The Delimitation of Landscape Units for the Planning of Protection – the Example of the Forests by Upper Liswarta Landscape Park
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Title: The delimitation of landscape units for the planning of protection – the example of the Forests by Upper Liswarta Landscape Park Author: Michał Sobala, Katarzyna Pukowiec-Kurda, Anna Żemła-Siesicka Citation style: Sobala Michał, Pukowiec-Kurda Katarzyna, Żemła-Siesicka Anna. (2019). The delimitation of landscape units for the planning of protection – the example of the Forests by Upper Liswarta Landscape Park. “Quaestiones Geographicae” (Vol. 38, iss. 1 (2019), s. 97-105), doi 10.2478/quageo-2019-0002 Michał Sobala, Katarzyna PuKowiec-Kurda, anna ŻeMła-SieSicKa QUAESTIONES GEOGRAPHICAE 38(1) • 2019 THE DELIMITATION OF LANDSCAPE UNITS FOR THE PLANNING OF PROTECTION – THE EXAMPLE OF THE FORESTS BY UPPER LISWARTA LANDSCAPE PARK Michał Sobala , Katarzyna PuKowiec-Kurda , anna ŻeMła-SieSicKa Department of Regional Geography and Tourism, University of Silesia, Sosnowiec, Poland Manuscript received: September 3, 2018 Revised version: January 17, 2019 Sobala M., PuKowiec-Kurda K., ŻeMła-SieSicKa a., 2019. The delimitation of landscape units for the planning of pro- tection – the example of the Forests by Upper Liswarta Landscape Park. Quaestiones Geographicae 38(1), Bogucki Wy- dawnictwo Naukowe, Poznań, pp. 97–105. 7 figs, 2 tables. abStract: The delimitation of landscape units can be helpful in the preparation of studies related to landscape protec- tion and landscaping. The aim of this article is to propose the modification of the method of local landscape delimita- tion developed for the landscape audit for the needs of protected areas. The comparison of two methods of delimitation indicates that the same area can be assigned to different landscape types and subtypes. The proposed modification of the method of landscape unit delimitation allows a more detailed reflection of the landscape and its links to the admin- istrative boundaries of administrative communities. Key wordS: landscape audit, landscape in protected area, landscape park, landscape management, landscape units Corresponding author: Michał Sobala, [email protected] Introduction and conditions by which this can be determined (Solon et al. 2015). The undertaken works are con- The implementation of landscape audits, nected with the implementation of the European based on the act of 24th April 2015 on changes in Landscape Convention (2006), the purpose of some acts connected with the reinforcement of which is i.a. promoting landscape protection, landscape protection mechanisms (Act… 2015), management and planning. Similar activities have was preceded by the development of a method- been carried out in other European countries, ology of landscape auditing (Solon et al. 2014). such as Italy (Maximova 2016), Sweden (Dovlén This methodology includes the delimitation, ty- 2016), the Czech Republic (Kolejka, Lipsky 2008) pology and valuation of current landscapes, on and Slovakia (Kozová et al. 2009). the basis of which priority landscapes can be dis- The methodology of carrying out a landscape tinguished. According to the act, a priority land- audit may also be helpful in the preparation of scape should be understood as a landscape that other studies related to landscape protection and is particularly valuable for society because of its landscaping, e.g. environmental plans for pro- natural, cultural, historical, architectural, urban, tected areas such as national parks or landscape rural or aesthetic-scenic value. For this reason, it parks (Gorzym-Wilkowski 2016). National parks is necessary to maintain or define the principles are created in areas with natural landscapes, © 2019 Author(s) This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license doi: 10.2478/ quageo-2019-0002 ISSN 0137-477X, eISSN 2081-6383 98 MICHAł SObALA, KATARzyNA PUKOWIEC-KURDA, ANNA ŻEMłA-Siesicka whereas landscape parks concern mainly harmo- to improve the proposed typology. So far, such nious natural-cultural landscapes (Chmielewski tests have been carried out for four communes et al. 2015). This second form of conservation is in the Częstochowa district (Myga-Piątek et al. also created to protect the landscape. The de- 2015), Kazimierski Landscape Park (Michalik- velopment of the draft environmental plans for Śnieżek, Chmielewski 2017), Szczyrk commune a landscape park includes, i.a. an inventory of (badora, Jakubiec 2018) and the Popielów com- landscape values (Regulation … 2005). The val- mune (Solecka et al. 2018). uation of landscapes using the landscape audit Because a landscape audit is drawn up for the methodology must be carried out within land- whole province, it was assumed that the scale scape units known as local landscapes (Solon et of the study would completely different from al. 2015). These units are separated within phys- that of a landscape park. Therefore, the authors ico-geographical mesoregions (Proposal 2018). proposed a modified method of landscape unit The features of these units are: homogeneity of delimitation, taking into account the conditions the landscape background