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8.3 Components of Landscape Memory: Between Linkages
and Contradictions
Following a structural analysis of landscape objects and the aspects through which
they can be examined, the components of landscape memory can be determined as
follows. The genetic component embodies the natural environment (background) of
human activity. The physical component is the sum of the real, existing features
of seminatural or anthropogenic origin that occur in the landscape. The functional
component embodies the way in which the landscape is used, not only in the tradi-
tional sense of land-use categories but as a whole array of actual modes of use of
landscape features. The cultural component denotes the cultural historical substance
(value) of landscape memory features and the information component denotes the
potential to convey information about the landscape's history.
None of the above-mentioned components is related to only one type of feature
in the landscape. For instance, natural monuments are not only an expression of the
natural environment (genetic component) but also have their physical, cultural and
other components. Similarly, a historical building is a physical object but also has a
functional component (e.g. a residence or museum) or information component (e.g.
iconographic or educational value).
For this reason, the components of landscape memory represent aspects (or
values) that are characteristic of each object, while the components of various
features can assume various meanings. Additionally, the components can be in rel-
ative harmony or, on the contrary, in sharp contradiction with each other, which is
documented by the examples provided below.
The characteristic elements of a rural landscape include line objects, whose pri-
mary purpose was usually to divide up land in historical times. The best-known
example would probably be the hedgerows in England (Oreszczyn & Lane, 2000)
but other examples are known from other European countries as well (e.g. Sitzia,
2007; Sklenicka et al., 2009). In the Sudetenland, these field boundaries have the
character of dry stone walls which, in the absence of human intervention, were
gradually covered by abundant communities of tree and herbal species. Examples
of such line objects, commonly termed agricultural levees, can be seen in Fig. 8.2,
shown as Locality 1 in Fig. 8.1.
As with hedgerows, the function of agricultural levees has shifted from land
delimitation to an ecological function, where the levees serve as corridors for species
(Forman & Baudry, 1984; Sitzia, 2007; Roy & de Blois, 2008). However, Oreszczyn
and Lane (2000) also point out that such a restrictive understanding does not take
into account the wealth of information that these line elements in the landscape can
convey. This is why they also study hedgerows as part of national identity, a bond
with the past, a contribution to the sense of place etc.
Similarly, agricultural levees complete the overall landscape design by incor-
porating, apart from the physical component of landscape memory (i.e. their
existence), a functional (ecological) component, a cultural component (specific
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