DYNAMICS OF SOIL SEALING AND SOIL LANDSCAPE WITHIN BUCHAREST METROPOLITAN AREA

References: 17th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2017, www.sgem.org, SGEM2017 Conference Proceedings, ISBN 978-619-7408-05-8 / ISSN 1314-2704, 29 June - 5 July, 2017, Vol. 17, Issue 32, 139-146 pp, DOI: 10.5593/sgem2017/32/S13.019

ABSTRACT

Urban sprawl and land abandonment are the major threats to agricultural areas, as highlighted the European Environment Agency.
Bucharest metropolitan area is a proposed metropolitan area project, aiming to reach 2700 km2 in an intermediate stage. This area would include Bucharest City and other 62 surrounding LAUs from Ilfov, Călărași and Giurgiu Counties.
The paper aims to assess the dynamics of soil sealing and soil landscape patterns and to evaluate soil productivity lost due to the urban sprawl within the Bucharest metropolitan area.
Corine Land Cover Data (2012, 2006, and 2000) were used to evaluate the dynamics of urban sprawl and soil sealing. Soil landscape patterns analysis was performed using the Romanian Geographic Information System of Soil Resources "SIGSTAR-200", while soil productivity was assessed according to the Romanian Land Evaluation Methodology and using GIS techniques.
The results showed that the agricultural soils of the studied area are characterized by moderate to high productivity depending on the soil chemical and physical properties, as well as the soil ecological characteristics. At the regional scale, soil landscapes become more fragmented and irregular, less continuous and diversified, as the urbanization intensifies.

Keywords: soil sealing, Bucharest Metropolitan Area, soil landscape, soil productivity