Human disturbance and cultural landscapes
The landscapes visible today are largely cultural. Nassauer
(1995) says that culture is responsible for changing activities, which
alter the appearance and functionality of the landscape, but culture is
also something that becomes embodied in landscapes.
This means that there is a feedback
mechanism between culture causing structural changes to the landscape
and landscapes causing changes to culture.
Humans construct landscapes and manage them to suit
their requirements. They make decisions about the landscape on what they
see and feel.
Bastian
and Bernhart (1993) described landscape change as 'qualitative transformation
caused by social activity and mostly extended over long periods'.
Different landscapes with different assets react differently
to the same type of human activity.
Three main human processes have been suggested as having
the biggest impacts on landscape. These are fire, grazing and deforestation
(Lepart
and Debussche, 1992).
