Abstract
ContextCultural landscapes evolve over time. However, the rate and direction of change might not be in line with societal needs and more information on the forces driving these changes are therefore needed.ObjectivesFilling the gap between single case studies and meta-analyses, we present a comparative study of landscape changes and their driving forces based in six regions across Europe conducted using a consistent method.MethodsA LULC analysis based on historical and contemporary maps from the nineteenth and twentieth century was combined with oral history interviews to learn more about perceived landscape changes, and remembered driving forces. Land cover and landscape changes were analysed regarding change, conversions and processes. For all case study areas, narratives on mapped land cover change, perceived landscape changes and driving forces were compiled.ResultsDespite a very high diversity in extent, direction and rates of change, a few dominant processes and widespread factors driving the changes could be identified in the six case study areas, i.e. access and infrastructure, political shifts, labor market, technological innovations, and for the more recent period climate change.ConclusionsGrasping peoples’ perception supplements the analyses of mapped land use and land cover changes and allows to address perceived landscape changes. The list of driving forces determined to be most relevant shows clear limits in predictability: Whereas changes triggered by infrastructural developments might be comparatively easy to model, political developments cannot be foreseen but might, nevertheless, leave major marks in the landscape.
Highlights
In many parts of the world, landscapes are being transformed at an unprecedented rate, often with negative outcomes for biodiversity and human wellbeing (Antrop 2000; Steiner 2016)
We present results from a comparative study of six case study municipalities (SMs) across Europe, looking at how the European cultural landscape has changed in the course of the last 100 to 150 years
By designing the study for comparison from the beginning, we wanted to fill the gap between the single case studies and the meta-analyses, and address some of the challenges of syntheses in land change science, as described by Magliocca et al (2015)
Summary
In many parts of the world, landscapes are being transformed at an unprecedented rate, often with negative outcomes for biodiversity and human wellbeing (Antrop 2000; Steiner 2016). In some of these regions, there is a societal demand to limit the rate of landscape change and to direct it in more desirable pathways. Land change science has reacted to this demand by shifting from documenting land cover and landscape change to trying to understand the forces behind the detected changes, i.e. from a descriptive to an analytical approach. More than 25 years ago, Kates et al (1990) concluded as the key lesson drawn from the papers collected in the volume The earth as transformed by human action (Turner et al 1990) that
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