Les carrières en fin d'activités: un potentiel paysager?
The present study focuses on the landscape concept and evaluations and is based on some issues related to the impact, restoration and ecological potential of the abandoned quarries. It proposes a landscape character assessment for non active limestone quarries resulting from the spontaneous succession. Taking into account the guidelines of the European Landscape Convention (Conseil de l'Europe, 2000) , this work has for objectives (1) to describe these landscape areas and (2) to assess the landscape aesthetic quality. To achieve these goals, two methods inspired by the Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) were tested. The first one is a field sheet and the second one a landscape perception survey with stakeholders. The results have emphasized the natural, harmonious and unique character of these landscapes. The key characteristics are the visual importance of cliffs, water bodies, vegetation forms and the landform in bleachers. Furthermore, color contrast and textures from vegetation, rock and water were also relevant. An apparent aesthetic landscape quality was perceived and the study showed that respondents are feeling good in the site surveyed. The quarryscape can be characterized of challenging, attractive, wild with an important degree of naturality but not really safe. Cultural, historic, symbolic and ecological values were also highlighted as a potential. These later observations take part in a landscape dynamic and allow to open the debate concerning the need for landscape interventions within these sites and the profit we could benefit from if security issues were well-managed.
quarry, landscape, perception, Life sciences, Environmental sciences & ecology, Sciences du vivant, Sciences de l’environnement & écologie
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