The aim of the article is to present different relief visualization techniques created using only free and open source GIS tools, such as QGIS and RVT. The criteria for selection of these techniques are that they should be, on the one hand, simple and fast for implementation and on the other suitable for multiple visualization purposes. Here we present several techniques which combine hillshade with other relief data layers derived from DEM and an assessment of advantages and disadvantages of their visualization.

The establishment of International Association for Landscape Ecology (IALE), European Association for Landscape Ecology (IALE-Europe and European Landscape Convention (2000) contribute and support the exchange of different concepts and methods in the field of landscape science, and also scientific cooperation between European countries. However, the specifics of landscape science in Bulgaria are little known outside the country. This article deals with the development and status of landscape science in Bulgaria. It describes its main stages in the historical development, its main characteristics and makes some general conclusions and critical notes about the future development of landscape science in Bulgaria.

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This article presents a study of the historical dynamics of human impact on the landscapes of Vitosha Mountain, Bulgaria. Information about the main historical and present-day anthropogenic impacts on landscapes was obtained from a various data sources and field research. These impacts include hunting, agriculture, grazing, logging, charcoal production, iron production, gold mining, stone quarry, reforestation, recreation. Five historical phases of anthropogenic impact on landscapes are recognized in our analysis: the Prehistoric phase, the Antiquity phase, the Mediaeval phase, the Ottoman phase and the Modern phase. The greatest anthropogenic impact was during the Ottoman phase, when the intensive agricultural and mining (iron and gold) activities contributed to a great landscape transformation and degradation. The functional purposes on the territory of Vitosha have undergone a radical change since 1934. The human impact on landscapes has gradually decreased and economic use gave way to conservation and recreation.