map and aerial photographs from 1950s, site and constructional plans of dams to the up to date cadastral map, orthophotos and DTM. The Imperial Imprints of the Stable Cadastre (scale 1: 2 880) from the years 1826-1843 rank among the most valuable and very useful. Due to their geometric precision and visual attractiveness, these maps are suitable for vectorization, and form an excellent base layer for the web mapping application and 3D visualization. Another very important map is the State Derived Map (scale 1: 5 000; its first issue) from the early 1950s containing planimetry as well as altimetry. It shows situation of area just before the dam reservoirs cascade construction was started hence it allows reconstruction of former Vltava valley. Maps and plans are complemented by old photographs, postcards, iconography and also text sources. All data sources described above have to be carefully processed before their incorporation into the information system and subsequent 2D- or 3D-applications could be designed. Speaking in particular about maps and plans, they have to be digitised, georeferenced and selected map content is vectorised. The majority of data sources are obtained in the analogue paper form, thereby a high resolution scanning has to be done to acquire digital copies of requested maps and plans. Then the scanned data is georeferenced employing suitable global or local transformations depending on the type of map. Carefully selected map content is vectorised and the database of significant features (buildings or objects of cultural, social, production and water management importance) with important attributes is being filled up. Every feature has its location, at least approximately if precise position is unknown. Also the old photographs and postcards are geolocated to be incorporated into the information system. 2D web mapping application (Figure 1) has been created based on processed data and it is being updated. It presents and compares various layers (georeferenced maps and plans, vectorised data model, objects of interest, etc.). The application allows overlaying of various raster and vector layers from different times using the swipe tool. Objects of interest and photographs are represented by points, where each point leads to a popup with more information. Online 3D visualisation is effective and popular way of geographical data presentation thus besides the 2D also 3D application may bring a new perspective to former Vltava landscape. The Vltava River valley, often narrow and deep, is perfect for the 3D presentation, especially if it is completed by other objects or phenomena (e.g. extinct settlements, important buildings, historical or potential floods). Precise 3D modelling of important structures in CAD software is a common but time-consuming process. Therefore, it is not possible to model the whole extinct settlements in 3D and thus procedural modelling is applied instead. It allows to visualise a simplified reconstructive model of flooded villages in the entire area of interest even in various periods of time. The mission of the project is, in particular, to document information on the changes of the Vltava riverine landscape within the last three centuries in the context of various events, as well as to make it subsequently available to the general public. Thus, it might act as a transfer of historical science into education through modern cartographic methods. The project itself is actually in its first phase and the activities proceed continuously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ancient map has a large span of history, diverse types and rich content. Therefore, comprehensive analysis and summarization of ancient maps and geographical location in different categories are conducive to obtaining more ideal geographical correction results. How to classify the ancient map classification suitable for geographical correction, and then carry out targeted geographic coordinate correction is the primary research content of this research. The geographic reference and geographic reference of the map are the main factors determining the geographical location of the map. Therefore, the division of the ancient map according to the presence or absence of georeferencing is a prerequisite for solving the difficulty of correcting the ancient map. The geographic parameters of ancient maps mainly include map projection, geographic reference, map accuracy, scale and so on. In the study of ancient map geolocation, the first thing to be solved is the determination of ancient map projection and geo-reference. For maps with different mathematical foundations (projection and geo-reference), different positioning methods are used for geo-correction. Only by determining the mathematical basis, projection and geographic reference of the ancient maps that need to be located, can the corresponding projection conversion method or geographic correction method be used for map positioning. However, the mathematical basis of ancient maps is not clearly marked on the map, and even if it is marked, it is often not very accurate. Therefore, it is necessary to study the acquisition methods of mathematical parameters of ancient maps. For different ancient canal maps, different methods are needed to determine the basis of their geolocation: (1) Latitude and longitude The latitude and longitude survey of the ancient canal map is based on the modern Western measurement method, through projection conversion, and the latitude and longitude map on the map. The latitude and longitude measurement map has a clear geographic reference and projection. (2) Similar to modern latitude and longitude This type of map does not indicate the age of production, cartographers and geo-references, or incorrectly label cartographers, geo-references or geographic benchmarks, but according to the presence or absence of latitude and longitude and latitude and longitude, the map's performance techniques, drawing characteristics, related content, etc. In addition to the reference frame of the latitude and longitude network, some maps also have geo-references for the grid, which can be used to determine whether such maps are modern latitude and longitude georeferences. There is a gap between the accuracy of such maps and the measured maps. (3) Grid in the square Grid in the square is an important traditional Chinese method for mapping maps. It uses a grid coordinate system of square squares. It is an auxiliary line for drawing maps on an ancient scale. The length of each square is the number of real points. Quite a scale of today's maps. The map drawn by the method of "counting in the painting" is more accurate than the predecessors and is reliable. According to this method, the map has been used for more than 500 years (from the drawing time of the trace map). According to records, this method began with the principle of "drawing six bodies" proposed by China's Jin Dynasty. The "six bodies" are the "scores", which is the current scale; the second is the "preview", which is used to determine the mutual orientation of the landforms and features; and the third is the "daoli" to determine the road between the two places. The distance is four; the fourth is "high"; the fifth is "Fang", that is, the fluctuation of the slope of the ground; the sixth is "straight", that is, the conversion of the height of the field and the distance on the map. This is a milestone in the history of maps in China. Because such maps are greatly improved in accuracy, the role in multidisciplinary fields is worth paying attention to. Moreover, such maps are often compiled with reference to a certain map, such as Huayi map, trace map, map of Yu, map of the Emperor, map of the emperor's work, and the preparation of the records of the history of the party, all based on the previous one. of. Therefore, when correcting, you can classify them into one category and consider them together. (4) Landscape imagery The image of the ancient canal of the landscape image painting adopts the expression of "the law of the landscape", that is, all kinds of ground elements on both sides of the river are drawn toward the center line of the river. This type of map, because of the "reality" is very strong, the mountains and rivers are realistic and rich in color, so it has always been the mainstream painting method of the ancient rivers before the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are many types of maps, large quantities, rich map content, and extremely high historical value, but their compilation is very different from modern maps. First, the coordinate directions in ancient maps are "upper south and north", and also" "Upper north and lower south", mainly "upper south and north", which is different from the directional principle of the modern map "up north and south"; secondly, the use of visually intuitive painting to express features, and the use of less map symbols There is a certain proportional relationship between the positional relationship between the features, but it is quite different from the modern maps with strict mathematical foundations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]