Dealing with landscape changes in space and time is an important activity in terms of the process of future development of the selected area. In particular, it is necessary to focus on territories that are exposed to the effects of extraction activities. The main objective of the paper was the mapping of spatio-temporal changes in the landscape in connection with the extraction of minerals due to mining activities on the landscape using satellite images and data from the Corine land cover (CLC) database in the environment of geographic information systems. The selected study area is specific to the presence of four mineral deposits (three of which are under active mining). The Rohožník-Konopiská deposit was abandoned and the area was subsequently reclaimed. The study used Corine land cover (CLC) data and Landsat 5, 7, 8 satellite images for selected years in the period 1990–2021. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was calculated for vegetation cover analysis, which was further combined with the forest spatial division units (FSDU) layer. Areas in the immediate vicinity of the open-pit mine were selected for detailed analysis of vegetation changes. Using the FSDU data, an average NDVI index value was calculated using the Zonal statistics function for each plot. The results showed that over the selected period there have been changes indicating an improvement in the landscape condition by reclamation operations at two deposits, Rohožník-Konopiská (inactive) and Sološnica-Hrabník (active). The analyzed CLC data detected the change at the Rohožník-Konopiská deposit, but the active deposit Sološnica-Hrabník was not detected in these data. The loss of vegetation on the other two deposits is mainly due to pre-mining preparatory work, which causes the removal of soil and vegetation layers.

The case study focuses on evaluating the suitability of roof surfaces in terms of their solar potential based on their geometric parameters. The selected processing methodology detects segments of roof surfaces from the LiDAR base, supplemented with spatial information (orthophoto map, real estate cadastre (REC)—footprint, basic database for the geographic information system (ZBGIS)—classification of buildings—current use). The approach based on spatial analyses takes into account the limit conditions for determining the impact of solar radiation resulting from the roof area, slope, aspect, and hillshade. Considering to the available subsidy scheme for family houses in the conditions of the Slovak Republic, a narrower sample of 35 family houses was selected from the total number of typologically represented buildings (194). A 3D model of the building created by combining REC and LiDAR substrates shows the roof surface without overlap, while another 3D model made of LiDAR substrates alone represents the actual dimension of the roof surface. The results presented for each selected building show good agreement with each other, and their visualizations were obtained using two GIS environment approaches. In the area of family houses, up to 94% of the roof areas of buildings registered in the REC meet the conditions for the installation of a PV system with an output of 2.6/3.3 kW.

The identification of roof surfaces is characterized by a sequence of several processing steps. The boundary detection of different types of roof is realized from light detection and ranging (LiDAR) cloud points and can confirm the real boundary of the roof. In the process of processing LiDAR data, shortcomings have been found regarding the inappropriate classification of points (class 6 “buildings”) concerning the roofs (the points of the building facade were marked as outliers and reclassified). In cases of insufficient point density, there is a problem with not being able to capture either the roof boundary or small roof objects, along with the possible occurrence of gaps inside the roof areas. This study proposes a processing procedure in a geographic information system (GIS) environment that advocates the identification of roof surfaces based on the LiDAR point cloud. We created the contours of a roof surface boundary with a simplified regular shape. From 824 roofs in the studied area, six different types of roof were selected, which this study presents in detail. The expected result of the study is the generation of segments inside the roof boundary. The study also includes the visualization of the outcomes of the spatial analyses of the identified roof surfaces, which forms the basis for determining the potential of solar systems with respect to green roofs for the development of smart city buildings.

Weather-related disasters represent a major threat to the sustainable development of society. This study focuses directly on the assessment of the state of spatial information quality for the needs of hydrodynamic modeling. Based on the selected procedures and methods designed for the collection and processing of spatial information, the aim of this study was to assess their qualitative level of suitability for 3D flood event modeling in accordance with the Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE) Directive. In the evaluation process we entered geodetic measurements and the digital relief model 3.5 (DMR 3.5) available for the territory of the Slovak Republic. The result of this study is an assessment of the qualitative analysis on three levels: (i) main channel and surrounding topography data from geodetic measurements; (ii) digital relief model; and (iii) hydrodynamic/hydraulic modeling. The qualitative aspect of the input data shows the sensitivity of a given model to changes in the input data quality condition. The average spatial error in the determination of a point’s position was calculated as 0.017 m of all measured points along a watercourse and its slope foot and slope edge. Although the declared accuracy of DMR 3.5 is assumed to be ±2.50 m, in some of the sections in the selected area there were differences in elevation up to 4.79 m. For this reason, we needed a combination of DMR 3.5 and geodetic measurements to refine the input model for the process of hydrodynamic modeling. The quality of the hydrological data for the monitored N annual flow levels was of fourth-class reliability for the selected area.

Mining, especially surface mining, has a significant impact on the upper part of the soil cover, including fauna and flora. The article deals with the use of geodetic methods to observe the mining process and its possible impact on the environment. The created model can be used to design the recovery and reclamation of open-pit mines after their closure and mining termination. For the modeling of an open-pit mine, 2151 points from two stages of geodetic measurements were used. Graphical presentations of the geodetic measurements were compared with data from aerial photogrammetry. The measurement and processing results were used to visualize the spatial changes in the open-pit mine, which are necessary to take measures related to the recovery of the landscape affected by mining. Based on the calculation, 145.266 m³ were extracted during the period under exploration. When calculating the average excavated volume per working day, it was found that 188 m³ = 500 tons = 0.5 kilotons per day were extracted between the monitored periods. When comparing the original surface and the generated model of the open-pit mine, it was found that the entire top of the rock massif was permanently removed in the total volume of 3,421,000 m³. To capture the impact of mining on the surrounding environment, multispectral images of Landsat 7 and 8 during the observed period. Focused attention was divided into two factors, land surface temperature, and vegetation condition. The results from the temperature maps show that the open-pit mine is becoming a heat island. Analysis of the vegetative state confirms the rapid change in the health of vegetation, resp. reduction of its condition in the area around the open-pit mine. The presented results show that the selected methods and procedures are applicable in the conditions of the small mining company in Slovakia.

This paper aims to geographically assess the flood occurrence in eastern Slovakia by using one of the methods of multi-criteria analysis – rank sum method. Flood risk assessment is conducted in three specific cases: the long term period 1989–2009, the extremely wet 2010 year, and the extremely dry 2011 year. In the analyses, some of the causative factors for flooding in a basin area are taken into account. We use set of causative factors concerning mostly hydrological and physio-geographical characteristic of the target area that can be measured and evaluated such as soil type, daily precipitation (for the years 1989–2009, 2010, 2011), land use, catchment area and basin slope. For recommendation which causative factors should be preferred we use method of multicriteria analysis – ranking method. In the ranking method (RM), every factor/criterion under consideration is ranked in the order of the decision-maker’s preference. Geographic approach to flood risk assessment provides a descriptive presentation of the results obtained. Geographic information systems as a visualization tool is presented in a manner that aids understanding in a user friendly way. Regarding our task of flood risk assessment, the partial results are three composite maps, which present comparison of flood risk zones in percentage of the area in years 1989–2009, 2010, and 2011. The composite maps are background for risk assessment of the impact of rainfall on flood generation. This study of hydrological data and physio-geographical characteristic was carried out with the purpose of the identification of flood risk occurrence in eastern Slovakia. Results from our study shows, that rainfall distribution has high influence on flood risk of the area. Area percentage with very high flood risk index was calculated for “wet” year 2010 as 11.73 %, for “dry” year 2011 as 0.01 % and for period 1989–2009 as 0.28 %.