Lecture 4: The concept of landscape

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Lecture 4 The concept of landscape

• Outline
• Landscape character nature and people
• Perception evaluation and assessment
• Policy development
• Seminar video presentation A postcard from the
  Country The Highlands of Scotland in search of
  wilderness

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QuestionWhat do we mean by landscape?
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What is landscape?

• Some uses of the word
• an expanse of scenery that can be seen in a
  single view
• painting depicting an expanse of natural scenery
• embellishment with plants, rocks, etc.
• a genre of art dealing with the depiction of
  natural scenery

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QuestionHow has art shaped our view of wild
landscapes
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• Ante Mortem by Syd Scroggie
• I will attempt the Capel track
• Old, stiff and retrograde
• And get some pal to shove me on
• Should resolution fade
• For I must see black Meikle Pap
• Against a starry sky
• And watch the dawn from Lochnagar
• Once more before I die.
• The golden plover whistled there
• Before the Fall of Man
• And you can hear the brittle croak
• Of lonely ptarmigan,
• No heather there but boulders bare
• and quartz and granite grit
• and ribs of snow bleak, old and grey
• As I remember it.
• And if I do not make the top

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Away ye grey landscapes, ye gardens o' rosesIn
you let the minions of luxury roveAnd restore me
the rocks where the snowflake reposesIf still
they are sacred to freedom and loveBrave
Caledonia, dear are thy mountainsRound their
white summits though elements warThough
cataracts roar 'stead of smooth-flowing
fountainsI sigh for the valley o' dark Lochnagar
Lord Byron, Dark Lochnagar
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1. Landscape character nature and people

• Landscape is more than just a backdrop to our
  lives
• source of invaluable economic and spiritual
  resources
• a historic record of human activity
• helps us define our sense of who we are
• Landscape character is defined as
• a distinct, recognisable and consistent pattern
  of elements in the landscape that makes one
  landscape different from another, rather than
  better or worse (Countryside Agency)
• it is that which makes an area unique

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1. Landscape character nature and people (contd)

• Components of landscape
• Biophysical
• terrain (relief, variability, geomorphology,
  etc.)
• water inc. snow ice (presence, type, quality)
• flora and fauna (variety, condition, etc.)
• Socio-psychological
• land use inc. urban (type, extent, modification)
• transport (accessibility, intrusion)
• other human features (powerlines, dams, etc.)
• cultural (presence, type)
• people (numbers, activities, behaviour, etc.)
• mystery

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Question what is special about wild landscapes?
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2. Perception evaluation and assessment

• Scenery is a natural resource...
• to determine which landscapes are of high
  quality and deserve attention by resource
  managers, it is essential... to attempt the
  evaluation of scenic resources in some objective
  and quantitative fashion (Linton, 1968, p.219)

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• Landscape is the work of the mind it scenery is
  built up as much from the strata of memory as
  from layers of rock.
• (Simon Schama)

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2. Perception evaluation and assessment (contd)

• Beauty cannot be described therefore
• it Cannot be defined... measured... or made
• the basis of a science(Kates, 1967, p.22)
• Its about time that environmentalists supported
  their arguments... about landscape aesthetics
  with numbers(Leopold, 1969, p.41)

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2. Perception evaluation and assessment (contd)

• Whats in a view?
• What can be seen from where is a key component of
  landscape analysis
• depends strongly on terrain variables
• can be quantified using visibility analysis
• what, how much and what quality?
• use Geographical Information Systems (GIS)

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2. Perception evaluation and assessment (contd)

• Case study wildland in Scotland
• The uplands and coasts are highly valued
  hallmarks of Scotlands landscape
• spectacular and distinctive scenery
• wildlife of high conservation importance
• major focus for outdoor recreation
• Remote and natural areas now widely referred to
  as wild land
• Subject to steady attrition due to various types
  of development
• including hydropower schemes, afforestation and
  the construction of bulldozed tracks

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2. Perception evaluation and assessment (contd)

• A brief history
• Gaelic history, culture and society
• warring clans and bashing the Sassenach
• Robert de Bruce, William Wallace, Rob Roy, Bonnie
  Prince Charlie, etc.
• the C18/19th Clearances and subsequent
  oppression by the English
• focus on the Highlands and Islands

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2. Perception evaluation and assessment (contd)

• Significance of tourism and media
• Scotland as a Victorian invention
• Tartan and the Kilt
• Sporting estates
• C19th Romanticism - paintings and poetry of
  Scott, Byron, Landseer, Burns, etc.
• an image transplanted into global folklore
• perpetuated in promoting modern tourism and
  Hollywood versions of history (e.g. Braveheart
  and Rob Roy)

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2. Perception evaluation and assessment (contd)

• Perception of wild Scotland
• Conflicting images of the Highlands
• Wild and untamed landscape
• Steeped in history, heroism and romance
• The land as Emptied not empty
• Current patterns of wild land
• Remoteness, rugged terrain, harsh climate, sparse
  population (historic)
• Mapped using GIS methods

