The current regulatory and practical situation of rural land use planning in Galicia is complex. However, for the first time, a regulatory instrument has been designed specifically for this purpose: the Catalogue of Agricultural and Forestry Land. This article aims to analyse the possibilities offered by this instrument for rural land use planning, as well as the consequences of its implementation. To this end, a methodology based on comparing the spatial pattern of current agroforestry land uses with those derived from the catalogue through quantitative indicators and spatial metrics has been applied, considering the efficiency of agricultural and forestry activities and the land environmental sustainability. This analysis is applied to the case study of the catalogue approved for the agroforestry park of Remu & iacute;& ntilde;o (A Arnoia), as it covers the largest area of those currently available. The results show that the land use planning proposed by the catalogue provides a notable decrease in rural land use fragmentation, an increase in viable agricultural and forestry land units, a reduction in fire risk, and an increase in ecological value. current agroforestry land uses with those derived from the catalogue through quantitative indicators and spatial metrics has been applied, considering the efficiency of agricultural and forestry activities and the land environmental sustainability. This analysis is applied to the case study of the catalogue approved for the agroforestry park of Remu & iacute;& ntilde;o (A Arnoia), as it covers the largest area of those currently available. The results show that the land use planning proposed by the catalogue provides a notable decrease in rural land use fragmentation, an increase in viable agricultural and forestry land units, a reduction in fire risk, and an increase in ecological value.

Las zonas multifuncionales son probablemente el elemento más innovador de la infraestructura verde y corresponden a aquellos ámbitos territoriales en los que debe compatibilizarse la provisión de servicios ecosistémicos con el desarrollo de las actividades humanas. Los trabajos realizados por el Laboratorio del Territorio para el desarrollo de las bases científico-técnicas de la Estrategia Gallega de Infraestructura Verde y de los proyectos INVERCLIMA y GREENZONE, financiados por la Fundación Biodiversidad, han proporcionado varias metodologías y herramientas tecnológicas para la planificación espacial de zonas multifuncionales de la infraestructura verde destinadas a diferentes objetivos como pueden ser la producción agroforestal sostenible, la mitigación y adaptación al cambio climático o el bienestar de la población. Los trabajos descritos en esta presentación fueron presentados en el ciclo de conferencias online “Entre Sar y Sarela” organizadas por el Centro de Extensión Universitaria y Divulgación Ambiental de Galicia.

La regulación de los usos agroforestales en Galicia se materializa en la práctica mediante un entrañado marco legislativo, en muchas difícil de entender y aplicar. Ante esta situación, la Ley 11/2021, de 14 de mayo, de recuperación de la tierra agraria de Galicia regula el Catálogo de suelos agropecuarios y forestales de Galicia como “el instrumento marco para la ordenación y gestión del desarrollo de los usos de estos suelos sobre el territorio gallego”. Esta ley recoge las recomendaciones del dictamen de la comisión del Parlamento de Galicia que estudió la ola de incendios que sufrió Galicia en 2017, relativas a la necesidad de realizar una planificación integral del territorio rural y de los usos del suelo rural, que tenga en cuenta los requerimientos de los distintos usos, la aptitud del territorio para cada uno de ellos y la integración conjunta de todos los usos. Esta presentación sobre el objetivo y las características del Catálogo de suelos agropecuarios y forestales de Galicia, así como sobre su papel en la planificación forestal, fue realizada en la jornada “Expansión y homogeneización del espacio forestal: ¿receta para un desastre?” organizada por el Consello da Cultura Galega el 20 de octubre de 2025

