A. Toccolini

The assessment of visual quality as a tool for the conservation of rural landscape diversity

Abstract The visual components of a landscape not only represent an aesthetic value but also testify to the interrelation of cultural, economic and biological phenomena. In fact it is often possible to find a relation between the beauty of landscape and its richness in terms of bio-ecological factors. Though it is not always easy to apply techniques for the assessment of landscape visual quality, this quality can be reasonably considered as a resource which has to be preserved in order to protect rural landscape diversity. The paper describes the drawing up and the application of a new and operative technique for the assessment of landscape quality of a rural area between the city of Milan and the Ticino river. This technique derives from previous British and American experiences, which have been adapted to the Italian context (in terms of landscape character, survey techniques and available databases); it is based on the identification of landscape units by field survey and photo-interpretation of aerial photographs and on the preparation of a scale of landscape values (this is done by interviewing a sample of people who gave numerical assessment to photographs of typical landscape units of the area). Finally five classes of different landscape quality values were found and a landscape evaluation map for the area was drawn up. The five landscape classes differ in relief, vegetation, density of built-up areas, size of cultivated fields and presence of character elements such as hedgerows, small woods, canals, lines of poplars or willows.

The role of agricultural engineering in the management of landscape changes

Landscape represents the “sensory aspect” of the land and as such it can be appreciated by all the five senses: sight, smelling, hearing, touch and taste. At the same time, landscape evolves over time and its value – ecological, economical and affective – changes as its constitutive elements change. Engineering can help “to drive” this evolution addressing it towards a condition of balance between individual and community requirements, especially referred to the effect of technological development on landscape. This effect can be referred to three dimensions: perceptive, functional and symbolic dimensions. The possible contribution to the management of landscape changes concerns all the three historic souls of Agricultural Engineering; in particular, Agricultural Hydraulics deals with the topic of landscape referring to both irrigation and the possible recreational use of canal systems; Agricultural Engineering determines plot form and size and woodland view; Rural Building deals with both the recovery of existing buildings and the design and making of new ones and their fitting in the landscape; moreover, the sector has developed new methods for the evaluation and the planning of rural land resources, especially about agriculture and forestry productivity, ecological stability and visual quality of rural land itself.