Rural regions with different landscape functions: Comparison analysis of two pilot regions in hungary

Abstract

Nowadays a popular research field is the use of indicators, especially landscape indicators for the analysis of landscape functions. We have elaborated 13 complex indicators in 6 groups to compare the level of different landscape services and explore the relation between landscape use and economic situation in two rural regions of Hungary. We have chosen rural regions with different natural and economic conditions. The level of regulation and supporting functions are reflected by the group of indicators of environment and biodiversity. Habitat function was analyzed by the rate of protected areas. For the assessment of the visual and cultural value we analyzed the naturalness and diversity of the landscape and cultural heritage. The provisioning services cover mostly the cultivation of the landscape; we assessed intensity of agriculture, forestry and tourism. As an additional analysis we assessed the availability and economic conditions of the pilot regions. The results have shown interesting correlation between the level of landscape functions, availability and economic situation of the analyzed regions. Based on our researches we found that in course of landscape function analysis as a base of rural development it is important to analyze not just the relevant functions but the connections between them, since they may act differently on each other in different situations. While in case of regulation, supporting and habitat function values of Gönc micro-region exceeds Csorna, the values of availability and economic situation Csorna has higher values. © 2014, ALÖKI Kft., Budapest, Hungary.