while preserving spa- resulting from the much smaller area occupied tial heterogeneity, maintaining functional links by landscape parks and the principles of prepar- between the spatial elements of the landscape ing protection plans for landscape parks. The aim and the repeatability of the spatial structure and of the work is to present the author’s method of physiognomy in different parts of the landscape local landscape delimitation, which is a modifi- (Solon et al. 2014). Local landscapes can be treat- cation of the audit method, and to compare the ed as basic landscape management units. results of the landscape unit delimitation using Recently, many authors in Poland have paid the two methods: audit and modified. more and more attention to issues related to landscape audits, both in terms of the method- ology of separating local landscapes and their Landscape parks in the nature typology. The authors of the current typology conservation system of Polish landscapes (Chmielewski et al. 2015) point to the need to test it in different physico-ge- The landscape park is one of the nature conser- ographical, cultural or socio-economic regions. vation forms defined in the Nature Conservation The conclusions of these works should be used Act (Act… 2004). It comprises an area which is Fig. 1. The location of landscape parks on the background of Poland’s land cover. THE DELIMITATION OF LANDSCAPE UNITS FOR THE PLANNING OF PROTECTION 99 protected due to its natural, historical, cultural selection of this landscape park as a study area and landscape values, in order to preserve and was determined both by its size and good recog- promote these values in harmony with sustain- nition of the area (Kurda, Pukowiec 2013, 2015). able development. The concept of creating land- A characteristic feature of the park is its high scape parks appeared in Poland in the early level of forest cover, with the predominance of 1960s (Kistowski 2004). To date, 123 landscape coniferous forests. The dominant species in the parks have been created in Poland, occupying forests of this area is Pinus sylvestris. The mod- a total area of about 26,000 km2, which is 8.3% erately moist habitats are covered by Leucobryo- of the territory of Poland. Landscape parks in Pinetum and Querco roboris-Pinetum with Quercus Poland are not large compared to their counter- robur and Quercus petraea, wetland habitats are parts elsewhere in Europe (Kistowski 2004). The covered by Calamagrostio villosae-Pinetum, and average size of a landscape park in Poland is peat bogs are covered by Vaccinio uliginosi-Pine- 216.4 km2 (Fig. 1). The largest landscape park in tum sylvestris. In moist habitats, riparian forests, Poland, Barycz Valley Landscape Park, occupies especially Carici remotae-Fraxinetum, occupy an an area of 861.2 km2, while the smallest, Stawki important place. There are also oak-hornbeam Landscape Park, is only 17.3 km2. forests and Quercetalia pubescenti-petraeae in the park. The particularly valuable areas in the park include peat bogs, partially protected as ecolog- Study area ical lands (Mastaj 2008). The conservation of na- ture is strengthened by 4 forest nature reserves: From all the landscape parks in Poland, to pres- łęg nad Młynówką, Cisy w łebkach, Cisy nad ent the author’s method of local landscape delim- Liswartą and Rajchowa Góra (RDOŚ 2017). One itation, the Forests by Upper Liswarta Landscape important element of the Liswarta valley land- Park was selected. It was established on 21st scape are its numerous fish ponds. They com- December 1998 under Regulation No. 28/98 of the prise water communes with rare plant species Częstochowa Province (Regulation … 1998). It is – Nuphar lutea, Nymphaea alba, Salvinia natans, as the 16th largest landscape park in Poland (387.4 well as rush plants (Rąkowski 2004). They create km2) and the third in the Silesian Province. It is favourable conditions for the existence of nu- located within 6 mesoregions, according to the merous, rare species of animals, especially birds. division of Kondracki (2011) modified by J. Solon Another important element of the landscape et al. (2018): Upper Mała Panew Depression, park is its cultural objects, in particular grange Upper Liswarta Depression, Krzepice Depression, and palace complexes. Liswarta Depression, Herby Rock Step, Woźniki Rock Step. Administratively, it includes the terri- tory of 3 districts and 12 communes (Figs 2, 3). The Fig. 3. Location of the Forests by Upper Liswarta Fig. 2. Location of the Forests by Upper Liswarta Landscape Park in the background of the communes Landscape Park on the background of mesoregions. of the Silesian Voivodeship. 100 MICHAł SObALA, KATARzyNA PUKOWIEC-KURDA, ANNA ŻEMłA-Siesicka Materials and methods background (Solon et al. 2014). In the case of the audit method, the units are delimitated within The delimitation of landscape units was car- mesoregions. However, the authors proposed a ried out using the two methods: audit and modi- modification of this method based on the delim- fied, on the same scale of 1:20,000. It involves the itation of units within the communities’ bound- division of the analysed area into smaller spatial aries (Fig.