Landscape management on post-exploitation land using the example of the Silesian region, Poland

More and more often, post-mining and post-exploitation areas, which have been heavily transformed by man’s economic activities, are no longer a danger to the environment, but they enhance the monotonous urban-industrial landscape of a particular region and are instead its identifying value. Activities regarding the planning of landscape development are very difficult. This paper emphasizes some of the problems that result from legal barriers with regard to the concept of the more diversified management of post-mining areas as substantial forms of the landscape. In the process of the complex shaping of the natural environment in reclamation actions regarding post-mining areas geographers, biologists and architects have a large role to play.. Due to the fact that landscape management falls within the scope of interest and competencies of many stakeholders, such as: government, regional and self-government institutions, nature, monument and state forest protection authorities as well as the scientific community from various disciplines, it is very difficult to reach a consensus in this matter and to develop uniform operating procedures. The landscape management problems on postindustrial areas have been illustrated through the example of the region of Silesia. The cultural landscape of the region has been intensively developed in the last thousand years, but signs of human impact are much older, dating back to the pre-historical and early Medieval periods. The Silesia region is currently undergoing a major spatial reconstruction

Cultural landscape of the 21st century : Geographical consideration between theory and practice

The simplest definition of landscape describes it as the physiognomy of the geographical environment. The notion cultural landscape refers to landscape that has been transformed by Man as the result of civilizational development. Cultural landscapes are extremely dynamic and ephemeral systems. Currently, we are witnessing dramatic transformation of the landscape. The processes of consumption and globalization of the landscape are happening on a mass scale in the 21st century. Many of the factors that cause these rapid changes are within the scope of interest of geography; these include analyses of the impact on the environment of mass tourism, transport, fragmentation of the space resulting from growing areas of settlements and service sites, restructuring of industry, etc. The issues discussed in the paper include: factors of landscape transformation, diversification of European landscapes in selected regions and assessment of their condition, analysis of contemporary threats to the quality of European landscapes and directions of their transformation

Przemiany krajobrazów kulturowych w świetle idei zrównoważonego rozwoju

The article is dedicated to the analysis of evolution of cultural landscapes and their present-day threats. It discusses the factors and stages of transformation of cultural landscapes in relation to natural cycles of changes in the geographical environment in the Holocene. The cultural landscape is dealt with in a comprehensive way as the matrix of human activities and a peculiar palimpsest – the source of meanings and symbols. At the same time, landscape concentrates and reflects human attitudes towards the world. Since the contemporary, aware attitude of the man towards the environment is reflected in environmental ethics, it should also find its expression in sustainable development of landscape. This is why, in the times of ongoing consumption of space, the author points out that the actions related to sustainable development need to be extended onto the physiognomy of the environment or the cultural landscape. These issues concern not only the need for mechanisms and tools for efficient protection, but first of all appropriate designing, management of landscape and, more and more often, social participation. The article also refers to the modern landscape policy, which was included in the European Landscape Convention.Artykuł poświęcony jest analizie ewolucji krajobrazów kulturowych i ich współczesnym zagrożeniom. Omawia czynniki i etapy przeobrażeń krajobrazów kulturowych w nawiązaniu do naturalnych cykli przemian środowiska geograficznego w holocenie. Krajobraz kulturowy traktowany jest w sposób kompleksowy jako matryca (tło) działań człowieka oraz swoisty palimpsest – źródło znaczeń i symboli.  Jednocześnie w krajobrazie skupiają i odzwierciedlają się postawy człowieka wobec świata. Skoro przejawem współczesnej, świadomej postawy człowieka wobec środowiska jest etyka ekologiczna, powinna ona znaleźć swój wyraz także w zrównoważonym rozwoju krajobrazu. Dlatego w czasach postępującej konsumpcji przestrzeni, autorka uzasadnia konieczność rozszerzenie działań w zakresie rozwoju zrównoważonego na fizjonomię środowiska czyli krajobraz kulturowy. Zagadnienia te dotyczą nie tylko potrzeby wypracowania mechanizmów i narzędzi skutecznej ochrony, ale przede wszystkim właściwego projektowania, zarządzania krajobrazem oraz coraz częściej partycypacji społecznej. Artykuł odnosi się także do współczesnej polityki krajobrazowej, która znalazła zapis w Europejskiej Konwencji Krajobrazowej

Need for applying GIS methods for registering and evaluation of the impact of tourism on the natural environment, landscape and spatial management : outline of problems