Rural settlements (RS) are a reality of rural areas. They consist of cluster of buildings and ways of life mainly associated with activities related to agriculture. As economic policies applied in rural development have evolved, the physical delimitation of rural areas has become more important because such areas are recipients of financial support, which depends on an area's characteristics. Thus, it is necessary to formulate a new spatial approach for RS delimitation. The objective of this study is to define spatial criteria for identification and delimitation of the RS to recognize the morphological context of each RS. With respect to methodology, RS in the community of Galicia, Northwestern Spain were studied, and factors for spatial characterization were defined according to experts' evaluations. Subsequently, spatial restrictions and conditions were identified for the delimitation of boundaries. The criteria that this research proposes reveal numerically adjustable factors that can recognize and interpret the morphological characteristics of each RS, which is also evidenced by the results of RS delimitations. It can be concluded that the numerically defined criteria associated with a spatial operation allow the adaptation to the morphological characteristics of any RS, as well as spatial equity by recognizing the differentiation of building structures and land uses of each RS, rather unlike the criteria defined by the law.

Esta investigación, financiada por la Fundación Biodiversidad del Ministerio de Transición Ecológica de España, se realizó bajo el marco del proyecto "INVERCLIMA - Infraestructura Verde para la adaptación de la ordenación territorial al cambio climático"

Green infrastructure has acquired greater importance in recent years in relation to climate change adaptation. Green infrastructure planning has been identified as a new and innovative means of land planning that can contribute to preventing the impacts of climate change. However, this has been explored more thoroughly in urban areas than at the regional scale. The present study proposes a methodology including multi-criteria evaluation techniques for assessing the ESS involved in the fight against climate change and for the spatial planning of multifunctional green infrastructure areas based on the results of this assessment. Application of the methodology for green infrastructure planning aimed at confronting climate change at landscape level in the region of Galicia (NW Spain) successfully delimited multifunctional green infrastructure zones. Results show that delimited zones have a higher provision potential for more ESS than protected natural areas and areas that are not part of the green infrastructure.

Green Infrastructure (GI) is increasingly being adopted in land management as a way of ensuring provision of the ecosystem services (ESS) required for human well-being. As GI is a spatial concept, spatial planning methods must be applied in designing GI. Many studies have focused on designing certain GI zones or on planning a GI specifically considering one or a few ESS. However, studies on GI planning considering all types of ESS and different GI zones are scarce. This paper describes a methodology that addresses the holistic spatial planning of GI by considering the potential capacity of areas to provide all of the ESS assessed. Buffer zones and multifunctional zones were delineated by using a specific procedure for each zone at landscape scale. The spatial planning of buffer areas and multifunctional zones was based on the analysis of trade-offs between ESS and on the integration of synergic ESS by means of a multicriteria evaluation technique. The methodology was validated by application to the spatial planning of a GI in the region of Galicia at landscape level. Integration of the results of ESS assessment in a multifunctional GI makes land planning and management easier and ensures provision of all types of ESS.

Since the adoption of the European Landscape Convention (ELC) in 2000, greater importance has been given to citizen participation in landscape policies and, specifically, in defining landscape quality objectives (LQO). Although the task of identifying and defining LQO is undertaken by professionals, the ELC provides for a compulsory public consultation. In most cases, no clear relationship between the results of public participation and the resulting definition of LQO and planning scenarios has been found. The objective of the present study is therefore to propose a methodology for designing landscape planning scenarios and defining LQO by the systematic, objective and quantified analysis of the results of a public participation process and taking advantage of the capacity of a Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) to capture public perception of landscape. The results of a picture-based survey and of the assessment of more than two thousand landscape scenes through the PPGIS allowed us to calculate indices of satisfaction and of the level of intervention required for each landscape type and area. From the values of these indices, four types of landscape planning scenarios were identified (protection, planning and management focused on protection and on planning), and the LQO for each landscape type and area were determined according to the resulting scenario. Application of the proposed methodology to the Landscape Guidelines for Galicia revealed information about the public perception of each landscape type and the preferred measures for landscape improvement involving protection, management and planning.

