ABSTRACT

In the last 50–60 years, agricultural intensification and later urban development have threatened the rare and valuable gully landscape formed on marine clay. We studied landscape changes in eastern Akershus county in south-east Norway, which has one of the world’s largest concentrations of marine gullies. Interpretation of aerial photos showed that about 25% of the gully area has been lost. Only 39.5% of the remaining area is original gullies, and 60.5% of the area has been affected by landscape change. The largest loss of gully area was between 1955 and 1991, mainly through land levelling and transformation to intensively managed agricultural landscape. The most densely populated areas also lost gullies to residential areas and industry. Gullies support high plant and animal diversity, and future management should be based on landscape ecological principles. Gully fragments should also be preserved to maintain connectivity between the many different habitats belonging to the gullies.

摘要

在过去的 50-60 年里，农业集约化和后来的城市发展威胁到了在海洋粘土上形成的稀有而有价值的沟壑景观。我们研究了挪威东南部阿克斯胡斯县东部的景观变化，这里是世界上最大的海洋沟壑集中地之一。对航拍照片的解读表明，大约25%的沟壑面积已经消失。剩余面积仅39.5%为原始沟壑，60.5%的面积已受景观变化影响。1955 年至 1991 年间，沟壑面积损失最大，主要是通过土地平整和向集约化管理的农业景观转变。人口最稠密的地区也失去了居民区和工业区的沟壑。沟壑支持高度的动植物多样性，未来的管理应基于景观生态原则。还应保留沟渠碎片，以保持属于沟渠的许多不同栖息地之间的连通性。