A Dasymetric Population Density Map of Poland

This paper presents research results on the dasymetric mapping method, the methodology adopted and a Dasymetric Population Density Map of the Northeastern Part of Poland. After studying certain published dasymetric mapping methods, a decision was made to start from the binary dasymetric procedure as described by Langdorf and Unwin (1994) in order to eliminate unpopulated regions. The CORINE Land Cover (CLC) database was utilized as ancillary data because the land cover pattern best reflects population density and provides useful georeferenced information for disaggregating census data. The first issued addressed was “how is population distributed among CLC classes in Poland?” Special attention was made to estimate the coefficients for the population ratio in land cover classes. Several different approaches were tested and eventually modified areal weighting was adopted. The dasymetric mapping method is based on the assumption that the ratio between the population density of two land cover categories is the same for any given commune.