Impacts of land cover change in a cultural landscape: Vulnerability assessment of the archaeological landscape of Alaca Höyük, Türkiye

Abstract

Whether caused by human or natural drivers, land use and land cover change (LULCc, hereafter) affect the landscape’s vulnerability and brings environmental consequences. Landscape change also affects cultural heritage. LULCc and vulnerability studies around archaeological landscapes become more critical with climate change. We aim to assess changes in land cover types in the last 30 years and to create a vulnerability map concerning areas with different landscape characteristics around Alaca Höyük. We use a mixed-method approach; (i) a quantitative method for the LULCc assessment, (ii) the Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) and evaluation of expert opinion surveys, and (iii) a qualitative method to assess climate change impacts on land cover types with expert opinions. The study has important implications for revealing how archaeological landscapes around Alaca Höyük have become vulnerable in the context of climate change through land cover transformation over the last 30 years. The study demonstrates that the extent of agricultural land in and around Alaca Höyük has been increasing over time, while the area of uncultivated natural lands has been decreasing. This transition has resulted in an increase in the vulnerability of land uses and cover types. Thus, the unique historic landscapes of the area are under pressure and that policies for landscape management are needed. The vulnerability map underlines the immediate need for more holistic future studies to inform the management of cultural landscapes, in this case with an explicit focus on the archaeological site at Alaca Höyük and the gardens near Gölpınar Hittite Reservoir.