Exploring the Visual Landscape: Advances in Physiognomic Landscape Research in the Netherlands

Exploring the Visual Landscape is about the combination of landscape research and planning, visual perception and Geographic Information Science. It showcases possible ways of getting a grip on themes like: landscape openness, cluttering of the rural landscape, high-rise buildings in relation to cityscape, historic landscapes and motorway panoramas. It offers clues for visual landscape assessment of spaces in cities, parks and rural areas. In that respect, it extends the long tradition in the Netherlands on physiognomic landscape research and shows the state of the art at this moment. Exploring the Visual Landscape offers important clues for theory, methodology and application in research and development of landscapes all over the world, from a specifically Dutch academic context. It provides a wide range of insights into the psychological background of landscape perception, the technical considerations of geomatics and methodology in landscape architecture, urban planning and design. Furthermore, there are some experiences worthwhile considering, which demonstrate how this research can be applied in the practice of landscape policy making

Plantations, Planning & Patterns: An Analysis of Landscapes of Surveillance on Rice Plantations in the Ace Basin, SC, 1800-1867

This thesis explores patterns of the rice plantation landscape of the ACE River Basin in South Carolina during the period of 1800-1860 to assess how planters surveilled enslaved workers. The research consisted of a cartographic study of historic plats of nineteen rice plantations, a sample of the ninety-one plantations that covered the region during the height of rice production in South Carolina. For each of the plantations, the next level of analysis was viewshed and line of sight studies after 3D Sketch-Up models were created from each the plat. These studies yielded maps that support analysis of how planters arranged plantations to optimize surveillance, as planters imposed spatial configuration based on proximity and communication. In a system controlled by the few, the plantation owners, who wielded complete power over many, the enslaved, there was a sharp inequity in the number of enslaved Africans to the number of overseers on every rice plantation. How did this system remain viable from the standpoint of power and control? How did constant surveillance, or its threat, from the overseers over the enslaved workers manifest itself in configurations of the physical environment into a control mechanism? What are common patterns to layouts and configurations (of plantations) that are derived to allow white overseers to surveil enslaved workers in order to maintain control as a minority party on a rice plantation? Reconstructed viewsheds indicate that plantation layout had distinct layout patterns in terms of settlement proximity to plantation house, orientation of structures in the settlement and presence of clear lines of sight from the plantation house to the settlement. However, overall visibility potential by the planter was significantly lower than predicted. On average, rice planters could only see between 35% and 65% of the structures on their plantation from their houses

LiDAR reveals a preference for intermediate visibility by a forest-dwelling ungulate species

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2022 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological SocietyAbstract 1. Visibility (viewshed) plays a significant and diverse role in animals' behaviour and fitness. Understanding how visibility influences animal behaviour requires the measurement of habitat visibility at spatial scales commensurate to individual animal choices. However, measuring habitat visibility at a fine spatial scale over a landscape is a challenge, particularly in highly heterogeneous landscapes (e.g. forests). As a result, our ability to model the influence of fine-scale visibility on animal behaviour has been impeded or limited. 2. In this study, we demonstrate the application of the concept of three-dimensional (3D) cumulative viewshed in the study of animal spatial behaviour at a landscape level. Specifically, we employed a newly described approach that combines ter-restrial and airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) to measure fine-scale habitat visibility (3D cumulative viewshed) on a continuous scale in forested landscapes. We applied the LiDAR-derived visibility to investigate how visibility in forests affects the summer habitat selection and the movement of 20 GPS- collared female red deer Cervus elaphus in a temperate forest in Germany. We used integrated step selection analysis to determine whether red deer show any preference for fine-scale habitat visibility and whether visibility is related to the rate of movement of red deer. 3. We found that red deer selected intermediate habitat visibility. Their preferred level of visibility during the day was substantially lower than that of night and twilight, whereas the preference was not significantly different between night and twilight. In addition, red deer moved faster in high-visibility areas, possibly mainly to avoid predation and anthropogenic risk. Furthermore, red deer moved most rapidly between locations in the twilight. 4. For the first time, the preference for intermediate habitat visibility and the adap-tion of movement rate to fine-scale visibility by a forest-dwelling ungulate spe-cies at a landscape scale was revealed. The LiDAR technique used in this study offers fine-scale habitat visibility at the landscape level in forest ecosystems, which would be of broader interest in the fields of animal ecology and behaviour.publishedVersio

r.survey: a tool for calculating visibility of variable- size objects based on orientation

