Basic Concepts of a Complex Spatial System

Abstract

The landscape is holistic, which is also referred to as `the whole is more than the sum of its composing parts', and is related to the German concept of the Gestalt. Human perception also works by holistic Gestalt-principles and will be discussed in a separate chapter. The holistic principle means that the structural context of the composing elements defines their actual meaning in the whole and the relationships between the elements. System-theoretical models for landscapes introduced the concepts of holons and ecodevices as hierarchically structured building blocks of the landscape. Consequentially, context and scale are important factors in studying the landscape. Scale has different meanings according to the context it is used in and thus confusion is possible. Scale defines the hierarchical structure and the way features of the landscape can be represented on maps. To simplify data collection and to reduce the complexity of the landscape composition and configuration, landscapes are often decomposed in thematic layers. The combination of the thematic properties defines the landscape type that characterizes an area. The transition between landscape types and regions can result in crisp or fuzzy borders. Sometimes the transition zones form gradients and ecotones, which if large enough become landscape units themselves.