Index of Landscape Disharmony (ILDH) as a new tool combining the aesthetic and ecological approach to landscape assessment

The term ⿿landscape harmony⿿ (LH) is relatively rarely used in literature. Semantically similar expressions, such as landscape coherence, unity, or sparse integrity are used more frequently. The LH index has been applied in the scope of the following concepts: (1) scenic beauty analysis, where LH describes the characteristic of perceived landscape; and (2) the ecological aspect, where LH refers to the mutual relationship between various abiotic and biotic landscape components. The objective of this paper is to introduce a new quantitative index describing LH combining both of the concepts. The basis for the index development is the assumption that landscape is harmonious by nature, both from the visual and ecological point of view. Therefore, any indicator attempting to reflect landscape harmony in fact measures the level of its disharmony. That is why the manuscript presents the Index of Landscape Disharmony (ILDH) measuring the impact of different factors (elements) affecting the unity of landscape. The index ranged from 0 to 3 (ILDH = 0 means fully harmonious landscape and ILDH = 3 means extremely disharmonious landscape). It involves the following three variables: (1) land type; (2) shape of objects; and (3) form and colour harmony. The index was applied in relation to 24 test areas representing different types of landscape scenes. The study results showed that the level of anthropogenic transformation does not have to negatively affect landscape harmony. Its impact depends on the coherence with landscape type and quality of man-made objects. The study also shows that LH, even if an indicator is applied, cannot be fully presented in an objective manner. The novelty of the research derives from the fact that this is the first index to be introduced combining aesthetic and ecological assessment of LH, possible to be calculated for natural, rural, and built up areas.