The European Landscape Convention recognises the importance of public participation for landscape planning in order to capture local knowledge, sensitive issues and conflicts, boost exchanges of information and democratise the process. However, traditional public participation methods are frequently restricted to public exposure at the final stage of the planning process. New public participation movements call for a greater role for the people at all stages. The growing development of ICT and geospatial information technologies provides new means of improving the participation process. This paper describes the public participation procedure and the participation geographic information system used to develop the Landscape Inventory of Galicia, whose results were used for the characterisation of landscape types, the delimitation of special interest areas from the locations identified by citizens and the definition of special attention areas from the degraded areas located by population.

Os cambios do uso do solo, especialmente aqueles que afectan dun modo ou outro á actividade agrícola, constitúen un tema de grande interese en Galicia debido ás importantes repercusións de tipo ambiental, económico e cultural que implican. Non obstante, estes atópanse en grande medida pendentes de ser estudados, particularmente desde o punto de vista territorial e a escala detallada. Neste traballo preséntase a utilización dunha técnica de base estatística para avaliar a influencia de diversas variables de tipo biofísico, estrutural e socioeconómico sobre a distribución xeográfica dos cambios que afectaron á superficie agrícola na comarca de Terra Chá entre os anos 1956 e 2004. Os resultados mostran que se ben o cese da actividade agrícola tivo lugar preferentemente nas áreas máis difíciles de mecanizar e máis afastadas das explotacións, con carácter xeral este deu lugar á rexeneración natural do mato nas áreas máis afastadas dos núcleos de poboación e situadas a maior altitude, mentres que deu lugar á existencia de arborado en moitas áreas máis accesibles. Respecto da transición en sentido contrario (de mato a superficie agrícola), evidénciase nos resultados a grande importancia de variables relativas ás características estruturais das parcelas na roturación de terras de monte para ser utilizadas pola agricultura na actualidade.

O Plan Territorial Integrado da bacía hidrográfica do río Eume (PTI do Eume) contempla entre os seus obxectivos protexer o medioambiente e favorecer a actividade económica con criterios de sustentabilidade Definiuse un modelo de avaliación baseado no desenvolto pola Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) no ano 1976, A Framework for Land Evaluation, para asignar a cada unidade territorial unha destas 7 categorías ou clases de terra obtidas a partir da tipificación dos 12 factores máis relevantes que condicionan a aptitude do solo na bacía do río Eume. Esta tipificación cartográfica da aptitude agroforestal ademais de empregarse como indicador da eficiencia na utilización do solo, (comparándoa cas dinámicas das coberturas do solo reflectidas en series cartográficas como o Sistema de información de ocupación del suelo de España (SIOSE)), empregouse para elaborar un modelo territorial composto por tres áreas de ordenación integral que segmentarán o territorio da bacía co obxectivo de facer unha ordenación e regulación “ad doc” dos usos e actividades máis acordes a aptitude do solo co fin de optimizar a eficiencia do uso desde unha perspectiva territorial e sostible.

Preservation of agricultural land is a common need in many States and regions in the European Union and worldwide. Underlying reasons for this need are diverse, as are the approaches chosen to facilitate farmland preservation. Zoning is very often the main instrument used to protect agricultural land from urbanization and afforestation. This chapter presents a multi-criteria decision analysis system intended to support zoning decisions. In this study, parcels are used as the unit of analysis. The system of analysis integrates biophysical criteria related to the productivity of land, structural factors related to the efficiency of farming activities and landscape configuration as defined by present and past land use. As an intermediate step to define landscape configuration, a methodology for classification of historical aerial photographs is proposed, based upon object-oriented classification of individual land parcels with the aid of supervised decision trees and ancillary textural information. The resulting decision support system takes the form of a parcel rating system, allowing end users to identify agricultural areas for which protective zoning should be implemented by selecting progressively lower scoring parcels until the desired total area (ideally based upon demand estimates) is satisfied.

