Capturing spatial patterns of rural landscapes with point cloud

Abstract

Key insightsThe strengths of point cloud technologies can meet the requirements of rural landscape heritage documentation from a cultural landscape perspective. This approach could greatly improve the efficiency and precision of traditional rural landscape documentation, which has the potential to change the methodology of rural landscape research and management.[Correction added on 5th February 2020, after first online publication: The key insight section was included] AbstractOver the past few decades, rural landscapes have been the subject of increasing international cultural heritage research, and one of the most important issues under investigation at both theoretical and pragmatic levels concerns how to identify the spatial character of rural landscapes for conservation purposes. This article establishes an innovative approach adopting a cultural landscape perspective with the support of point cloud technologies to capture spatial patterns of rural landscapes. This approach was explored by reference to Tunpu villages in Guizhou, Chinathese being a specific kind of military fortress settlement. Cultural landscape values and landscape characters of Tunpu villages were identified using historical research and document analysis. Aerial and terrestrial photogrammetry and laser scanning systems were combined to collect and process spatial information at environmental, village, and architectural scales. Point cloud models can quantitatively represent villages' spatial patterns and inform the interpretation of their heritage significance. We conclude that the strengths of point cloud technologies could meet the requirements of rural landscape heritage documentation from a cultural landscape perspective. This mixed-technology approach could also greatly improve the efficiency and precision of traditional rural landscape documentation, which has the potential to change methodologies applied to rural landscape research and management.

Quantitative Analysis Method of the Organizational Characteristics and Typical Types of Landscape Spatial Sequences Applied with a 3D Point Cloud Model

“…At present, the application of point cloud models in the landscape field has focused mainly on the visualization and presentation of 3D space and recording and identifying morphological characteristics [27][28][29][30] that correspond to the site survey and information acquisition stage in the early stages of design. Several researchers have also relied on 3D point cloud models to carry out spatial quantitative analysis, such as 3D green quantity analysis [31,32], visibility analysis [33,34], and climate simulation analysis [35][36][37][38].…”