Openness per landscape type

Great importance is attached to the openness of landscape in the Netherlands. Openness is dominant in the marine clay and carr peat areas. The areas on sandy soil and areas with hills are the most "closed".

Current situation

A landscape's openness is determined by the visible vertical elements in a wide area: tall vegetation (such as woodland, shelter belts and wooded banks) and buildings (towns, villages, solitary houses, farmhouses) in the countryside. At the beginning of the 20^th century, the various landscape types varied greatly in their openness, but in the subsequent 100 years much has changed. The inter-landscape differences have diminished greatly. In spite of this, extremes of open and closed landscape do survive.

The cultural landscapes differ in their openness. Only a small percentage of the area of land reclaimed from lakes and of the marine clay and carr peat areas is under tall vegetation or has buildings, so openness is dominant here. In the areas on sandy soil and - more particularly - in the downland area of south Limburg, 50 to 60% of the area is under tall vegetation (avenues of trees, wooded banks, forest and woodland), so here the landscape is more closed.

Technical note

The data are from a 1x1 km grid, the cells of which have been classified using nine classes of openness. The most "closed" classes of cells have been excluded, because they are not part of the cultural landscape (they are built over or are under forest). Per landscape type it has been calculated how many cells have been classified as very open, open, moderately open and moderately closed.

References

Dijkstra, H., J.F. Coeterier, A. van der Haar, A.J.M. Koomen en W.L.C. Salden (1997). Veranderend cultuurlandschap. Signalering van landschapsveranderingen van 1900 to 1990 voor de Natuurverkenning 1997. Rapport 544. DLO-Staring Cemtrum. Wageningen.
Dijkstra, H. en J. van Lith-Kranendonk (2000). Schaalkenmerken van het landschap in Nederland. Rapport 40. Alterra. Wageningen.
Geertsema, W. (2002). Het belang van groenblauwe dooradering voor natuur en landschap. Achtergrondrapport Natuurbalans 2002. Reeks 'Planbureau-werk in uitvoering', Werkdocument 2002/02. Natuurplanbureau/Alterra. Wageningen.