Landscapes Forest and Global Change - ESA - Escola Superior ...

J. Beldade & T. Panagopoulos 2010. Integrating esthetical and ecological values at the central Asia landscape change
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inner responses to arise naturally during his/her interaction with the landscapes. However, most
conventional quantitative studies of landscape evaluation allow viewing times of only
approximately few seconds per landscape and with such a procedure researchers can deal only
with participants' first impressions or fragmented memories (Ohta, 2001).
Desert landscapes show similar results of aesthetic value as a tropical island landscape, while
they provoke more fear, sense of power, vastness, sense of more spiritual, obscure, and
incomprehensible landscape than any other compared. In all characteristics of a sublime
landscape, deserts and desert storms had the highest score. Also they had high scores in some
attributes of the aesthetic variables for beautiful and picturesque landscape like: harmony,
balance and simplicity for beautiful, or asymmetry and pictorial value.
A large majority of the individuals responded that whishes to buy a holiday house in desert
landscape offering till 200.000 euros, but 25% responded that is not wishing to have house in
this kind of landscape. 19% could spend more than 500 euros to travel in desert landscape and
another 500 euros for subsistence.
From the field survey it was found that majority of participants (56%) consider that the cost of
reclamation practice at decertified areas should be paid from the residents of those areas or
neighborhood areas because they provoked the desertification. Although, a 38% consider that
desertification is a universal problem and is responsibility of everybody to avoid landscape
degradation.
Only 4 out of 16 participants consider that the Mediterranean garden could be the desirable
solution for tourism development in decertified landscapes. Six prefer exotic species gardens
(like oasis) 3 prefer Zen stile spaces (no vegetation) and two would rather prefer large loan areas
with few trees. The large majority prefers to develop in those areas naturalistic landscapes or
with minimum human intervention, while none would like to see dominant tourism
development projects to overtake in those landscapes. A large number of participants (68%)
requests that those areas to be preserved as of unique value as landscapes and ecosystems.
In Figure 2 can be seen the most preferable landscape aesthetic elements that the participants
consider as most attractive for decertified landscapes. Human presence, luck of vegetation,
geometric lines could be the less attractive elements in desert landscapes, while water presence,
color contrast and texture variability, wildlife, panoramic views and organic natural lines were
the most attractive. Cultural elements, activities, dense vegetation like oasis, natural sounds and
silence could also be important to consider for tourism development sites and scenes.
The current study contributes to this endeavor by exploring tourists’ perception of the desert
landscapes of central Asia (Aral Sea and Silk Road area); a landscape that is suffering severe
Aeolian erosion from dust storms and is undergoing various reclamation measures. Exploration
of tourist’s landscape meanings is informed by literature on the interpretation of space and place.
Barnes & Duncan, (1992) makes a distinction between three dialectical structures of space,
namely, spatial practices, representations of space and spaces of representation. Spatial practices
manifest into social landscapes over time. Representations of space are practices which organize
and represent space, particularly through planning and design. Spaces of representation are
spatialities ‘‘space as directly lived through its associated images and symbols” as understood
by locals, tourists and tourism officials who compete for meanings, and uses.
The main objective of this study was to create a better understanding of how a person interprets
desert landscapes, to examine public awareness and performance in the promotion of
reclamation projects on decertified environment a to describe how to integrate landscape
Forest Landscapes and Global Change-New Frontiers in Management, Conservation and Restoration. Proceedings of the IUFRO Landscape Ecology
Working Group International Conference, September 21-27, 2010, Bragança, Portugal. J.C. Azevedo, M. Feliciano, J. Castro & M.A. Pinto (eds.)
2010, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Bragança, Portugal.