Turystyka staje się obecnie powszechnym zjawiskiem społecznym. Jest to jednocześnie najbardziej prężnie rozwijający się sektor usług. Ruch turystyczny jest także zjawiskiem globalnym o ogromnych konsekwencjach dla środowiska przyrodniczego i procesow zagospodarowania przestrzennego. Do niedawna w polu zainteresowania dyscyplin naukowych zajmujących się ruchem turystycznym m.in. geografii turyzmu i nauk ekonomicznych znajdowały się prawie wyłącznie treści związane z analizą korzyści finansowych płynących z rozwoju tego sektora gospodarki, zarówno w ujęciu regionalnym jak i globalnym. Po okresie stabilnego wzrostu turystyka przezywa obecnie prawdziwy boom. Oprócz wielu dobrodziejstw w sferze ekonomicznej, ruch turystyczny wywołuje wielkie i często nieodwracalne, negatywne zmiany w środowisku przyrodniczym i krajobrazie. Niniejszy artykuł omawia możliwość zastosowania metod GIS do rejestracji i oceny wpływu turystyki na poszczególne komponenty środowiska naturalnego oraz analizuje korzyści płynące ze sposobu kartowania tych zmian dla zarządzania ruchem turystycznym. Numeryczne bazy danych, ich kompatybilność, powszechność i dostępność w sieci może być sposobem na kontrolę i regulację, a może nawet ograniczenie ruchu turystycznego w wielu regionach, w których ruch przyjezdnych przekroczył zarówno pojemność jak i chłonność turystyczną

Uwagi na temat elementów japońskiego krajobrazu i ich atrakcyjności geoturystycznej

For western tourists Japan is a mysterious country. That mystery was further increased by relatively long-lasting political isolationism, which consequently resulted in tourism isolationism. With tragic events – a 9-magnitude earthquake and a resulting gigantic tsunami, reaching 10 meters in height (11.03.2011) in the background, the author will analyze the geotourist potential of Japan. It can be predicted that, paradoxically, the strong earthquake and tsunami will soon result in an increased inflow of tourists. That might be related to the development of many new forms of geotourism, among which dark tourism became most and most popular. In this highly urbanized country, the geological heritage creates relict landscapes which could be referred to as quasi-natural. There are very interesting from a tourist point of view. The article was based on the author’s own observations during her study trip around Japan in May, 2009. The journey around picturesque and to a great extent wild, as for Japan, spots of Shikoku and Honshu, inspired the author to present a few notes regarding the geotourist attractiveness of that country. This is an attempt to assess the environmental potential from the point of view of an European tourist

Spór o pojęcie krajobrazu w geografii i dziedzinach pokrewnych

Artykuł jest próbą usystematyzowania sposobów pojmowania i definiowania pojęcia „krajobraz" w geografii i dziedzinach pokrewnych. Prezentuje kilkadziesiąt definicji w podziale na podstawowe kierunki badawcze. W opracowaniu przedstawiono zarys genezy terminu, jego ewolucję oraz główne szkoły badawcze. Rozważania te są osadzone w historii myśli geograficznej. Przedstawio-no także nowe kierunki i perspektywy badań krajobrazu

Scenic values of the Katowice-Częstochowa section of National Road No. 1

The road investment stage is always preceded with projects, which relate to multifaceted economic, environmental and spatial analyses. The visual values of the surroundings are usually neglected when designing and building motorways and express roads The authors believe that the increasingly large-space range of motorway construction requires that more attention be paid to the landscape context of such investments. Functioning of all objects of the accompanying infrastructure of the transportation system affect the way the space is organized. The aim of the article is to assess, in detail, the scenic values of a selected section of the Pan-European Transport Road Corridor – National Road No. 1, in the Silesian Voivodship. The Pan-European Transport Road Corridor runs through Poland from south to north

Landscape diversity of Croatia as the basis for its touristattractiveness. Environmental aspects

Croatia is visited by over 10 million tourists every year, which is two and a half times as much as its population. The revenue from tourism currently accounts for a quarter of the Croatian GDP. The leading thought of the article is the assumption that tourist attractiveness is based on the unique scenic diversity. Eight national parks were used as examples to discuss natural and scenic values of the main physiographic units. The author compared the frequency of tourist visits to the parks in the last five years. The summary points to the process of expansion of tourist traffic into areas of particular environmental value, increased transportation availability of the most valuable places and threats resulting from increased tourist penetration. The four most popular parks show a disturbing tendency towards tourist “overinvestment”. The article also expresses an urgent need for establishing the rules of sustainable tourism in Croatia

CULTURAL LANDSCAPE MAP TRADITION – NEEDS – DIFFICULTIES – ATTEMPTS – OPPORTUNITIES

The article brings closer conditions and needs for developing a map of cultural landscapes of Poland. The aim of the article is to present the historical background for development of cultural landscape maps and justify an urgent need to work it out. It recalls the ethymology of the notion of landscape and its first usage. It also de-scribes the history of landscape painting as the source of first landscape maps Civitates Orbis Terrarum. Further on, the article discusses the need to work out a map of cultural landscapes of Poland and presents difficulties related to geographers’ work on creating such a map. Several important questions were put forth for this pur-pose, aiming to specify the methodological matters connected with creation of this kind of map. The next chapter discusses attempts of drawing landscape maps which have been made so far. The closing part presents opportuni-ties for creating a map of cultural landscapes. To some extent, it is an introduction of examples which will be presented in further parts of this book. The present article concludes with a call for developing the Mapbook of Cultural Landscapes of Poland