Applications of physiotope mapping in the cuesta landscape of Luxembourg

Abstract

Digital physiotope maps combine multi-source abiotic information, and can be used to assess derived characteristics such as natural hazards and type of forest community. Physiotopes are spatially explicit functional landscape units that stratify landscapes into distinct units, resulting from the interplay between geological, geomorphological and soil processes. Boundaries of the physiotopes in the cuesta landscape of Luxembourg are based on geological boundaries, geomorphological processes boundaries and key indicators of soil forming processes which are supplemented by quantitative topographic land surface parameters such as slope angle. A physiotope map is presented for an area near the village of Bigelbach, which reflects the resource potential of the landscape. We present three derived applications of the physiotope map: a hazard zonation map, a forest community map and a soil erosion vulnerability map. The hazard zonation map is based on weighting and ranking of attributes of the physiotopes, such as process activity, materials, slope angle and forest cover. The derived forest community map strongly reflects the spatial distribution of geological substrate and soils of the main physiotope units along the cuesta. The soil erosion vulnerability map implements the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation in combination with the physiotope map. The physiotope map content can be extended and updated and its derived products may support landscape conservation and restoration programs, and can be used to monitor temporal changes within a landscape.