GIS-based Prognosis of Potential Forest Regeneration Affecting Tourism Locations and Cultural Landscapes in South Norway

Abstract

The Norwegian landscape is changing as a result of forest regeneration within the cultural landscape, and forest expansion has impacts on accessibility, visibility, and landscape aesthetics, thereby affecting the country's tourism industry. This study aimed at identifying the potential areas of forest regeneration and anticipated subsequent landscape effects on different categories of tourist locations in southern Norway. Deforested areas with a potential for forest regeneration were identified from several map sources by GISanalyses, and 180 tourist locations were randomly selected from the Norwegian national tourism database (Reiselivsbasen), and then buffered by 2 km radius for land cover classes. The findings revealed that approximately 15% of southern Norway has the climatic potential for future forest regeneration, in addition to 5% of cultivated land. Future forest regeneration will affect the landscapes surrounding the tourist locations of rural south Norway, and while the potential is nationwide, it is not uniformly distributed. Two important tourist landscape regions seem especially exposed to forest regeneration: the coastal heath region and the mountain landscapes. Large parts of these areas do not have sufficient numbers of domestic grazing animals necessary to maintain the present character of the landscape.

A high-resolution GIS null model of potential forest expansion following land use changes in Norway

“…According to national statistics, the forested area of Norway increased from 69.113 km 2 in 1907 to 123.800 km 2 in 2007 (Det Statistiske Centralbyraa, 1911;NMA, 2007). Although the statistic from 1907 is uncertain the forests have expanded considerably and the potential for further expansion is still great (Bryn & Debella-Gilo, 2011;Øyen & Eriksen, 2008).…”

Klimaendringer og kulturarv i Norden

“…Etter dette har man imidlertid reetablert relativt store skogarealer. Selv i det relativt skogrike Sør-Norge er fortsatt omkring 20 % av landet avskoget (Bryn and Debella-Gilo, 2010), i tillegg til…”

Perceptions of stewardship in Norwegian agricultural landscapes

“…The abandonment of agricultural land and subsequent reforestation is a process that has received attention across Europe as well as in Norway (see for instance Bryn and Debella-Gilo, 2011). Parallel with farm abandonment, there is also a continuing decrease in the level of detail management; a drop often associated with non-residential farmers and changes in traditional agricultural management systems such as grazing and mowing (Dramstad and Sang, 2010).…”

“…The presence of the farmer, often viewed as a custodian of the landscape's qualities, is an important asset (Daugstad, 2008). With the on-going process of regeneration of forest within the cultural landscape due to abandonment there is also the additional loss of accessibility and visibility of the landscape that is likely to affect key areas for rural tourism in Norway (see for instance Bryn and Debella-Gilo, 2011). The experience of landscape is an important element for the tourism sector, but is also equally important for the quality of life of the people living there.…”