The Modern Landscapes of the Baltic Macroregion and the Role of Socioeconomic Factors in Their Development

Abstract

Human occupation, along with natural factors, is a major determinant of the modern landscape genesis on populated territories. In this article, I examine the modern landscapes of the Baltic macroregion. I use a unique method of landscapes zoning. This method consists in the calculation of a synthetic measure—the indicator of the effect of socioeconomic factors on the modern landscape genesis, i.e. of the degree of anthropogenic differentiation of landscapes. It is effective for any territorial unit (NUTS 2 and 3 for the EU countries and the level of a region for Russia). The indicator consists of five components: the average population density, the forest coverage and agricultural land use, the proportion of lands allocated to construction and roads, and the proportion of uncultivated land (bare rocks, sand, wetlands, glaciers, etc.). This study has practical relevance, since it offers a new method of landscape zoning that takes into account the current land use practices and settlement patterns. The zoning of the Baltic macroregion, conducted using the method proposed, shows that the effect of socioeconomic factors on the modern landscape development is heterogeneous. The regions in the north and northeast are affected to a lesser and those in the south and southwest to a greater degree. The latter regions’ landscapes are strongly affected by the land use practices and the settlement patterns.