Landscape as a Geosystem

The book analyses the landscape as a geosystem in all its complexity (from the abiotic environment, and land use to socio-economic character) as an integrated natural resource, as society's life space, as well as an object of planning and decision making on sustainable land use. It presents the landscape properties in the form of databases that comply with the INSPIRE Directive 2007/2/EC (INSPIRE Infrastructure for Spatial InfoRmation in Europe) requirements, which can be used for a variety of purposes and can serve as a national spatial information database for the needs of applied landscape-ecological research and real-world spatial planning processes. The book also provides overview legends with complete domain values of selected attributes of all three landscape structures (primary, secondary and tertiary) routinely used in Slovakia. Lastly, the book offers an example of the construction and mapping of geocomplexes as well as the database creation on the model territory at the regional level.

Outlines the landscape as scientifically defined but practically usable concept of the material object for real-world planning processes and integrated landscape management Provides an overview of the landscape as an entirety with all its complexities, elucidating the division of the geosystem's properties into three structures, according to their various functions for practical use Describes the landscape as a geosystem, supported by legal definition Discusses geocomplexes at national and regional level with detailed legends Presents an example of geosystem construction and presentation in the database, based on a particular model territory, with examples of map expression

Inhalt

Introduction.- 1 Material Base of Sustainable Development - Landscape as a Geosystem.- 2 Landscape as a Geosystem.- 3 Construction and Mapping of Geosystems.- 4 Characteristics of Geocomplexes.- 5 Application of the Geosystems in Model Territory - An Example.- Conclusion.