Abstract
The Atlantic maritime winds and waves, as natural forces, shaped the physiography of Sines, a peculiar rocky cliff cape at the western Portuguese coast, as well as cultural processes have shaped its spatial arrangement since ancient times. Despite its small size, Sines port has always been an important maritime trade corner. In the 1970s, winds and waves of modernity reached the Sines coast with an imposing industrial-port complex. We present the history of Sines cape focusing on its landscape dynamics. The patch-corridor-matrix model allowed us to describe the mosaic transformation of such a unique landscape. Spatial information was gathered mostly from historical maps processed with digital tools. A time series of thematic maps (landscape mosaic pattern) was obtained, covering more than 120 years. Current results emphasize that this landscape underwent relevant transformations related to human activities since former times, although disturbance and fragmentation of the landscape were strongly intensified after the arrival of the post-modern wave of the industrial culture. The present study provides a contribution to the history of the Portuguese and Mediterranean coastal landscapes; and results could be used to support decision making in sustainable management of this territory.
Highlights
Landscapes are dynamic entities resulting from complex interactions between human and non-human forces
We present the history of Sines cape focusing on its landscape dynamics
The patch-corridor-matrix model allowed us to describe the mosaic transformation of such a unique landscape
Summary
Landscapes are dynamic entities resulting from complex interactions between human and non-human forces. Because landscapes changed very fast over the last century, land management and landscape planning have become of growing importance and are major issues nowadays (Stäuble et al 2008). Space is continuously shaped by natural and anthropogenic processes and the analysis of temporal changes in a landscape structure is crucial to understand its history and function (Forman 1995a). Such an understanding of the landscape dynamics requires insights into the general pattern of landscape changes and its related driving forces (Bürgi et al 2010)
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