In these areas, we have carried out detailed analysis relating to soil quality and the (lack of) potential for agricultural production. The majority of the area of former ponds is nowadays used as agricultural land. the First Military Mapping Survey in 1763вЂ“1787), their precise identification or spatial reconstruction is very difficult. Due to the lack of positional accuracy of available data (e.g. As is evident from more detailed historicalвЂ“geographical analysis, a greater number of these had already fallen into disuse before the Second Military Survey (1806вЂ“1869) was completed. Results show that 3416 ponds with an area greater than 0.5 ha have disappeared from the Czech landscape over the past 150 years. It presents the results of spatial analysis using maps from the Second Military Mapping Survey. The chapter describes the development and decline of pond management in the Czech Republic. The area taken up by ponds expanded in our mediaeval landscape, but in roughly the last 200 years the number and area of ponds have decreased. They also became an important aspect of the landscape, in the role of significant landscape elements. The ponds, whose traditional role is linked mainly with the economically lucrative fish farming, did, however, play a wider role within the historical landscape, where they fulfilled the requirements of society for water, they formed a potential supply of energy to power production facilities, or they were part of the fortification of noble estates.

Pond management is a historical and landscape-forming phenomenon in the Czech lands. The map source may be utilised by state authorities or local administrations. This map source may be practically applied in Spatial Planning and in particular measures taken against changes in the global climate, specifically in the Czech Republic against droughts. The resulting map may serve as a measure for potential attempts at restoring some extinct ponds, out of which over 3400 ponds larger than 15,500 ha have been discovered. Historical ponds larger than 0.5 ha were then picked from this layer, complemented with other attributes and analysed in combination with the current geodata (occurrence of pond, prevailing land use of extinct ponds, etc.). All water areas, which had existed in the 2nd Military Survey within the current Czech Republic, were identified on this basis and vectorised in the Geographic Information System.

This source was selected with respect to its age, precision, validity and accessibility at the Czech National Geoportal via the Web Map Service. The paper presents a map of historical ponds of the whole Czech Republic which was created on the basis of the 2nd Military Survey (1: 28,000) from the period 1836 to 1852.

The Habsburg military surveys laid the groundwork for studies assessing the time-space development of the landscape structure or the individual landscape elements (HavlГДЌek, KrejДЌГkovГЎ, Chrudina, & Svoboda, 2012 HavlГДЌek, & Chrudina, 2013 Pietrovszki & MГ©szГЎros, 2010 SkaloЕЎ, EngstovГЎ, TrpГЎkovГЎ, Е antrЕЇДЌkovГЎ, & PodrГЎzskГЅ, 2012 Е tefunkovГЎ, Е pulerovГЎ, DobrovodskГЎ, Mojses, & PetroviДЌ, 2013). The above-mentioned maps served as resources in many different studies focusing on the issues of their cartographic and geodetic processing (ДЊada & VichrovГЎ, 2009 TimГЎr, 2009), positional accuracy ( Veverka, AmbroЕѕovГЎ, & ДЊechurovГЎ, 2011) and the possibility of geo-referencing in the GIS (Cajthaml, 2013 MolnГЎr, 2010 TimГЎr, 2004). In the regions where they existed historically as part of the Habsburg Monarchy there are significant map sources serving to analyse the historical landscape of the 1st Military Survey (1764вЂ“1783 in the Czech lands), the 2nd Military Survey (1836вЂ“1852) and the 3rd Military Survey (1876вЂ“1880) or the very detailed plans of the stable cadastre from 1826 to 1843.

Prime meridian map