Ökologische Raumgliederungen als Grundlage landschaftsbezogener Untersuchungen und Planungen

Abstract

Landscape classifications are an important tool to integrate territorial ecological sturlies and data. On the example of Saxony (F. R. Germany), several classifications are presented. All of them have been elaborated for specific purposes and ranges of application. Therefore, they all have certain advantages but also disadvantages. Among natural landscape classifications two approaches may be distinguished: 1. selective approaches, which primarily consider a single geofactor, e. g. flora or vegetation, and 2. integrated approaches, which tend to a complex consideration of the natural landscape thereby including biotic geofactars as well as abiotic ones. To the latter belong classification methods in forestry and the physical-geographical "natural landscape classification of Saxony" on the level of mesogeochores. In contrast to those approaches, there are landscape classifications that also take into consideration such properties (geofactors) like real (actual) vegetation and land use which are rather easily and quickly changed by human activities.Pretentious classifications of (natural) landscapes ideally should meet several main requirements.They should- consider the essential characteristics of the landscape,- be hierarchically arranged, easily to be understood, and valid for a long time.