Silva, I.M. da, 2005, The evolution of interior Alentejo rural landscape: identification of historic anthropogenic factors of change, in: ECLAS (D. Oguz), ‘Landscape change’, Department of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Agriculture Ankara University, Ankara
- Author : Silva, I.M. da
- Year : 2005
- Published in Book : Landscape change
- Pages : 279-287
- Abstract in English : Rural landscapes of Interior Alentejo, a region in southern Portugal, have been through major transformations since the 19th century. More recent landscape changes have been resulting in a simplification of the region’s landscape, either by intensification and industrialization of the agricultural practices or by abandonment. One of the main problems concerning the preservation of Interior Alentejo rural landscapes is that they were shaped by some anthropogenic factors no longer present. In such cases, evolution to a different stage is inevitable. To avoid undesirable landscape evolutions one should control the process of change. But control of landscape change requires knowledge about the process of landscape change in space and time. The goal of this paper is to bring some knowledge about the evolution of Interior Alentejo rural landscapes, namely by identifying and describing the main anthropogenic factors of change, and their effect on landscape pattern. The anthropogenic factors of landscape change identified for Interior Alentejo are: cultural heritage, political stability, the market, economic policies, social structure, population density, and technology. An important conclusion resulted from this study: Interior Alentejo landscapes can return to former extensive stages without necessarily incurring on irreversible degradation and consequent extinction.
- Comments/Notes : KEYWORDS: Alentejo, Portugal, landscape, change, rural. / Eclas 2005