agreste

Agreste cahiers n° 1 - mars 2001

The landscape is evolving as a result of changes in land use.

The landscape is evolving as a result of changes in land use. However, changes can appear without the overall frequencies of land use (natural, agricultural, urban) being modified. The mixing of heterogeneous types of land use is one of the major changes. But because it affects only small areas, this mixing is often overlooked by the classic mapping tools. Thanks to the precision of its information, the annual Teruti survey permits the statistical identification of land use in small areas. Teruti thus allows an appreciation of the evolutions in the spatial layout of land, notably in mixed-use areas. The method offered in this article permits the identification of situations where, although presenting identical overall frequencies, the various spatial distributions create very different visual landscapes. It constitutes a statistical approach to the landscapes that we see. Nevertheless, this method is not yet completely equal to that of the landscaper.