Variation of the perception of the landscape resource in Southern Chile

The landscape is the stage of human activity, in which any artificial action rebounds immediately on the perception. Various authors defend the idea of the universality of aesthetic preferences, an idea that is refuted by those who consider cultural and idiosyncratic features as determinant of peoples appreciation of landscapes. It seems that an intermediate position is, for the time being, the most attractive. The objectives of this investigation is to establish the variability derived from the evaluator and to propose techniques that are effective in controling this source of variation. We selected three panels, one characterized as 'demanding' in the evaluation of a landscape, the second as 'transformers' and a third one as a control. One hundred and forty-four(144) landscapes were evaluated from synchronized investigations, mainly with native forest, cattle, agricultural and forest activities, and lake environments. A survey was set up with the information organized as matrix arrangements according to the nature of the analysis from where it came. The statistical techniques considered descriptive resources (graphics as well as numeric), test of multivariance analysis, and particularly principal components analysis. Intragroup variability of the observers was established, with the detect on of significant differences in some the subgroups that compose them. With reference to intergroup variability of the observers, a high internal coherence in the three groups was found, which varied according to the macrounits of the landscape. Criteria for the constitution of a panel that diminishes the subjectivity to evaluate landscapes of the Southern chilean region are recommended