Investigating the Diversity and Variability of Eastern Mediterranean Landscapes

Abstract

Abstract:The aim of the paper is to examine the variability of eastern Mediterranean landscapes using a common mapping framework relying on Landscape Character Mapping (LCM). LCM was adapted to the region's specificities placing emphasis on the area's coastal nature, landform variation, land use, in particular pastoral tradition, and settlement patterns, an important output of this study. We selected six study areas, in four countries namely Cyprus, Greece, Jordan and Lebanon, based on their rich cultural and natural heritage, covering a NW to SE gradient of both environmental and cultural settings. We used commonly employed landscape metrics to quantify landscape diversity in the study areas. Similarity in landscape types among study area was measured using Sørensen similarity index. The Kruskall-Walis test was used to test the variability among countries in terms of landscape character variation due to physical and cultural factors. Linear regression was used to assess whether landscape diversity increases with area size. The work has identified and mapped a total of 69 landscape types, of which 18 are rare. Rare landscape types were related to specific geomorphology or intensive anthropogenic activities, which do not occur elsewhere in the East Mediterranean region. The highest similarity was recorded between islands and between mountainous areas. The larger the area the higher is its landscape diversity. This works fills a gap in Mediterranean and sets a benchmark standard for landscape characterization work in the East Mediterranean, so as to enable much greater consistency between countries in future landscape mapping exercises and, ultimately, facilitate trans-boundary cooperation in landscape-scale nature and culture conservation.

Characterizing Islandscapes: Conceptual and Methodological Challenges Exemplified in the Mediterranean

“…In Cyprus, the landscape description units were defined by a series of definitive attributes, including physiography (combined geological structure and landform), ground type (combined geological rock type and soils), land cover, and cultural pattern (settlement), from topographic maps. The typology resulted in the identification and characterization of 32 landscapes types [31]. Similarly, and since landscape assessments place little emphasis on the distinct nature of coastal areas and sea, seascape assessment seeks to describe, classify, and map the seascape character.…”

Transferring Landscape Character Assessment from the UK to the Eastern Mediterranean: Challenges and Perspectives

“…Equally important, Vogiatzakis [18] argues that it is the mapping of the cultural component, particularly in relation to farming systems and associated field patterns, which is missing due to the absence of relevant datasets and a tradition of mapping historical landscapes. More recently, a review of LCA in the Eastern Mediterranean [20] identified and mapped a total of 69 landscape types, of which 18 were classified as rare resulting from specific geomorphology or intensive anthropogenic activities. The significance of this work is that it is the first step towards a standard typology applicable across a large part of the Mediterranean providing consistency between, and within, countries and, potentially, facilitating trans-boundary cooperation for the long-term protection and enhancement of important cultural landscapes and areas of high nature conservation importance.…”

“…However, before spatial plans could be populated with landscape character/quality objectives, and before the planning system could refer to effective landscape policies, a crucial step had to be taken towards the place-based assessment of landscape character and diversity throughout the island. The output of this exercise within the context of the EU-funded MedScapes project [21] was to produce a provisional map of landscape character types (LCTs) for Cyprus at a broad (Level 1) and, later, at the more detailed Level 2 scale. The Level 2 map was subsequently updated with additional information on the cultural components of the landscape from map sources and fieldwork, as part of validation and evaluation.…”

“…This continues to exert a profound impact on Cypriot landscapes visually, ecologically, and culturally. Whilst the MedScapes project [21] was a first attempt to comply with the European Landscape Convention [10], with a remit focused strictly on mapping, it was clear at the time of the project that the obvious next step would be to apply the framework for evaluation of the sensitivity and capacity of different landscape types.…”

A Stakeholders’ Analysis of Eastern Mediterranean Landscapes: Contextualities, Commonalities and Concerns

“…In Cyprus, the authority responsible for the implementation of the ELC is the Department of Town Planning and Housing of the Ministry of the Interior, whose main scope of operation concerns urban and spatial planning. Recent attempts from Town Planning have resulted in the first landscape typology produced for the whole of the island, with a view to using it as a tool for Territorial Planning; the second part of the project on landscape typology was carried out during the MEDSCAPES project, while-despite a genuine interest from the competent authority-progress is slow in integrating landscape assessment in planning policy and legislation [31,34]. A further obstacle, in the case of Cyprus, is that landscape continues to mean different things to different disciplines or stakeholder groups, as demonstrated by Vogiatzakis et al [31], or to be narrowly defined mostly in terms of its physical attributes but also highly tinged with identity issues and memories of the island's occupation and displacement.…”