Planning Support Systems (PSS) comprise a wide variety of geo‐technological tools related to GIS and spatial modeling aimed at addressing land planning processes. This article describes the OpenRules system, a PSS based on a previous system called RULES. Among OpenRules new features are its architecture, based exclusively on free and open source software, and its applicability to all land use types, including rural and urban uses. In addition, OpenRules incorporates an unlimited number of land evaluation factors and a new objective in land use spatial allocation. OpenRules has been programmed in Java and implemented as a module of the free GIS software gvSIG, with full integration between the GIS and the decision support tools. Decision support tools include multicriteria evaluation, multiobjective linear programming and heuristic techniques, which support three basic stages of land use planning processes, namely land suitability evaluation, land use area optimization and land use spatial allocation. The application of OpenRules to the region of La Troncal, Ecuador, demonstrates its capability to generate alternative and coherent solutions through a scientific and justified procedure at low cost in terms of time and resources.

There is an increasing demand for tools that support land use planning processes, particularly the design of zoning maps, which is one of the most complex tasks in the field. In this task, different land use categories need to be allocated according to multiple criteria. The problem can be formalized in terms of a multiobjective problem. This paper generalizes and complements a previous work on this topic. It presents an algorithm based on a simulated annealing heuristic that optimizes the delimitation of land use categories on a cadastral parcel map according to suitability and compactness criteria. The relative importance of both criteria can be adapted to any particular case. Despite its high computational cost, the use of plot polygons was decided because it is realistic in terms of technical application and land use laws. Due to the computational costs of our proposal, parallel implementations are required, and several approaches for shared memory systems such as multicores are analysed in this paper. Results on a real case study conducted in the Spanish municipality of Guitiriz show that the parallel algorithm based on simulated annealing is a feasible method to design alternative zoning maps. Comparisons with results from experts are reported, and they show a high similarity. Results from our strategy outperform those by experts in terms of suitability and compactness. The parallel version of the code produces good results in terms of speed-up, which is crucial for taking advantage of the architecture of current multicore processors.

Planning of rural areas is essential for the preservation of the countryside and the rural settlements (RSs), as well as for the provision of services, infrastructures and resources. In this paper the criteria for the identification and delimitation of RSs established by the successive land use laws in Galicia (a region of NW Spain) are assessed to determine if these criteria have successfully contributed to spatial delimitation. With this aim the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, sustainability, coherence and added value indicators, established by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development for the evaluation of policies, have been used, as well as the objectivity, space typology and consistency indices. The results indicate that the legal criteria for RS planning have evolved towards a more objective and quantitative approach, especially through an improvement in the spatial concept of RS. This improvement is due to the definition and description of different typologies of RS areas and the incorporation in the criteria of qualitative and quantitative descriptions.

Este artigo realiza uma análise social de fatores que influenciam o desenvolvimento e o planejamento dos núcleos populacionais rurais. Nesse sentido, busca determinar quais são e em que medida os objetos identificados exercem influência no espaço rural e no seu âmbito de atuação relacionados como lugares rurais. O objetivo é identificar a percepção social do espaço rural e do lugar desses núcleos rurais levando em consideração dois grupos sociais: a própria comunidade rural e um grupo de técnicos em planejamento. Como metodologia, realizou-se uma exploração in situ associada a visitas e entrevistas em campo, bem como uma aplicação de questionários ao grupo de técnicos. Conclui-se que ambas as explorações demonstram proximidades quanto às características dos assentamentos rurais e quanto aos seus problemas, bem como consideram que os elementos da paisagem devem ser entendidos como um ativo espacial e social no planejamento destas áreas.

This article carries out a social analysis of the factors that influence development and planning in rural population clusters. In this vein, it seeks to determine such factors and to what extent those identified influence rural space. The aim of this article is to identify the social perception of rural space and the place of such rural clusters taking into consideration two social groups: the rural community itself and a group of planning technicians. In methodological terms, an on-site exploration was carried out in combination with fieldwork and interviews. In addition, technical workers were asked to respond a survey questionnaire. The article concludes that both explorations indicated similarity as to the characteristics of rural settlements and its problems, and that landscape must be considered a spatial asset in planning undertaken in these areas.