El componente visual en la cartografía del paisaje. Aptitud paisajística para la protección en la cuenca del río Chiquito (Morelia, Michoacán)

In this work, the main concept of landscape are two. The first is the definition that the Dictionary of the Royal Academy of Language provides: “part of a territory that can be observed from a certain place”, where it can be seen that the main verb which supports the definition is observe, it is, making use of the sense of sight. The second meaning is the one proposed by The European Landscape Convention. “ any part of the territory as it is perceived by the population whose character will be the action and the interaction of natural and/or humans”. The definition (taken by unesco or la Carta Mexicana del Paisaje) it relates nature and culture and concern the way and the environment where people live. It also integrates attributes such as territory, citizen's perceptions and the historical character, genetic and dynamic. This explicit mention of perception blends with the visual component in the landscape that we are discussing.

This work tackles the visual treatment in the cartography landscape, revises the previous epistemological records of the subject and dedicates one section to those referred to Mexico, a country barely familiar with this type of analysis despite its abundant production in applied studies of landscape and interesting theoretical- conceptual contributions.

In order to incorporate visual landscape studies in Mexican territorial management policies, it has been selected an indirect and quantitative method that analyzes the landscape on the basis of the various elements that compose it and breaking down it according to criteria that try to be objective.

This has an important key: the modernization of the visual variable in the landscape. When we refer to this, it is mentioned the analysis executed on a territory related to its possibilities to be observed and to set down those spaces that are more seen than others, which areas are more visually understandable; definitely

Visibility to the territorial studies.

Although the utility of the visibility maps covers various lines of research and application, it is in landscape studies with purposes to the territorial planning where it has had the most development and acceptance from the scientific point of view.

In search of these reflections, the article focuses on the applied case analysis of the landscapes of the basin of the Chiquito river (Morelia, Michoacán).

The phases of this study are: A) Delimitation of the landscape visual units according to the function of the concept “visual basin”, those territorial units where the following landscapes analysis will be developed. B) Establishment of the different kinds of landscapes, known as the result of the biotic and abiotic elements combination that put together the landscape, without to taking into account if they are natural or anthropic. C) Anthropic visibility studies, both intrinsic (according to the topographic determinant) and visual accessibility (according to the spectator's number) widen the analysis to the visibility of the negative impacts. D) Important qualities analysis for the landscape inclusion into the territorial system like the quality, the fragility, and the aptitude of the landscape, with its respective valuation and zoning.

The following are:

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  The quality of the landscape: the excellence degree of its constituent characters, it means the achievement not to be altered or destroyed, in the search for the preservation of the visual resource and the maintenance of its essence and structure.

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  The fragility of the landscape: the capacity of the absorption of different environmental components, for example, their potential to absorb human actions or to be visually disturbed by them.

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  The ability of the landscape: the suitability of a particular landscape for hosting activities or actions, both in the present or the future, without endangering its preservation. In this case, the fitness of the basin of Chiquito river has been analyzed in order to reach sort of protection. In other words, identifying which landscape units should be protected to preserve their existing visual and environmental characteristics.

All that expressed in the cartography way, with a work scale of 1: 25.000.

To conclude, it is important to note the suggestion of some landscapes conservation according to its high quality and fragility values. On the other hand there is the propound of landscape units that in case of need could be adhere to actions with territorial events without serious landscape loss.