Das sächsische Vogtland: ökologische Raumbewertung mit einem GIS

Abstract

Regional planning must be able to react flexibly and with as little delay as possible to the current development processes and must additionally have at its disposal up to date planning and evaluation bases. For example, as a result of the changes in the regional development act in Germany, it is possible to draft regionalized surface utilization plans. The inclusion of matters of the environment, which will be lent additional weight in the future, should take place on this level already. The regionally based assessment of landscape ecological matters is an important basis for the evaluation of concrete measures or scenarios for the further development. Due to the fact that the registration, processing and evaluation of ecologically relevant data is only efficient and sufficiently up to date using computer assisted methods, t he use of Geo-Information Systems (GIS) is increasing in importance in landscape ecology especially. Using a section of the central part of the Saxonian Vogtland (Plauen map sheet), we can see the possibilities, but also the limitations, of a GIS assisted landscape-ecological evaluation in medium scale. In t he field of nature and landscape conservation, particular attention is paid to sensitive areas, the description of the structural variety of the landscape, the slicing of free areas as well as the networking of biotope structures. In this way, indicators which are relevant for the planning, such as Ökoton length (boundary length between 2 types of biotope), level of slicing and networking can be determined and depicted in their spatial surroundings with the aid of analysis functions. Using the example of the natural recreational suitability, it is demonstrated how a complete evaluation can take place, which is able to provide a well suited, differentiated picture for maximum size statements, using the overlapping of various influential factors. By allocating building sites in the settlement periphery to a greater extent in the course of economic structural transformation, there are conflicts of use in the examined area of the Vogtland, particularly in rural and sensitive areas. The statistical and region-related analysis of these helps in defining conflict potential. Ecological evaluation is constantly faced with the accusation of being subjective. The use of GIS for the purposes of landscape ecology and regional planning will not change this situation in general, but offers through various possibilities of quantitative analysis a new quality of complex, regional observations on the scale level which is required. This should be given consideration for future planning and monitoring tasks, even if an ecological evaluation can only ever be made against the background of social desires and conceptions of the value attributed to the natural regions.