Forest landscapes are not merely natural scenery but constitute important cultural capital that shapes the quality of life and regional identity of citizens. Nevertheless, existing research and practice on forest landscape assessment have largely reli...
Forest landscapes are not merely natural scenery but constitute important cultural capital that shapes the quality of life and regional identity of citizens. Nevertheless, existing research and practice on forest landscape assessment have largely relied upon expert subjective judgment and qualitative methodologies, and the selection of viewpoints has lacked clear procedures and quantitative criteria, resulting in limitations in consistent comparison across regions with different topographic and land-use characteristics and in the implementation of type-specific, tailored landscape management strategies. To address these issues, this study proposes a stepwise GIS-based forest landscape viewpoint selection model utilizing Cumulative Viewshed Analysis (CVA) and conducts comparative analysis of the viewpoints derived from this model and their associated ridgeline landscape structures across different landscape types.
The study area comprises 13 regions nationwide (3 urban, 3 rural, 4 mountainous/mountain-village, and 3 waterfront/coastal areas). The viewpoint selection model is structured as follows: (1) A 2 km × 2 km grid is generated using a digital elevation model (DEM) and land-cover map; (2) CVA is performed within a 10 km radius for each grid point, and high-visibility areas exceeding the 0.1 percentile threshold are extracted as potential viewing targets; (3) Reverse viewshed analysis is conducted from the extracted potential targets, and viewpoint zones are delineated by applying criteria tailored to the topographic and land-use characteristics of each type (peri-urban, rural, mountainous/ mountain-village, and waterfront/coastal); (4) A total of 980 forest landscape viewpoints are finally identified across the 13 regions using type-specific selection criteria; (5) Three-dimensional weighted analysis is applied to four representative landscape types (peri-urban Daejeon, rural Yesan, mountainous/ mountain-village Geochang, and waterfront/coastal Sokcho), and differences in landscape structures associated with viewpoints are compared and analyzed at the ridgeline scale by type.
Analysis of the spatial distribution of the model-derived viewpoints reveals that forest landscape viewpoint distributions exhibit distinct patterns by type, reflecting the interaction of topographic structure, land use, and usage behavior. Peri-urban areas are characterized by clustered distributions concentrated along the urban–forest interface; rural areas by dispersed and clustered patterns distributed along the low-hill ridges behind villages; mountainous/ mountain- village areas by ridge-oriented linear distributions centered on main ridges and hiking trails; and waterfront/coastal areas by continuous linear distributions along the shoreline. The primary viewing distances also vary by type: peri-urban landscapes are dominated by foreground-range views; rural landscapes by middle-range views encompassing villages, agricultural areas, and backdrop forests; mountainous/mountain-village landscapes by middle- and long-range views from ridges and summits; and waterfront/coastal landscapes by continuous sequential views experienced while traversing roads and trails.
Three-dimensional weighted analysis enables comparison of which ridges and boundary zones function as key landscape axes associated with viewpoints in each type. In Daejeon, the urban–forest boundary ridge system on the urban periphery; in Yesan, the medium-to-low elevation ridges behind villages; in Geochang, the north–south-oriented main ridge; and in Sokcho, the mountain–sea boundary ridge where Seoraksan meets the East Sea were identified as the primary landscape axes. These findings demonstrate that fundamental geomorphological structures, such as the location and form of ridges and boundaries, are more decisive factors in shaping viewpoint selection outcomes and organizing the landscape network than nominal forest landscape type classifications.
The proposed viewpoint selection model, which integrates cumulative viewshed analysis with three-dimensional weighted analysis, has significance in presenting an objective and reproducible methodology for deriving forest landscape viewpoints through systematic, quantitative procedures. Furthermore, the results of type-specific viewing structure analysis provide practical baseline data applicable to future initiatives including the establishment of conservation plans by forest landscape type, the designation of landscape axes and scenic viewpoints, and the formulation of viewpoint-based landscape planning strategies. These findings are expected to contribute to the objectification of forest landscape assessment and management systems and to the development of type-specific, tailored landscape management strategies.