Changes in the Country and Their Impact on Topographic Data of Agricultural Land—A Case Study of Slovakia

ABSTRACT

Due to natural phenomena as well as human activities, changes are occurring in land use. Techniques and environment GIS have made it possible to process large amounts of data from various sources. In Slovakia, mapping of topography and elevation is being carried out as part of the elaboration of land readjustment projects. This is also a starting point for updating estimated pedologic-ecological units (EPEUs). Therefore, it is necessary to make efforts to harmonize the real state of the country with the data stored in the EPEU database, which are the basis for spatial analyses in the country and the creation of price maps. The EPEU system was built in the 1970s;however, only after 1990, due to changes in ownership and user conditions of the land, did it begin to seriously address the issue of updating data. This study examines selected sources of altimetry data, especially airborne laser scanning (ALS), and their potential role in processing purpose maps and harmonizing boundary curves and slope and exposure characteristics at a stable 5-position EPEU local code. Based on the obtained results, the use of ALS data and the Digital Terrain Model (DTM) derived from them may lead to the streamlining of some processes in terms of planning and decision-making regarding land use, even outside the context of the ongoing land reforms in the Slovak Republic.