Terraced landscapes in the Canary Islands: La Gomera, “The Terrace Island”

Abstract

The aim of this work is to map and characterize the maximum surface area of terraced slopes on La Gomera Island. To do so, two digital orthophotos, from 1964 and 2016, were used and analyzed with GIS. These sources represent two key moments in the recent history of the island, corresponding in the first instance to a peak in population and agricultural activity and in the second to the fall into disuse of the terraces. In this study, terrace characterization was based on a map-based analysis of environmental and human factors which influence this kind of landscape. The environmental factors considered were topographically—(slope, elevation, landforms) and geologically-based, while the human factors analyzed were land use, land cover, and protected natural areas. The results show the enormous, diverse, and vulnerable heritage of the terraces, which are an example of a cultural landscape whose history reveals the isolation, scarcity, subsistence, and identity of La Gomera islanders, as well as the terraces’ current state of abandonment and degradation. This research constitutes the beginning of an inventory process (identification, location, and description) which will serve as a prior step to classification and evaluation, necessary to protect this landscape. It is also the first contribution from an Atlantic-Macaronesian island to the atlas of world terraces, as promoted by the International Terraced Landscapes Alliance (ITLA).