Cultural landscapes in Latin America and the Caribbean

Silva, César Augusto Velandia; Arriola, Luis Ignacio Gómez; Savio, Isabel Rigol; Monsalve, Diana Marcela Cifuentes; Laboranti, Virginia Lucrecia

doi:10.4324/9781315203119-19

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…If more intensely-modified landscapes regarding both monocultures and building sprawl are allowed to spread unchecked, we should expect widespread degradation that will affect both biodiversity and local society. Landscape degradation trends such as these are common in the Latin American tropics (e.g., [9,38]).…”

Section: Interpreting Anthropogenic Pressures On Landscapesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the Global South, research and educational applications focusing on landscape qualities are scant [7]. Even in the neotropics, where landscape ecology has been an important biodiversity conservation topic, and despite increased academic attention, holistic investigations of landscape quality are scarce [8][9][10][11]. Until recent years, the inherent benefits provided by landscapes, such as scenic, aesthetic and other cultural services, were rarely discussed in Latin America, and few methodological tools for their onsite assessment have been introduced [12,13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Landscape Conservation Assessment in the Latin American Tropics: Application and Insights from Costa Rica

Vlami

Beita

Zogaris

2022

Land

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Landscape quality is an important aspect of conservation and sustainable development, yet holistic assessments of landscapes in the Latin American tropics are scarce. Here we employ an onsite survey across Costa Rica using the Landscape Assessment Protocol (LAP), a rapid assessment method, to assess the conservation condition of landscape views. In a survey of 50 landscape view sites in different parts of the country, LAP’s 15 metrics (evaluation criteria) were effective in providing an index for landscape quality showing a gradient of degradation in response to various modern anthropogenic pressures. The response of the index over a variety of landscape types correlates well with the Human Footprint anthropogenic pressure assessment, an independent land degradation index. Urban and peri-urban landscape types showed the most degraded conditions relative to flatland, coastal, and upland types on all metrics. Despite certain subjective attributes, the assessment method seems effective in providing a quality condition index that may assist in quality characterization and in promoting participation in landscape interpretation, landscape literacy, and landscape-scale conservation initiatives, especially in a region where landscape views (scenic resources) are threatened by widespread land-use changes. Finally, recommendations are made for the further application and testing of LAP, specifically for use in the neotropics.

show abstract

Section: Interpreting Anthropogenic Pressures On Landscapesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape Conservation Assessment in the Latin American Tropics: Application and Insights from Costa Rica

Vlami

Beita

Zogaris

2022

Land

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Modelling pre-Hispanic settlement patterns in Alto de Toche, Colombia

Velandia,

Ramírez,

Carvajal

et al. 2024

Virtual Archaeol. Rev.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Highlights: The research contributes to a better understanding of the forms of settlement in the ancient landscape of Alto de Toche, influenced by Cerro Machin Volcano disaster risk. A terrain modelling reconstructed a geoarchaeological mountain landscape, composed of massive systems of terraces at Alto de Toche Wax Palm cloud forest. From digital photogrammetry in fieldwork, three sites were detailed. A DEM of the settlement pattern projected 37 possible new terraces. The resulting map is accessible in an ArcGIS-online web application. Abstract: The enhancement of the archaeological terraces on the Alto de Toche and the Wax Palm forest is unprecedented. The Toche region in Colombia contains an outstanding anthropised ecosystems presence (8000 BP), characterised by complex inherited cultural patterns, according to the evidences on the eastern margin of the Andes Central Cordillera. The research focused on i) the cultural landscape of the Premontane and Montane Cloud Forests of the Alto de Toche, built by the Toches; ii) its high-altitude settlements, interpreted as a strategy of ecological knowledge, deeply linked to their symbolic understanding of the landscape. Fieldwork in three sets of tambos (terraces for habitational settlements) in La Carbonera, Gallego, and Las Cruces sites was analysed using remote sensing, drone digital photogrammetry, and on-site data. Their interpretation projected a settlement pattern; a typological-topological tambos classification inferred its possible functions such as sighting, funerary, and dwelling, from 2600 MASL to biggest sites at 3000 MASL, related to the sun-moon proximity presumed for gatherings. The authors conclude that the patterns respond to a territorial understanding of its resources and the vertical exploitation of the agricultural thermal floors and micro-watersheds, associated with the east-west solar illumination over both sides of the Tochecito River basin; linked with the transit between ridges and steep slopes, through the network of pathways that originated the Quindío Trail. Data were projected crossing field-data photogrammetry with GIS spatial analysis; this resulted in a terrain model that reconstructs a geoarchaeological landscape composed of massive systems of tambos. Thirty-seven new sites were classified, twenty of them above 2800 MASL. The resulting terrain model facilitates a non-invasive previous prospection for fieldwork planning and a more feasible knowledge of accessibility, due to on-site transit difficulties (steep slopes and very unstable soil due to cattle ranching). Finally, the terrain model was uploaded in an easy-to-access ArcGIS-online web application for sharing with community stakeholders and visiting scientists.

show abstract

Cultural landscapes in Latin America and the Caribbean

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

Landscape Conservation Assessment in the Latin American Tropics: Application and Insights from Costa Rica

Landscape Conservation Assessment in the Latin American Tropics: Application and Insights from Costa Rica

Modelling pre-Hispanic settlement patterns in Alto de Toche, Colombia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About