<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Landform assemblages may be used to define sites of geomorphological interest which are resources for rural sustainability. This paper focuses on the valuation and significance of such sites in the context of one European internal border region, illustrated using a case study from the inland mountains of the Spanish-Portuguese border: the Serra do Larouco. The theoretical and methodological approach used includes the recognition, inventory and assessment of a preliminary list of twenty-eight sites. They comprise diverse granitic landforms which characterise the rural inland landscapes in the North West of the Iberian Peninsula. The results from the qualitative and quantitative assessments were the basis for a final selection of nine sites as significant land resources. An analysis of their key values supports the proposal of different use and management options to promote rural sustainability. A review of the methodology applied and the consideration of other case studies provide a means to interpret and discuss the regional and local significance of the selected sites. The conclusions emphasise the crucial role that values linked to landforms can play in little-known mountainous and rural border regions, suggesting a future research agenda.</p></abstract>

Landform assemblages may be used to define sites of geomorphological interest which are resources for rural sustainability. This paper focuses on the valuation and significance of such sites in the context of one European internal border region, illustrated using a case study from the inland mountains of the Spanish-Portuguese border: the Serra do Larouco. The theoretical and methodological approach used includes the recognition, inventory and assessment of a preliminary list of twenty-eight sites. They comprise diverse granitic landforms which characterise the rural inland landscapes in the North West of the Iberian Peninsula. The results from the qualitative and quantitative assessments were the basis for a final selection of nine sites as significant land resources. An analysis of their key values supports the proposal of different use and management options to promote rural sustainability. A review of the methodology applied and the consideration of other case studies provide a means to interpret and discuss the regional and local significance of the selected sites. The conclusions emphasise the crucial role that values linked to landforms can play in little-known mountainous and rural border regions, suggesting a future research agenda.

Landform values for rural sustainability: Recognition and assessment in a Spanish–Portuguese border region case study

Research group for studies on Archaeology, Antiquity and Territory (GEAAT), Department of History, Art and Geography

Moravian Geographical Reports

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Landform assemblages may be used to define sites of geomorphological interest which are resources for rural sustainability. This paper focuses on the valuation...

Landform values for rural sustainability: Recognition and assessment in a Spanish–Portuguese border region case study

Published Online: Dec 29, 2017

Page range: 257 - 270

Received: Mar 29, 2017

Accepted: Oct 10, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/mgr-2017-0022

Keywords
landforms, geomorphological site, rural sustainability, European border region, Serra do Larouco, Galicia (North West Spain), North of Portugal Mountains

© 2017 Elena De Uña-Álvarez et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Landform values for rural sustainability: Recognition and assessment in a Spanish–Portuguese border region case study

Published Online: Dec 29, 2017

Page range: 257 - 270

Received: Mar 29, 2017

Accepted: Oct 10, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/mgr-2017-0022

Keywordslandforms, geomorphological site, rural sustainability, European border region, Serra do Larouco, Galicia (North West Spain), North of Portugal Mountains

© 2017 Elena De Uña-Álvarez et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
landforms, geomorphological site, rural sustainability, European border region, Serra do Larouco, Galicia (North West Spain), North of Portugal Mountains