THE APPROACH OF LANDSCAPE ON THE FIELD OF INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Abstract

The bibliography on the concept of landscape and its affinity with geographical science is huge. The focus, however, lies mostly on the history of the concept that goes from the positive approaches of the XIX century to both the functionalist and cultural approaches, which assumed increasing importance since late XX century. It is noticed, in general, that both the descriptive and the utilitarian approaches are giving way to approaches which attempt to grasp the essence of geo-environmental relations as well as their processes. This article aims at discussing such concept in the light of the posits of the so-called Russian School headed by Victor Sotchava and supported by Frenchmen Jean Tricart and Georges Bertrand and by Brazilian Carlos Augusto de Figueiredo Monteiro. It also includes a brief assessment of the scenery that is, little by little, being built in face of the possibilities of the new technologies. It is clear that, despite important development of the monitoring techniques as well as of the cartographic technologies, the scope of empiric modes capable of translating the complexities of the integrated dynamics of the environment is still an unresolved issue.