Abstract

An important part of planning processes includes territorial or landscape planning, which has experienced an intensive development internationally, especially over the last fifty years. Methodological outputs and tools of landscape planning are used mainly in the framework of spatial planning, in the creation of territorial systems of ecological stability, landscaping projects, river basin management plans, and other strategic plans related to the landscape. In Slovakia, landscape ecological assessment procedures have been developed and these form the basis for sustainable landscape planning and landscape management—LANDEP methodology included in the document AGENDA 21 (Rio de Janeiro 1992) as a recommended methodology for ensuring an integrated approach to planning and management the landscape resources. This methodology was also used for the model area of Brhlovce—the archetype of the country—for which a suitable management was designed to support its use and preservation. The basic criteria for defining an archetype include the method of land use with elements of historical-social and economic changes, which are reflected in the method of land use and landscape structure—the composition of elements of Secondary Landscape Structure (SLS). These were identified based on a visual, multi-scale interpretation of aerial photographs. SLS is divided into six basic groups of elements: 1) forest and non-forest woody vegetation, 2) grasslands, 3) agricultural areas, 4) water streams and areas, 5) rocks and bedrock substrate, and 6) built up areas. In the landscape structure (status of 2013) is dominated by a group of elements of agricultural crops (64.3% of the area) and a group of elements of forest and non-forest woody vegetation (30.25% of the area). In the landscape structure of 1949, it is a group of elements of agricultural crops (51.58% of the area) and a group of elements of permanent grassland plants (30.79% of the area). The group of elements of forest and non-forest woody vegetation occupied only 16.84% of the area. During the monitored period (1949–2013), the factor of changes in agro-intensification (20.41% of cadastral area) and afforestation (16.89% of cadastral area) was most pronounced, which also corresponds to changes in the area structure of the area. In total, 55.38 percent of cadastral area remained unchanged.