Geographic change of form

The geographic change of form (after Hermann Lautensach 1952, hence also called Lautensach'scher form change ) is a concept for the geographical consideration of spaces . The sequence of landscape forms is seen as a law. The concept is particularly used in regional geography and is based on geography . Lautensach's concept does not include any time aspect and therefore cannot be applied to processes that are relevant to space.

Four types of form change

The 4 types of geographic form change

The geographic change of shape is divided into four types. The first three can be understood in such a way that they are oriented towards the three Cartesian axes through a considered region, the last type takes into account the center of a region in relation to its surroundings.

Planetary ( north-south or polar-equatorial )

deals with the changes in the climate , the soil and the vegetation in north-south direction, i.e. from the north pole or south pole to the equator . The results are the climate and vegetation zones, the cause of which is the different solar radiation due to the inclination of the earth's axis (ecliptic).

West-East ( maritime-continental )

explains the changes in climate, soil and vegetation in a west-east direction, i.e. from the sea to the interior . The results are strips of increasing continentality , the causes for this are the ocean currents , winds and the distance from the coast.

Hypsometric ( vertical )

explains changes in climate, soil and vegetation with increasing altitude. The result is altitude levels of the vegetation , the cause is the decrease in temperature with increasing altitude.

Central-peripheral

explains the connections and interactions between a center and the surrounding periphery .

See also

Further concepts for spatial consideration from a regional perspective are the regional studies scheme according to Hettner (1932), the dynamic regional studies according to Spethmann (1928) or the geosystem theory that emerges from geographical landscape research .

literature

• Lautensach, Hermann (1953): The geographic change of form. Studies on landscape systematics. Colloquium Geographicum. Vol. 3. Bonn.
• Bobek, Hans (1953): H. Lautensach's Geographical Change of Form - A Way to a Landscape Systematics . In: Geography. Vol. 4, Issue 4 (October). P. 288 ff.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Glaser, Rüdiger, Hans Gebhardt, Winfried Schenk (2007): Geography of Germany. Darmstadt: WBG. ISBN 9783534215041 , p. 16.