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Integration Versus Fragmentation, the Role of Minor Rural Networks in Rural Cultural Landscapes. A Study-Case in Spain

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  • Julio Plaza Tabasco

    (Department of Geography and Land Planning, Faculty de Letras, Campus de Ciudad Real, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain)

  • Héctor S. Martínez Sánchez-Mateos

    (Department of Geography and Land Planning, Faculty de Letras, Campus de Ciudad Real, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain)

Abstract

This work deals with the dichotomy between integration and fragmentation caused by artificial elements in the cultural landscapes, especially minor rural roads. In Europe, the rural matrix dominates the configuration of landscapes, and the agents of fragmentation can be analysed from different perspectives. For this purpose, the Land Parcel Information System, designed for the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) is used as a data source to feed the indicators, allowing a high detail analysis, down to the parcel unit. It is applied to a case-study in Spain: the province of Ciudad Real. Here we find different landscape units with different rural and agrarian profiles to test the hypothesis. We use three indicators that allow us to explore the configuration of different cultural landscapes under the fragmentation perspective, using minor rural roads and other elements of the rural matrix that can only be observed at large scale. Then we calculate a composite indicator summarizing the fragmentation results of each unit. Results reveal a significative variability of fragmentation results regarding the land use and spatial patterns of the different cultural landscapes dominated by agrarian and rural factors, with a strong correspondence with the minor rural network underneath. Therefore, fragmentation can be interpreted as a dual process in cultural landscapes where the different land uses have different relations with the infrastructure network.

Suggested Citation

  • Julio Plaza Tabasco & Héctor S. Martínez Sánchez-Mateos, 2021. "Integration Versus Fragmentation, the Role of Minor Rural Networks in Rural Cultural Landscapes. A Study-Case in Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-20, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:9:p:4765-:d:542283
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ledda, Antonio & De Montis, Andrea, 2019. "Infrastructural landscape fragmentation versus occlusion: A sensitivity analysis," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 523-531.
    2. De Montis, Andrea & Ganciu, Amedeo & Cabras, Matteo & Bardi, Antonietta & Mulas, Maurizio, 2019. "Comparative ecological network analysis: An application to Italy," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 714-724.
    3. Andrea De Montis & Vittorio Serra & Amedeo Ganciu & Antonio Ledda, 2020. "Assessing Landscape Fragmentation: A Composite Indicator," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-23, November.
    4. García-Ruiz, J.M. & Lasanta, T. & Nadal-Romero, E. & Lana-Renault, N. & Álvarez-Farizo, B., 2020. "Rewilding and restoring cultural landscapes in Mediterranean mountains: Opportunities and challenges," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
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    Cited by:

    1. Enrico Gottero, 2021. "Rural Landscape Changes in the Piedmont Region (Italy). A Method for the Interpretation of Possible Effects of CAP," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-17, November.

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