Landscape delineation — Recipe (QGIS)
Tool-bound implementation of the Landscape delineation (Task) Task Schema in QGIS 4.2. Worked example: Habitat network at Ledreborg (Example).
Data you need
| Role | Form | Level of measurement | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evidence layers | raster or vector, any | any | layers that show landform, soils, water, historical and present land use, e.g. a geomorphological map, historical maps, a soil map, a terrain model with hillshade, an orthophoto |
| Landscapes (output) | polygons | nominal (landscape type) | one text field for the type |
Create the layer and the study area (Task Schema step 1)
- Layer › Create Layer › New GeoPackage Layer…: geometry type Polygon, the project’s CRS (EPSG:25832 for Danish data), one text field for the landscape type.
- Toggle editing, and on the Shape Digitizing toolbar choose Add Rectangle from Extent (or from 2 points). Draw the study area.
Load and read the evidence layers (steps 2–3)
Add the evidence layers, for example with the SemanticGIS plugin. Switch them on and off, and set the transparency of one over another, to see where landform, soil and land use change together.
Split the rectangle into landscapes (step 4)
On the Advanced Digitizing toolbar choose Split Features. Click a line across the rectangle along a boundary you have read in the evidence layers; right-click to finish. Repeat for every boundary.
Name the landscapes (step 5)
Open the attribute table and type the landscape type for each polygon. Use exactly the same spelling for the same type: a misspelt name becomes a separate landscape in every later summary. Save the edits.
Checked in QGIS 4.2.2, October 2026.