A evolução da paisagem rural do norte de Portugal. Caso de estudo: Concelho de Baião

Mestrado em Arquitectura Paisagista - Instituto Superior de AgronomiaThis essay intends to reflect upon the evolution of rural landscapes of northern Portugal and their communities. To this end, in first instance, the various typologies of rural land use, the characteristics of the population and community uses are described. After that, the historical retrospective of the evolution of the rural landscape focus on the main issues resulting from the land change, which is induced by the successive communities that have settled on this territory over time. This retrospective is divided in two time periods: the first period addresses the legacy of our ancestors, from the Neolithic period until the late nineteenth century; the second period roughly corresponds to the twentieth century. Baião, the eastern county of Porto district, located at the edge of transition between Northeast and Nortwest Portugal, for which is made a series of studies of ecological and cultural interpretation. Through the ecological interpretation, the essential areas to the preservation and enhancement of natural resources have been delimited, forming the Ecological Structure. Using an integrative methodology of the data, the articulation between the ecological aptitude of the territory and the present use of land allowed to outline the proposal of a Landscape Management Plan for the county