A simplified model to assess landscape quality from rural roads in Spain

The present work proposes a simplified model for assessing the quality of landscapes from rural roads in Spain. The proposed model is based on the full Canas method but takes into account only four of the 16 factors, the latter contemplates: vegetation, land use, form (elements differing from the background) and texture (reflection of light from surfaces). The procedure was tested by assessing the landscapes captured in 109 photographs taken from sections of rural roads around Spain and comparing the results with (a) those obtained using the full Canas model, and (b) the landscape preferences of the evaluators determined using the Likert scale. The correlation between the Canas method and the proposed model was strong (R-2=98.5%), indicating that the simplified model is sufficient for landscape quality assessment in the present setting. A strong correlation (R-2=96.24%) was also found between the landscape quality values obtained using the simplified model and the landscape preferences of the evaluators recorded via the Likert scale. The proposed model differentiates between the landscapes seen from the rural roads better than the Canas method and could be used in the planning of rural roads and other transport infrastructures (greenways, railways, highways, etc.) around Spain and even in other parts of the Mediterranean after further validation. It might also be employed in the decision-making process surrounding the investments to be made in existing but deteriorated rural roads with agricultural and/or leisure uses. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.