The influence of land use structural changes on the landscape ecological, aesthetic and cultural-historical values of the Gauja National Park, Latvia
2008
Rasa, I., University of Latvia, Riga (Latvia). Faculty of Geography and Earth Sciences | Nikodemus, O., University of Latvia, Riga (Latvia). Faculty of Geography and Earth Sciences
One of the goals of the Gauja National Park is to protect the landscape and to conserve ecological, aesthetic, and cultural historical values. This function supports the development of tourism, provision of education services, and public awareness programmes. We investigated landscape dynamics and consequent development of landscape structure during the period between the beginning of the 20th century and the present time. The research was based on the exploration of land use structure and its change over time. The results obtained from the study provided an opportunity to develop prognoses of possible landscape development scenarios. Furthermore, we identified and evaluated the landscapes where the ecological, aesthetic, and cultural historical values are most endangered. It was found that the most endangered areas were the ecologically valuable grasslands in the Gauja River valley and the valuable cultural-historical and aesthetic landscapes of the surroundings of Sigulda town and Lake Āraiši.
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