Identification of terrain surface features can be done using approaches such as visual observation or remote sensing image processing. Accurate detection of survey targets at the ground level primarily depends on human visual acuity or sensor resolution, and then on acquisition geometry (i.e. the relative position and orientation between the surveyor and the terrain). Further, the delimitation of the observer's viewshed boundary or of the sensor's ground footprint is sometimes insufficient to ensure that all enclosed targets can be correctly detected. Size and orientation can hamper ground target visibility. In this paper we describe a new release of r.survey, an open-source spatial analysis tool for terrain survey assessment. This tool offers the necessary information to assess how terrain morphology is perceived by observers and/or sensors by means of three basic visibility metrics: 3D distance, view angle, and solid angle. It is also fully customizable, allowing single or multiple observation points, ground or aerial point of view, and size setting of the observed target, making it useful for many different purposes.This work was supported by the postdoctoral fellowship program of the Basque Government obtained by one of the authors [grant numbers POS_2019_1_0020] in collaboration with the Geological Survey of Canada; the research group IT1029-16 of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU); and the geomorphology group of CNR IRPI

r.survey: a tool for calculating visibility of variable-size objects based on orientation

Identification of terrain surface features can be done using approaches such as visual observation or remote sensing image processing. Accurate detection of survey targets at the ground level primarily depends on human visual acuity or sensor resolution, and then on acquisition geometry (i.e. the relative position and orientation between the surveyor and the terrain). Further, the delimitation of the observer's viewshed boundary or of the sensor's ground footprint is sometimes insufficient to ensure that all enclosed targets can be correctly detected. Size and orientation can hamper ground target visibility. In this paper we describe a new release of r.survey, an open-source spatial analysis tool for terrain survey assessment. This tool offers the necessary information to assess how terrain morphology is perceived by observers and/or sensors by means of three basic visibility metrics: 3D distance, view angle, and solid angle. It is also fully customizable, allowing single or multiple observation points, ground or aerial point of view, and size setting of the observed target, making it useful for many different purposes. This work was supported by the postdoctoral fellowship program of the Basque Government obtained by one of the authors [grant numbers POS_2019_1_0020] in collaboration with the Geological Survey of Canada; the research group IT1029-16 of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU); and the geomorphology group of CNR IRPI

LiDAR reveals a preference for intermediate visibility by a forest-dwelling ungulate species

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2022 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological SocietyAbstract 1. Visibility (viewshed) plays a significant and diverse role in animals' behaviour and fitness. Understanding how visibility influences animal behaviour requires the measurement of habitat visibility at spatial scales commensurate to individual animal choices. However, measuring habitat visibility at a fine spatial scale over a landscape is a challenge, particularly in highly heterogeneous landscapes (e.g. forests). As a result, our ability to model the influence of fine-scale visibility on animal behaviour has been impeded or limited. 2. In this study, we demonstrate the application of the concept of three-dimensional (3D) cumulative viewshed in the study of animal spatial behaviour at a landscape level. Specifically, we employed a newly described approach that combines ter-restrial and airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) to measure fine-scale habitat visibility (3D cumulative viewshed) on a continuous scale in forested landscapes. We applied the LiDAR-derived visibility to investigate how visibility in forests affects the summer habitat selection and the movement of 20 GPS- collared female red deer Cervus elaphus in a temperate forest in Germany. We used integrated step selection analysis to determine whether red deer show any preference for fine-scale habitat visibility and whether visibility is related to the rate of movement of red deer. 3. We found that red deer selected intermediate habitat visibility. Their preferred level of visibility during the day was substantially lower than that of night and twilight, whereas the preference was not significantly different between night and twilight. In addition, red deer moved faster in high-visibility areas, possibly mainly to avoid predation and anthropogenic risk. Furthermore, red deer moved most rapidly between locations in the twilight. 4. For the first time, the preference for intermediate habitat visibility and the adap-tion of movement rate to fine-scale visibility by a forest-dwelling ungulate spe-cies at a landscape scale was revealed. The LiDAR technique used in this study offers fine-scale habitat visibility at the landscape level in forest ecosystems, which would be of broader interest in the fields of animal ecology and behaviour.publishedVersio

Mapping landscape openness with isovists

People identify with landscapes and landscapes contribute to a sense of place and wellbeing.  The landscape is therefore an important contributor to quality of life. New developments, such as urban and infrastructure projects and the expansion of large-scale agriculture, introduce many new elements into traditional landscapes, altering their visual appearance and perceived quality. These changes may have significant influences on people’s quality of life. In order to protect or enhance the visual landscape, changes in the visual landscape should be given explicit attention in landscape planning and policy making. Current improvements of measurement techniques enabled by GIS, and of highly detailed topographic data covering large areas make it feasible to describe the visual landscape with a high degree of realism without making many concessions to generality and objectivity. The article proposes a  procedure that describes the visual landscape, which takes advantage of improvements in measurement techniques, developments in GIS and availability of high-resolution topographic data. The procedure is developed for policy making and spatial planning purposes, and provides information about one specific aspect of the visual landscape, landscape openness. In the remainder of the article, first the concept of landscape openness is explained, then a method to model landscape openness is proposed. Subsequently, a procedure to use this model for policy making purposes is demonstrated. Finally the results of an evaluation of the procedure with policy makers are discussed

The visual preferences for forest regeneration and field afforestation : four case studies in Finland

