Landscape Change in a Mountainous Area in Northeastern Portugal: Implications for Management

Abstract:- In this paper we analyzed changes in landscape composition and structure over the 1958-2005 period in the França Parish (Bragança, northeastern Portugal). Agriculture decreased from 22 % to 5 % of the area of study. Forests and shrublands became the dominant land uses occupying together 73 % of the area of study in 2005. Structurally the landscape became more homogeneous. We speculate that the types of change observed and the tendency for their magnification in the near future will have functional effects on this landscape, namely the creation of condition for the occurrence of catastrophic disturbance events such as wildfires