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Research
Unit for Landscape Analysis
Who
we are?
| A small cluster of researchers
engaged in the development of methods and applications of landscape
analysis and land use planning in outdoor environments. This group
has its origin in a spin-off during the years ’80 from a soil
science origin and from an earlier ecudation segment “spatial
planning”: new extensions such as landscape design, rural
planning and landscape ecology had to be defined and developed at
this faculty. The current research touches on themes such as spatial
planning, environmental sciences, ecology, earth observation, GIS,
rural development and sustainable agriculture. There are many links
to societal issues, such as the search for applicable landscape
indicators, global change, and new concepts regarding land use
Secretariat:
Geo-instituut
Celestijnenlaan 200E
3001 Leuven
Tel. +32-16-32 97 21
Fax +32-16-32 97 60
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Our
main objectives
The objectives of the cluster “landscape
and land use” are to establish methodological bridges between
complex themes, through the “medium” of landscape structures
and land use lay-out patterns. Examples can be situated in the transition
between urban and rural areas and between agriculture and environmental
care. Modern media such as earth observation and GIS are highly
valuable in this research, especially for the study of complex phenomena
such as fragmentation research or the research of behavioural phenonema
in the landscape. Important is the linkage to practical land planning
and management and the translation of knowledge to the skills of
the “land engineer” |
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What
we do
| Analysis of landscape
patterns and their evolution
The landscape is at the same time system, indicator, life environment
and driving force. The quick changes that can be measured in the
landscape have far reaching consequences. The research to changes
in landscape fragmentation is complemented by te search of connectivity
models. Applications are recent-historical landscape research, visual
impact studies and a number of other environmental investigations.
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| Visitor behaviour in nature
areas
The interaction between a person and his landscape is a challenge
to terrein managers: how can the impact of recreation in an area
be minimized and how can the behaviour pattern of visitors in a
landscape be influenced by an adapted lay-out and management interventions?
This research included the impact of structures, seasons, visitor’s
perception and dispersion models.
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| Landscape indicators for sustainable
agriculture
The structure of a landscape not only influences environmental
and ecological processes, but also the visual quality of a landscape,
that is related with the perception people have about the quality
of the environment. In this sense we are looking for landscape indicators
at different scale levels: variables that indicate the impacts of
policies on wider landscape units (European scale) or that explain
the variation in appreciation given by visitors, particularly in
traditional and modern agricultural landscapes.
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Contribution to land use policies
Knowledge of landscapes and of land use is increasingly important
for policy challenges pertaining to sustainable agriculture, spatial
planning, rural development and landscape conservation. This contribution
is through participation in different organisations dealing with
land use policy. |
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| Sustainability analysis in semi-urbanised
areas
Complex peri urban areas ask for innovating approaches to sustainability.
This research field has only recently been set-up and endeavours
the definition of sustainability indicators that match the problems
of surface sealing, fragmentation, the presence of green elements
and various qualities of the built-up components.
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Our
partners
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