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2. Perception evaluation and assessment (contd)

• Wild land mapping
• Wilderness Continuum Concept
• Remoteness from population and access
• Naturalness of vegetation and lack of human
  artefacts (Lesslie and Maslen, 1995)
• GIS methods
• Multi-criteria evaluation (Carver Fritz, 1998)
• Fuzzy modelling (Fritz et al., 2000)
• Public participation GIS (Carver et al., 2002)
• Historic trends (Carver and Wrightham, 2004)
• Perception surveys (Carver et al., 2005)

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3. Policy development

• Defining wilderness landscapes
• important step in developing policy for
  protection
• Wilderness often defined in terms of human values
  of wildness attributed to particular places or
  landscapes.
• US Wilderness Act (1964)
• Finnish Wilderness Act (1991)
• Scottish Natural Heritage (2002)

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3. Policy development (contd)

• Wilderness as a human concept
• wilderness is
• An idea an ideal
• NOT discrete or objective i.e. a fuzzy concept
• A place that exists in the mind as much as it
  does on a map!
• dependent on individual perception, social and
  cultural background, and personal experience
• One mans wilderness is anothers roadside
  picnic ground. (Nash, 1982)
• champions of the wild the main actors
• NTS, JMT and SNH
• Scottish Wildland Group

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3. Policy development (contd)

• Wildland policy in Scotland
• Uninhabited and often relatively
  inaccessible countryside where the influence of
  human activity on the character and quality of
  the environment has been minimal. (NPPG 14,
  1998)
• There are parts of Scotland where the wild
  character of the landscape, its related
  recreational value and potential for nature are
  such that these areas should be safeguarded
  against inappropriate development or land-use
  change. (SNH, July 2002) http//www.snh.org.uk/pd
  fs/polstat/pd-wsc.pdf

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3. Policy development (contd)

• The National Trust fro Scotland
• Founded 1931
• guardian of the nation's architectural, scenic
  and historic treasures
• 270,000 members
• 128 properties including
• Torridon (15,908a)
• Kintail and Morvich (18,362a)
• West Affric (9,049a)
• Mar Lodge estate, Cairngorm (72,598a)
• Glencoe and Dalness (12,800a)
• And several remote western isles

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3. Policy development (contd)

• NTS Wildland Policy statement
• Wild land in Scotland is relatively remote
  and inaccessible, not noticeably affected by
  contemporary human activity, and offers
  high-quality opportunities to escape from the
  pressures of everyday living and find physical
  and spiritual refreshment The primary purpose
  will be to identify, protect and enhance the
  core wild land areas of Scotland.
• (NTS, January 2002)

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3. Policy development (contd)

• The Unna Principles
• the land (should) be maintained in its
  primitive condition for all time with
  unrestricted access to the public. (Percy Unna,
  November 1937)
• The general principle of management is to
  avoid any reduction in wild land quality. (NTS,
  January 2002)
• the hills should not be made easier or safer to
  climb.
• no facilities should be introduced for mechanical
  transport that paths should not be extended or
  improved and that new paths should not be made.
• no directional or other signs, whether signposts,
  paint marks, cairns, or of any other kind
  whatsoever, should be allowed.
• no other facilities should be afforded for
  obtaining lodging, shelter, food or drink and,
  especially, that no shelters of any kind be built
  on the hills.

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3. Policy development (contd)

• The John Muir Trust
• Formed in 1983 to protect and conserve wild
  places and to increase awareness and
  understanding of the value of such places.
• Works closely with local communities.
• Believes that sustainable conservation can only
  be achieved by recognising special qualities of
  wild places and understanding the human factors
  and other aspects which contribute to the
  landscape we think of - and value - as wild.
• Developed a concordat with SNH on care of wild
  places in Scotland

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• JMT properties
• Sandwood Bay
• Torrin (5,498a)
• Strathaird (16,062a)
• Sconser (8,401a)
• Ben Nevis (4,158a)
• Li Coire Dhorrcail
• Schiehallion (2,310a)

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3. Policy development (contd)

• Aims of the JMT
• to conserve wild places and their landscapes,
  both for their own sake and for the sustenance
  and inspiration they give to humanity
• to protect existing wild places so as to conserve
  their natural processes, and their indigenous
  animals, plants and soils
• to renew wild places, where they have been
  damaged, by encouraging natural processes
• to work with local communities and to encourage
  them to live in harmony with wild places
• to promote an awareness and understanding of wild
  places for their own sake and for their value to
  the benefit of humanity
• to stimulate public support to help protect wild
  places
• to encourage voluntary participation in the
  conservation and renewal of wild places.
  http//www.jmt.org/policy/index.html

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3. Policy development (contd)

