889 
ties but also 
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there is an 
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: 141). It is 
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valuation for 
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>r recreation, 
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ttributes are 
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an be consid- 
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created and 
are the "re- 
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;Connel 1969; 
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levertheless, 
indevaluation 
analysis of recreational developments 
When it is possible to analyse not only the most 
recent pattern of recreational use of an area, but 
also the use patterns in one or more situations in 
the past by interpreting older sets of airphotos, 
the factors determining the suitability and/or at- 
tractivity of recreational resources may become more 
apparent than when only one situation can be stu 
died. Examples of such sequential airphoto interpre 
tation studies are that on the Skanor peninsula in 
south Sweden (Rasmussen 1962), the Connecticut River 
Valley (MacConnel 1969) and the Proserpina Lake area 
in south-western Spain (Zee 1982). 
From such studies it can be deduced where recrea 
tional development started, which parts of the area 
were first occupied by recreational uses and which 
parts were incorporated in later phases. This may 
give a clear indication on which type of resources 
or resource elements have (or had) the highest pre 
ference and which parts are more of a second or 
third choice. Also the character of the area at the 
time before the recreational development took place 
can be analysed. In this way the requirements of the 
recreational lut's may thus be more narrowly de 
fined. 
But from such a comparative study also informa 
tion can be abstracted about which types of recrea 
tion were apparently more favourite in the earlier 
period and which types of recreation are more re 
cently in the focus of interest, thus about changes 
in preference or fashion. 
It may also reveal in which period the bulk of re 
creational development has occurred and thus whether 
the area is a rather established, traditional re 
creation area, or whether it is a new emerging re 
creation area. Both types of area may require their 
own approach in landevaluation for recreation. 
IMPACT OF RECREATION ON ITS RESOURCES 
In an already established recreation area the impact 
of recreation on its environment may have become 
evident,and analysis of this impact may give indica 
tions of—whatimpact can be expected in newly devel 
oping recreatiorT^areag^and how possibly to avoid or 
restrict negative effects. 
The impact of recreation on its resources, which 
are^SSbexdded in the landscape, can be manifold. What 
type—of impact and how strong it will be,will depend 
on the type of recreational activity on the one hand 
and the type of landscape on the other hand. 
In—many_^developing countries the impact of recrea 
tion on its^environment as yet may be very slight 
only, but will certainly become more obvious as 
standards of living rise, and with that the rates of 
participation in recreation (Robinson 1972: 561). 
The impact of recreation needs not always be nega 
tive. On many of the European Wadden Sea islands,for 
example, where recreation became an important source 
of income, as a consequence the agricultural pres 
sure - in particular on the most vulnerable areas 
which were less suitable for agriculture anyway - 
could be reduced considerably. This positive influ 
ence, however, often is balanced or even outweighed 
by the negative impact (Zee 1983: 270). 
A very clear effect on the landscape is caused by 
the physical facilities for recreation, whether 
permanent, semi-permanent or temporary. This effect 
makes it possible to inventory the actual recrea 
tional use by airphoto interpretation. The aspect of 
the landscape can change drastically if it is occu 
pied by summer cottages, a caravan or camping site, 
a large parking place, a marina, etc. Access to that 
part of the landscape may be restricted to the own 
ers or users of those facilities, excluding other 
recreationists and other types of recreation. 
The presence of the recreational facilities will 
affect the characeristics of the Very resources that 
attracted them. 
The same sequential studies as mentioned earlier 
are also good examples of the analysis of the im 
pact of recreation on its environment. 
But it is not only by constructing physical faci 
lities that the landscape is affected by recrea 
tion. Since for many types of recreation the nat 
ural landscape is the major original resource, it 
can be expected that recreationists visit this 
landscape, walk in it, sit in it, play in it, throw 
around litter in it, in short, display a behaviour 
that normally is not destructive in intention but 
is damaging in effect (Zee 1983: 273). 
The effects of recreation are most pronounced 
when the feet of repeatedly passing recreationists 
create a network of tracks and paths and even areas 
of bare soil. This is the ultimate stage of a pro 
cess that starts with a change in the vegetation 
composition and a general degeneration of the vege 
tation (Ittersum 1977: 67-68; Zee 1983: 273). 
Because the process is very gradual it is often not 
easily recognized. Changes in vegetation compo 
sition and early stages of degeneration are hard to 
detect in the field, leave alone on airphotos, but 
the effects of "recreational erosion" can often be 
assessed, and especially by comparing sequences of 
aerial photographs the results of the gradual pro 
cess can be clearly demonstrated. 
Measuring the increase in length of path-network or 
the increase in area of bare soil is a relatively 
easy way to quantify the impact of recreation on 
the environment (Ittersum 1977: 75-76; Zee 1983: 
273) . 
Which parts of the natural landscape are influen 
ced mostly,depends on their vulnerability, their 
location with respect to villages and concentra 
tions of recreational facilities, as well as on 
their attractivity for certain types of recreation 
(Ittersum 1977: 71; Zee 1983: 273). 
SPATIAL BEHAVIOUR OF RECREATIONISTS 
An analysis of the impact of recreation on the 
landscape, as mentioned in the previous section, 
may already give an indication of the spatial beha 
viour characteristics of recreationists. The re 
creational use is not evenly spread over an area 
and not all parts of the area are used with the 
same objectives. In the path-network created by 
recreational erosion several distinct patterns can 
be detected reflecting different types of spatial 
behaviour (Ittersum 1977: 68-70; Zee 1983: 273- 
274) . 
The study of spatial behavibur of recreationists 
can be done by means of direct observations and 
questionnaires. But if impacts of recreation can be 
detected on airphotos, a good, and above all an 
overall and comprehensive, impression of spatial 
behaviour also can be obtained. 
Knowledge about this spatial behaviour can help not 
only in further specifying the physical require 
ments and preference of a recreation type, but also 
in determining which factors apart from physical 
suitability and accessibility make up the attracti 
vity of a landscape for recreation. It also can be 
very useful in planning for proper management of 
recreational resources. 
Therefore it would be interesting to also be able 
to analyse this spatial behaviour if no impacts can 
be detected on airphotos. If the recreationists or 
their vehicles can be easily detected, analysis of 
a series of airphotos taken during one day can be a 
solution. 
In the Netherlands this has been done especially 
for watersports and for beach and shoreline recrea 
tion. Both oblique and vertical airphotos have been 
applied in various case studies (CD&PW 1970; RWS 
1977; PWF 1977; RWS 1979; see also Dodt 1984). 
For the watersports it revealed which parts of a 
lake or lake-system were more frequented than other 
parts, which shores were used more than other sho