Guidelines for the integration of biological and cultural values in a Landscape Interpretation Center: application in southern Portugal

Abstract

The city of Évora (the Lusitanian Ebora) is the most important town in Alentejo province (Southern Portugal) and is surrounded by a quite rich cultural and biological landscape involving archeological sites of several epochs, old field networks and farms, as well as specific multifunctional cultural landscapes and high value agro forestry pastoral systems, the montados. Based on previous studies and land surveys, in which where identified the best preserved sectors and marks around Évora concerning the old cadastral systems, ecological corridors networks and the most important montados areas for preservation, it is presented the main guidelines for the development of an interpretation center for the cultural and biological values in the Évora region. The methodology applies GIS spatial analysis and integrative multilevel approaches and gives the guidelines for the integration of the different cultural and biological values of landscape in an integrative approach of the territory. As results it is presented the conceptual model and the results obtained for the Évora Region. This study is been held in the indicators working group of the project OTALEX C co-financed by the UE, POCTEP program and FEDER.