The overall aim of this dissertation was to study the public's preferences for forest regeneration fellings and field afforestations, as well as to find out the relations of these preferences to landscape management instructions, to ecological healthiness, and to the contemporary theories for predicting landscape preferences. This dissertation includes four case studies in Finland, each based on the visualization of management options and surveys. Guidelines for improving the visual quality of forest regeneration and field afforestation are given based on the case studies. The results show that forest regeneration can be connected to positive images and memories when the regeneration area is small and some time has passed since the felling. Preferences may not depend only on the management alternative itself but also on the viewing distance, viewing point, and the scene in which the management options are implemented. The current Finnish forest landscape management guidelines as well as the ecological healthiness of the studied options are to a large extent compatible with the public's preferences. However, there are some discrepancies. For example, the landscape management instructions as well as ecological hypotheses suggest that the retention trees need to be left in groups, whereas people usually prefer individually located retention trees to those trees in groups. Information and psycho-evolutionary theories provide some possible explanations for people's preferences for forest regeneration and field afforestation, but the results cannot be consistently explained by these theories. The preferences of the different stakeholder groups were very similar. However, the preference ratings of the groups that make their living from forest - forest owners and forest professionals - slightly differed from those of the others. These results provide support for the assumptions that preferences are largely consistent at least within one nation, but that knowledge and a reference group may also influence preferences.Väitöskirjassa tutkittiin ihmisten maisemapreferenssejä (maisemallisia arvostuksia) metsänuudistamishakkuiden ja pellonmetsitysten suhteen sekä analysoitiin näiden preferenssien yhteyksiä maisemanhoito-ohjeisiin, vaihtoehtojen ekologiseen terveyteen ja preferenssejä ennustaviin teorioihin. Väitöskirja sisältää neljä tapaustutkimusta, jotka perustuvat hoitovaihtoehtojen visualisointiin ja kyselytutkimuksiin. Tapaustutkimusten pohjalta annetaan ohjeita siitä, kuinka uudistushakkuiden ja pellonmetsitysten visuaalista laatua voidaan parantaa. Väitöskirjan tulokset osoittavat, että uudistamishakkuut voivat herättää myös myönteisiä mielikuvia ja muistoja, jos uudistusala on pieni ja hakkuun välittömät jäljet ovat jo peittyneet. Preferensseihin vaikuttaa hoitovaihtoehdon lisäksi mm. katseluetäisyys, katselupiste ja ympäristö, jossa vaihtoehto on toteutettu. Eri viiteryhmien (metsäammattilaiset, pääkaupunkiseudun asukkaat, ympäristönsuojelijat, tutkimusalueiden matkailijat, paikalliset asukkaat sekä metsänomistajat) maisemapreferenssit olivat hyvin samankaltaisia. Kuitenkin ne ryhmät, jotka saavat ainakin osan elannostaan metsästä - metsänomistajat ja metsäammattilaiset - pitivät metsänhakkuita esittävistä kuvista hieman enemmän kuin muut ryhmät. Nämä tulokset tukevat oletusta, että maisemapreferenssit ovat laajalti yhteneväisiä ainakin yhden kansan tai kulttuurin keskuudessa, vaikka myös viiteryhmä saattaa vaikuttaa preferensseihin jonkin verran. Nykyiset metsämaisemanhoito-ohjeet ovat pitkälti samankaltaisia tässä väitöskirjassa havaittujen maisemapreferenssien kanssa. Myöskään tutkittujen vaihtoehtoisten hoitotapojen ekologisen paremmuuden ja niihin kohdistuvien maisemallisten arvostusten välillä ei ollut suurta ristiriitaa. Kuitenkin joitakin eroavaisuuksia oli; esimerkiksi sekä maisemanhoito-ohjeiden että ekologisten hypoteesien mukaan säästöpuut tulisi jättää ryhmiin, kun taas ihmiset pitivät eniten yksittäin jätetyistä puista. Informaatiomalli ja psyko-evolutionaarinen teoria tarjoavat mahdollisia selityksiä uudistushakkuisiin ja pellonmetsitykseen kohdistuville preferensseille, vaikkakaan tutkimuksen tuloksia ei voida täysin selittää näillä teorioilla

Estimating the Available Sight Distance in the Urban Environment by GIS and Numerical Computing Codes

The available sight distance (ASD) is that part of the roadway ahead which is visible to the driver, and should be of sufficient length to allow a vehicle traveling at the designated speed to stop before reaching a stationary object in its path. It is fundamental in assessing road safety of a project or on an existing road section. Unfortunately, an accurate estimation of the available sight distance is still an issue on existing roads, above all due to the lack of information regarding the as-built condition of the infrastructure. Today, the geomatics field already offers different solutions for collecting 3D information about environments at different scales, integrating multiple sensors, but the main issue regarding existing mobile mapping systems (MMSs) is their high cost. The first part of this research focused on the use of a low-cost MMS as an alternative for obtaining 3D information about infrastructure. The obtained model can be exploited as input data of specific algorithms, both on a GIS platform and in a numerical computing environment to estimate ASD on a typical urban road. The aim of the investigation was to compare the performances of the two approaches used to evaluate the ASD, capturing the complex morphology of the urban environment