Driving forces and rates of landscape change as a promising combination for landscape change research—An application on the northern fringe of the Swiss Alps

Landscape change is driven by various actors and forces which trigger a specific rate of change. Today, many landscapes change in a direction and with a rate considered unsustainable. Historical insights on actors, driving forces and resulting changes can provide a valuable basis to efficiently control or direct changes. In this paper actors and driving forces of landscape change of the last 120 years are studied in five areas on the northern fringe of the Swiss Alps. Rates of landscape change were reconstructed based on maps. Expert interviews with farmers, politicians, planners and historians as well as historical documents helped in identifying actors and driving forces of the detected landscape change. The contributions of actors and driving forces to landscape change were analyzed by type of driving force (political, economic, cultural, technological and natural/structural). The analysis revealed some key forces, like technological innovations and attitudes and beliefs, operating on several institutional levels and influencing landscape change on a broad basis. Comparing the municipalities disclosed no significant differences regarding the relative contributions of different actors. However, a comparison of the time period before and after World War II revealed distinctive differences in relevant actors and driving forces. Thus, decision-making, policy, and planning must be aware of changing actors and driving forces over time.