Esbern Holmes

Landscape practise and key concepts for landscape sustainability

Conceptual frameworks which have seen man and nature as being an integrated whole were widespread before they became suppressed by developments within both capitalism and socialism. Therefore an idealistic use of such concepts in scientific work has often had limited practical value. At the same time, the practice behind such conceptual frameworks has survived in many land use systems, being a fundamental source of inspiration for the modern challenge of landscape sustainability. Here, the concept and practice of carrying capacity is used as an example. We provide a modern interpretation and relate it to an empirical study of sustainable tourism in eight protected areas and their regions in the Baltic. They are subject to large differences in human pressure. The political commitment to the related EU Natura 2000 networks has been taken as our point of departure for a more detailed analysis of accessibility and its related conflicts, and opportunities for a sustainable development of tourism in and around the protected areas. It is concluded that the concept of carrying capacity cannot meaningfully be used for sustainability studies at an abstract conceptual level, but proves its relevance through a detailed context specific analyses of visitor related conflicts.

Monitoring ‘small biotopes’

Small uncultivated areas within the agricultural landscape, in Denmark called ‘small biotopes’, have attracted growing attention because of their importance for wildlife and their recreational and aesthetic value. The ecological role of these small, uncultivated areas can be demonstrated by regarding them as the lowest level in a hierarchy of ecological networks. But they also have to be understood as integrated functional parts of the agricultural land use system. During the development of a monitoring system for small biotopes in Denmark we have encountered many problems and found a number of solutions. We discuss some of the issues concerning data collection, classification, database construction and the informational context that is necessary for the practical use of such a monitoring system.