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With the help of these two images, and with field mapping, we also studied land
cover in selected National parks - one on the Czech/German border (Šumava and
Bayerisches Wald), and another on the Austrian/Hungarian border (on the shores of
Neusidler see).
6.3 Land-Use Changes Along the Iron Curtain in Czechia
on the Level of BTUs (1948-1990-2000)
In the following, we will describe and explain land-use changes between the years
1948, 1990 and 2000 in the regions of Czechia bordering the former West Germany
and Austria, and compare them with the interior of the country (Fig. 6.1). Obviously,
land use in border regions was influenced not only by their proximity to the Iron
Curtain, but by natural and socio-economic conditions as well. Thus, Table 6.1 con-
tains selected indicators for subsets Austria and West Germany in comparison with
the interior of the country.
Table 6.1 proves that regions bordering West Germany, when compared to the
interior, are typical of worse natural conditions (lower official price of agricultural
land, higher average altitude and slope) and weaker socio-economic activity (lower
density of population, higher share of BTUs with peripheral position, almost 90%
of area affected by the expulsion of Germans). The situation in regions bordering
Austria is slightly different. Their socio-economic characteristics are similar to the
subset West Germany - although the share of BTUs influenced by the expulsion of
Czech Germans after World War Two is lower - but their natural conditions seem to
represent the average within Czechia.
However, Table 6.1 presents only mean values for the whole subsets of BTUs. If
we examine the internal heterogeneity of these characteristics in the studied subsets,
we reveal significant differences.
The region bordering former West Germany is highly homogenous - almost
totally constituted of mountains and highlands (e.g., Ceský Les, Šumava or
Smrciny) and suffering from strong depopulation during the whole Twentieth cen-
tury (except some minor localities like Chodsko), especially after WWII - see the
maps and text in e.g. Štepánek (2002) or Bicík and Kupková (2002).
On the contrary, the BTUs bordering Austria are highly heterogeneous both in
their natural conditions (Fig. 6.2) and socio-economic activity (Fig. 6.3). This region
can be roughly divided into two parts (Chromý & Rašín, 2009). The eastern part
lies in the lowlands along the Dyje river, with fertile soils and favourable climate.
Its landscape is intensively used for productive agriculture. On the other hand, the
western part of subset Austria reminds us of the regions bordering West Germany. It
is covered with highlands (e.g., Novohradské hory and Ceskomoravská vrchovina)
and mountains (Šumava) with less favourable natural conditions. Consequently, the
density of population is much lower, as well as the general anthropogenic pres-
sure on the landscape. We cannot omit this sharp dichotomy of the subset Austria
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