• A Declaration for the wild
• The UK and devolved governments must actively
  demonstrate that they recognise the importance of
  large areas of wild land and of all wild places
  as an integral part of our national culture and
  heritage by
• Encouraging and supporting people of all ages and
  of all backgrounds to experience and understand
  the value of wild places, for the benefit of
  their health and spiritual well being.
• Supporting local communities and land managers by
  developing a new, broader range of grants and
  incentive schemes to help restore and enhance
  wild land.
• Reviewing planning policy and legislation to
  strengthen the protection and enhancement of wild
  land.
• Establishing a forum to agree a national strategy
  for the appropriate siting of renewable energy
  developments.
• Ratifying the Council of Europes Landscape
  Convention and embracing the responsibility to
  protect our national landscape heritage.
  http//www.jmt.org/policy/declare.html

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3. Policy development (contd)

• JMT/SNH concordat
• Working together to care for the wild places in
  Scotland through shared aims
• Framework Agreement with SNH to broaden and
  strengthen JMTs ability to care for Wild Land in
  Scotland

JMT recognises and supports the role of SNH in
the conservation and enhancement Scotland's
natural heritage and wishes to work closely with
SNH for the furtherance of common aims.
SNH recognises and supports the holistic
approach of JMT in securing a long-term future of
Scotland's wild places and wishes to work closely
with JMT for the furtherance of common aims.
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3. Policy development (contd)

• Enhancers
• Sense of remoteness
• Size of area and scale of landscape
• Scenic grandeur
• Surrounded by sea (islands)
• Solitude
• Roughness of terrain, harsh climate
• Peacefulness, quietness
• Absence of contemporary human activity or
  development
• Seemingly natural environment
• Evokes emotional experience whether first hand or
  at a distance
• Absence of re-assurance in a hazardous and
  challenging environment
• Physically demanding experience resulting in a
  sense of achievement
• Ruins and disused structures where they add
  scale and fit the landscape

• Detractors
• Recent signs of human activity, particularly man
  in charge of nature including intensive
  agriculture and insensitive forestry
• Recent human artefacts (including litter)
• Presence of crowds or group activity
• Unsympathetic recreation activities
• Man-made noise
• Facilities to make recreation easier or safer
• Ecological imbalance
• Visual intrusions e.g. roads, pylons, fences
• Mechanical transport
• Low flying jets helicopters

(After NTS, 2002)http//www.nts.org.uk/web/FILES/w
ild_land_policy_2002.pdf
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3. Policy development (contd)
Attributes Main Criteria
Perceived naturalness Functioning natural habitats Unmodified catchment systems
Lack of constructions or other artefacts No recent buildings/works Little impact from large structures outside area
Little evidence of contemporary land uses Little effects from older remains Only extensive grazing and field sports
Rugged or otherwise challenging terrain Striking topographic features and difficult terrain Natural settings for recreation providing hard physical exercise and challenge
Remoteness and inaccessibility Distance from settlement and communications Limited access either by scale of area and/or lack of easy access
Extent of area Area sufficient to engender feeling of remoteness and solitude
(After SNH, July 2002) http//www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/
polstat/pd-wsc.pdf
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3. Policy development (contd)

• Drivers of changing land use patterns
• Reduction in domestic stocking densities
• Sheep and cattle numbers falling (Subsidies)
• Red deer numbers artificially maintained at high
  level (Estate management)
• Increasing emphasis on sporting estates and
  changing access methods
• from foot and horseback to 4WD
• leading to bulldozed hill tracks
• Exploitation of hydropower resource (dams,
  reservoirs and power lines)
• flooding valleys
• changing access arrangements
• New threat from wind farm proposals?

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Summary

• Landscapes mental image vs physical
• Landscape character and perception
• Human and physical geography
• Wildland policy in Scotland
• SNH, NTS and JMT
• What about England and Wales?

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Reading

• Bell, S (1999) Landscape pattern, perception and
  process. Spon, London.
• Gaddis, L (2004) The landscape of history how
  historians map the past. OUP.
• McCarthy, J (2004) An inhabited solitude
  Scotland, land and people. Luath Press,
  Edinburgh.
• Mitchell, I (1988) Scotlands mountains before
  the mountaineers. Luath Press, Edinburgh.
• Wildland policies for Scotland (see web links for
  SNH, NTS and JMT policies under Tasks)

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Task

• Read policy documents for wildland in Scotland
• SNH
• http//www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/polstat/pd-wsc.pdf
• NTS
• http//www.nts.org.uk/web/FILES/wild_land_policy_2
  002.pdf
• JMT
• http//www.jmt.org/policy/JMT_wildland.html
• Think about how these might be extended or
  adapted for England and Wales

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Workshop

• Video presentation
• Postcard from the country
• The Scottish Highlands
• In search of wilderness

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Next week...

• 5. Recreational use of wilderness and wildland
• Wilderness recreation and benefits
• Economics and development
• Management of recreational use
• Workshop developing a wildland policy for
  England and Wales