Application of the physico-geographic landscapes in a sector of the Iberian mountain range: the Martin River basin

Following the entry into force of the European Landscape Convention on March 1st 2004, various Spanish autonomous communities began to develop their landscape studies. The studies exhibit remarkable consistency in their concept of landscape, and although the methodologies differ significantly, they largely converge in a dual-analysis of the landscape: as a visual variable and under a geosystems approach. In this paper, we propose physico-geographic landscape-maps based on the Complex Physical Geography, as a geo-systems methodology applicable to the study of Spanish landscapes. To illustrate this, we applied the methodology to the basin of Martin River (Aragon, Spain) in the Iberian Range, which is an area recognized as an important environmental area but lacking detailed study. We used this methodology to develop a map that shows the heterogeneity of the region's geophysical landscapes, which in turn explains the spatial distribution of ecological variables that influence the region's potential in terms of future land-use.