An areal classification by means of cluster analysis using abiotic landscape data

Abstract

For an area NW of Roermond, province of Limburg, a landscape classification has been developed on the basis of four variables: loam content of the soil, water-table class, soil type and altitude. The presented variables are more or less associated with each other. A hierarchy of the variables, which implicitly means the existence of an overall theory of landscape genesis, has not been used. The classification was performed by means of cluster analysis and reflects the association between the variables in the structure of the agglomerative legend system. For every desired number of groups the legend system gives the mapping units, which have a maximum homogeneity for the combinations of the variables. With the graphical facilities of the computer programme a map can be drawn at any desired grouping level. As an example, the grouping level 8 is discussed in the text.