Land Cover Changes in the Coastal Peel-Urban Zone of Corinth, Greece

This study deals with the landscape evolution of the coastal zone along the southern coast of Korinthiakos Gulf in central Greece. This coastal area is characterized by an extensive alluvial plain formed by the sediment supply of torrential rivers. Its step-like morphology is the result of a series of uplifted marine terraces formed during the interglacial sea-level high-stands of the period of late Quaternary. The dominant process along the coastline is intense erosion due to marine processes (wave activity, long-shore currents and sea-level rise). Recent changes in the landscape of this coastal area have been triggered by changes in human activities. The aim of the study is to identify socio-economic factors that brought about land cover change and the way the environment characteristics of the area defined the trajectory or the lack of change and its spatiotemporal pattern as well as to examine the heterogeneity of the landscape during this process. The research was based on remote sensed imagery and the output land cover maps of the broader area of the municipality of Vocha covering the time period between 1945 and 2008. The direction and the timing of change were related to changes of the population characteristics and density, tourism growth along the coastal zone, and the geographical properties of the study area.