Conceptual proposal of the landscape as an environmental indicator for the spatial and temporal study of the territory

Resumen

Objective: To propose the landscape as an environmental indicator that spatially and temporally, describes, analyzes, and evaluates territory, by changing some natural, social, economic, and cultural components.

Approach: Different methodological concepts of the landscape and environmental indicators were reviewed, as well as their characteristics to describe and evaluate the environment.

Results: It was found that the landscape is a comprehensive analysis method for the study of the environment, by selecting the parameters that describe and represent each landscape, through shapes, size, colors, textures, shadows, patterns, situations, associated features, and structures arranged under a spatial and temporal order which, when perceived by humans, present a given form of organization or disorganization in the environment.

Implications: The environmental indicator allows to analyze and evaluate the changes in space and time, with updated qualitative and quantitative research. These changes play an important role in building the perception of environmental problems through the landscape.

Conclusion: Landscape is an integral component that describes the biotic and abiotic elements of a given space. While, as an environmental indicator, it analyzes and evaluates changes in the composition and configuration of the environment, both spatially and temporally.