**1. Introduction**

Institutions and citizens have been paying more attention to issues of sustainable development in the last few years [1, 2]. The international agendas have also specified a set of short-term measures and goals for reducing the impact of human activities on natural systems. Public bodies, on the other hand, do not always have the resources to formulate policies and plans capable of reacting to the increasing strains that the territories are subjected to [3].

Sustainable development is defined as "dissemination that meets current demands without jeopardizing future generations' ability to meet their own needs" [4]. This concept reflects the fact that sustainable development refers to a condition in which an input provides the best possible result without depleting natural resources. In accordance with the definition of sustainable development, there is a blueprint known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that directs people toward sustainable development [1].

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of objectives that aim to create a more sustainable future by increasing wealth while also conserving the planet. These objectives place a premium on the long-term Outline Perspective Plan (OPP). The United Nations General Assembly launched the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, and they are now implemented in all nations [1, 4].

As a result, achieving a balance between the economic, social, and environmental components is one of the most pressing concerns of our time. This equilibrium is particularly important in this setting because it directly affects both the acquisition and processing of natural resources. In the 1990s, the concept of sustainable development was first applied to mining planning and management [2, 5]. Over the last two decades, a lot of effort has gone into developing a sustainable approach to mining [2, 5].

Because of its potential to provide data that is accessible to a large audience, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is an attractive tool for social workers. Administrators in the field of social work, for example, could utilize this technology to document the prerequisites for a new agency location. Furthermore, policymakers can offer the findings of a needs assessment or evaluative study, and academics can present the findings of a needs assessment or evaluative study [1, 6–8]. GIS can be traced back to a variety of technologies, processes, and procedures used in science, technology, and business, such as geodesy, mapping, geology, and seafaring; coordinate-time referencing of objects; processing and aggregation of photographic images from space for scientific and military purposes; and processing of geophysics and geodynamics data [1, 7]. GIS is defined by Burrough (1986) [8] as a set of tools for collecting, storing, retrieving, modifying, and displaying spatial data from the real world for a specific purpose.

As a result, rather than just presenting the results in tables, this study article uses maps to geo-visualize the data. GIS is not a new technology in today's world; it has been around for decades. It is also well-known for its capacity to provide a spatialbased solution [1].

GIS analyses based on the Corine Land Cover (CLC) database developed by the Copernicus program of the European Spatial Agency [3, 9] have been developed to determine a cognitive reference framework that shows the spread of land consumption at a national level and allows comparing the spread of this phenomenon among the various European countries.

Information on the Environment Coordination CORINE Land Cover (CLC) is a European effort that supports the collection and interpretation of geospatial data. It was initiated in 1985 in all nations of the European Community (EC). It was created with the following goals in mind: (a) obtain and synchronize interdisciplinary data on the state of the environment; (b) focus on priority areas in each EU country; (c) coordinate and coordinate data organization and management at the local and international levels; and (d) ensure data compatibility [10].

The CLC database is a tool for carrying out complicated geographical analyses based on various land use categories. As a result, the hierarchical structure of CLC

#### *Analyzing the Evolution of Land-Use Changes Related to Vegetation, in the Galicia Region… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106015*

classes has three levels. The first level of land use and land cover (artificial areas, agricultural areas, forest and semi-natural areas, wetlands, and water bodies) encompasses the five primary types of land use and land cover. There are fifteen departments on the second floor. Finally, the third level has 44 components that state that individual-level three classes' methodological scope is strictly defined [10, 11].

In context, the Geographic Information System (GIS) provides access to extensive land data sources and monitors land changes through high-resolution land cover assessments and change evaluations, particularly in urbanization regions [10, 12, 13]. Changes in human activities and urban ecological land cover can also be observed using these systems [13]. Furthermore, Urban Atlas (UA) has a wealth of other information, such as the classification of high-resolution satellite pictures (SPOT 2.5 m, ALOS 2.5 m, RapidEye 5 m), allowing for the separation of significant coverage classes. The lowest mapping unit is 0.25 hectares, which permits the development of land cover maps for only 305 large European cities with populations of more than 100,000 people and an estimated accuracy of 5 meters. Despite this, the UA only has 20 land cover classes, many fewer than the CLC [10].

Nowadays, Land-Use Changes studies are reliable tools to evaluate the human activities and footprint of proposed strategies and policies in a territory. The land is an important natural resource and a spatial carrier of human economic and social activities, and ecology. Land-use change reflects the impact of human activities on the natural environment, causing changes in surface structure (i.e., water bodies, climate, and ecology) and affecting the ecosystem service value [14]. The land is a non-renewable resource and while demand is constantly increasing, it is imperative to maintain a balance between demand and supply, needs and interests, or between contradictory uses, through Land-Use policies that achieve sustainable development and improve the quality of the environment [15, 16]. Very often, a poorly developed urban planning process leads to the changing of more natural land surfaces into artificial ones planned for human activities, therefore increasing social vulnerability. Therefore, the evaluation of the Land-Use Change process is important to the sustainable development of urban areas and to increase the resilience of territories and communities [10, 16]. On the other hand, Land-Use planning may also positively impact the environment by preserving natural resources, enhancing open space opportunities, or providing a significant reduction in traffic pollution [15].

Land-Use depends on numerous factors, including population, economic status, infrastructure, industrial activities, geographic conditions, land development policies, etc. [15, 17] and impacts numerous parameters, including flood risk, landslide probability, biodiversity, urban climate, hydrological processes, and pollution [15, 17–20].

Given the increasing number of disasters over recent years, one of the most efficient and accessible methods for reducing the pressure posed by natural or technological risks is reducing the vulnerability level of communities exposed to a particular hazard [21–24].

At all levels of government, there is a demand for instruments to enhance policymaking aimed at long-term planning. In this context, the Ecosystem Services (ES) approach [25, 26] provides a structured framework for developing more useful instruments for assessing environmental performance.

However, in the spatial planning process, the application of an ecosystem services approach to landscape analysis, sustainable planning, and decision making is largely inadequate [27, 28]. Many spatial landscape frameworks and environmental planning tools that incorporate the concept of ecosystem services have been created over the last decade [26, 29].

As a result, territorial planning and management strategy is a fundamental instrument for attributing wealth preconditions to the inhabitants, thereby fostering prosperity for future generations living on that territory, fostering the reduction of social imbalances and spatial inequalities, and serving as a stimulus for sustainable development [16, 30].

In the context of this study, the CLC data will be used to examine and evaluate the Land-Use Changes connected to vegetation in the Galicia Region between 1990 and 2018.

In this regard, we emphasize that the current study will contribute to science by enabling the collection of big data connected to Land-Use Changes associated to vegetation, as well as an overview of how they have evolved in the Galicia Region over the last three decades.

As a result of this research, we are able to give some principles and recommendations for future regional planning and management strategies and policies to be developed and implemented throughout the Galicia Region.
