A contribution to the assessment of scenic quality of landscapes based on preferences expressed by the public

Cañas, Ignacio; Ayuga, Esperanza; Ayuga, Francisco

doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2009.02.007

Cited by 103 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 24 publications

(15 reference statements)

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“…Contrary to the hypothesis 3, no significant differences emerged for 71.9% of all ratings in the different groups indicating that the landscape variations were much greater than the variations of observer's judgments as also confirmed by other studies [29,[36][37][38]. Although 28.1% of all ratings were significantly different, the median values are in most cases the same.…”

Section: Influence Of Group Differencessupporting

confidence: 55%

“…Beza [11] explained the different perceptions of a mountain landscape between tourists and the local population by specific cultural ideas. In contrast, many studies found substantial agreement across different groups [29,[36][37] indicating that the variations between observer's judgments are less than the variations between landscapes [38]. These studies, however, did not focus on differences between tourists and local residents.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Can We Model the Scenic Beauty of an Alpine Landscape?

et al. 2013

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During the last decade, agriculture has lost its importance in many European mountain regions and tourism, which benefits from attractive landscapes, has become a major source of income. Changes in landscape patterns and elements might affect scenic beauty and therefore the socio-economic welfare of a region. Our study aimed at modeling scenic beauty by quantifying the influence of landscape elements and patterns in relationship to distance. Focusing on Alpine landscapes in South and North Tyrol, we used a photographic questionnaire showing different landscape compositions. As mountain landscapes offer long vistas, we related scenic beauty to different distance zones. Our results indicate that the near zone contributes by 64% to the valuation of scenic beauty, the middle zone by 22%, and the far zone by 14%. In contrast to artificial elements, naturalness and diversity increased scenic beauty. Significant differences between different social groups (origin, age, gender, cultural background) occurred only between the local population and tourists regarding great landscape changes. Changes towards more homogenous landscapes were perceived negatively, thus political decision makers should support the conservation of the cultural landscape.

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Section: Influence Of Group Differencessupporting

confidence: 55%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Can We Model the Scenic Beauty of an Alpine Landscape?

et al. 2013

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“…Aesthetic and psychological attributes are difficult to map on the scale of this work, and tend to be assessed by means of photographs at a more detailed working scale (Cañas et al, 2009). Given the broad geographic extension and the cultural and ecological diversity of the territory analysed, it must be understood as a complementary tool which should be completed with other information sources -such as artistic, cultural and historical -before being applied to the assessment or planning processes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Visual landscape assessment involves the evaluation of a number of physical, aesthetic, and psychological attributes (Cañas, Ayuga, & Ayuga, 2009). The landscape has physical reality independent of the observer, and a reality that depends on individual perceptions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping the visual landscape quality in Europe using physical attributes

Ramos

Pastor

2012

Journal of Maps

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The inclusion of environmental care data in the decision-making process should be based on the results obtained after scientifically evaluating different environmental variables. Herein, a European landscape geographic model is presented. This landscape map would allow the environmental care variable 'visual landscape', along with other information related to vegetation, geology, soils, cultural variables, etc., to be integrated into the planning process.The methodology used is not new since it has already been tested in Spain by the authors. Nevertheless, the model was adapted to cope with the much more extensive territory of the European Union. This meant dealing with computational difficulties, and a lack of information.The result of this work is a raster map (100 m cell size) that evaluates landscape quality in Europe by dividing the area into seven visual quality classes. This is a practical tool for territorial development that will facilitate the environmental assessment of plans, such as infrastructure plans, within a strategic pan-European framework.

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“…During Medieval times fewer were built, and many have probably been lost due to their poor quality compared to Roman handiwork. The Moors in Spain were more given to the construction of weirs (Hill, 2013) Questionnaires have shown (Cañas et al, 2009) that the populations of arid countries appreciate the presence of water bodies, and a full reservoir behind a dam is very similar to a lake. But dams have the drawback that when the water recedes there is a lack of perimeter vegetation -they do not look so good when the water level is low.…”

Section: Fig 4 the Dam Of Proserpina (Mérida) (From The Author's Arcmentioning

confidence: 99%

Irrigation engineering in Spain and how it has changed the country’s landscape

García-Asensio¹,

Ayuga

2017

European Countryside

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Abstract:Irrigation is a rural development technique widely extended in, and affecting the landscape of, areas of Mediterranean climate. In Spain, irrigation accounts for ⅔ of all water use. The country has over 3.5 million ha of irrigated land, some 15% of all its agricultural land. Valley bottoms and riversides are the landscapes most commonly associated with irrigation in Spain, followed by peninsular coastal and interior plains, basins, hollows and depressions. This paper describes the engineering infrastructures associated with irrigation, the structures involved in water capture, transport, storage and distribution, and water use and drainage in the irrigated lowlands of Spain. It also examines the environmental impact of such water use. Several descriptors are proposed to describe its association with the landscape.Keywords: Landscape, irrigation, water engineering, rural development, Mediterranean, SpainResumen: El regadío ha sido una técnica de desarrollo rural ampliamente extendida en los climas mediterráneos determinando sus paisajes. Es el principal usuario del agua en España, su consumo supone 2/3 del total. Con más de 3,5 millones de hectáreas representa cerca del 15% de la superficie agrícola útil. La principal asociación de tipos de paisajes bajo riego son vegas y riberas, seguida de llanos litorales peninsulares e interiores, campiñas y cuencas, hoyas y depresiones. Presentamos las principales infraestructuras de ingeniería, con obras de captación, trasporte, almacenamiento, distribución, aplicación a las tierras bajo riego y drenaje. Revisamos su consideración en la evaluación de impacto ambiental. Y proponemos diversos descriptores sobre su consideración en el paisaje.

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A contribution to the assessment of scenic quality of landscapes based on preferences expressed by the public

Cited by 103 publications

References 24 publications

Can We Model the Scenic Beauty of an Alpine Landscape?

Can We Model the Scenic Beauty of an Alpine Landscape?

Mapping the visual landscape quality in Europe using physical attributes

Irrigation engineering in Spain and how it has changed the country’s landscape

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