Redistribution of the map: evolution of open and closed landscapes in Northern Belgium (1778-1969)

This map is a compilation of maps of open and closed landscapes in 1778, 1873, and 1969. Source maps: Ferraris map, Digital Flanders and Royal Library - Topographical map of 1873 (National Geographic Institute chronological mosaic of the first topographical map of Belgium, created between 1865-1873 - Topographical map of 1969 (National Geographic Institute chronological mosaic of the post-war topographical map of Belgium, created between 1952-1969). Processing steps: Detection of hedgerows and rows of trees on three historical topographical maps using AI (Orthoseg) based on drawn training sets for the recognition of hedgerows on rows of trees (256x256m). Result: polygon layer showing the location of hedgerows and tree rows per time layer. Convert polygons to lines. Per snapshot. Result: vector layer showing the location of hedgerows and tree rows, displayed as lines (GIS). Calculation of line density per snapshot. Result: density patches in a raster layer. Threshold value of 7.5 km/km² as a distinguishing threshold between open and closed landscapes. Forests and orchards added as land use categories per snapshot, because these, together with the hedgerows and tree rows, determine the openness or closedness of the landscape. Overlay created from the three maps into an evolution map of the open and closed landscapes, with reference points 1771 - 1873 - 1969. Purpose of creation: Suitable for landscape research, landscape ecology, and studies on landscape perception, as well as for selecting appropriate locations for the (re)planting of hedgerows and tree rows based on cultural-historical patterns. In this context, it is advised to use the manual by Bastiaens & Verboven (2024), mentioned in the references section.