Cultural Transformations of Mountain Landscapes

A special issue of Geosciences (ISSN 2076-3263).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2020) | Viewed by 3202

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Social Geography and Regional Development, Faculty of Science, Charles University, 2 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic
Interests: historical geography; cultural geography; regional geography; landscape transformations; settlement transformations; regional identity; rural areas; mountain areas

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Guest Editor
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
Interests: social geography; place meanings; place identity; public participation; cultural heritage; social learning; integrated resource management; integrated landscape development

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Mountain areas are often considered multifunctional biocultural environments that represent instances of valuable traditional or historic landscapes. They are also often subject to environmental changes and increased pressure on traditional communities and their functioning. Development of mountain landscapes has been shaped, in addition to other societal, economic, and cultural activities, particularly by primary production, tourism and recreation, and heritage management. However, the significance of these activities in mountain area development is not always equal but varies through time, especially as development of mountain areas also depends on their relationships towards larger regional systems. Because of their specific character, functions, and products, mountain landscapes have been subject to popular as well as professional interest. They represent heritage with unique meanings and values, connecting nature and people, past and presence, material features with meanings and values attributed to them. Landscape transformations always embrace complex interactions between physical structures on one side and changes in cultural attitudes, mentalities, and demands on the other.

The issue aims to discuss various relationships between local landscapes, lifestyles, community identities, and heritages within mountain areas in the context of their development. General contributions as well as case studies discussing cultural importance of mountain landscapes and driving forces behind their transformations are welcome.

Attention will be primarily given to the following questions and related issues:

  • How have past and present social, political, economic, cultural, and environmental transformations and needs affected the development of diverse mountain landscapes?
  • How are transformations perceived by different societal groups?
  • How have different perceptions of mountain landscapes’ meanings and values contributed to their transformations?
  • How may acknowledgement of interconnections among unique social, cultural, economic, and environmental conditions within mountain landscapes help to formulate the principles and strategies for their resilient development?

Dr. Zdeněk Kučera
Dr. Matthias Buchecker
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Mountain landscape
  • Landscape transformations
  • Land-use changes
  • Local development
  • Regional identity
  • Landscape meanings
  • Landscape heritage
  • Landscape governance
  • Landscape planning

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 912 KiB  
Article
The Mosquera Valley in Sierra de Espadán Natural Park, Spain, as a Designed Mountain Landscape. Past and Present Uses
by Pablo Vidal-González and Antoni Vidal-Matzanke
Geosciences 2020, 10(5), 159; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences10050159 - 29 Apr 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2632
Abstract
The Mosquera valley, in the heart of the Sierra de Espadán Natural Park, is known for being a true natural treasure, one of the best preserved and most renowned spaces in the Park. However, since the mid-19th century, this space has been profoundly [...] Read more.
The Mosquera valley, in the heart of the Sierra de Espadán Natural Park, is known for being a true natural treasure, one of the best preserved and most renowned spaces in the Park. However, since the mid-19th century, this space has been profoundly altered by people making commercial use of the forest. Paradoxically, it is precisely this anthropic transformation that makes the place more attractive to visitors, to the extent that it continues to be a leading destination for nature observation and outdoor sports. Since the area was designated as a natural park, visitor numbers have increased exponentially, whilst its use as a managed forest has gone into decline. Both situations pose a challenge for the maintenance and preservation of this mountain area. The aim of this research is to present the strong symbolic component of the Mosquera valley and to evaluate the new uses of this privileged space, the new forms of tourism, the rise of sports practice, the enhancement of heritage or the improvement of behaviour in favour of sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cultural Transformations of Mountain Landscapes)
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