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quality of visual character. Scrubland offers a more dynamic visual than other two landscape types, as it shows more varied landscape components, such as sand,
vegetations, and even the sea as the background, in some locations, which finally also affect the dynamic of natural color that come from their landscape
components. The diversity variable also gives a good effect in river area, though not as strong as the scrubland. But, they are line and continuity variables which
become the most affecting variables of visual character scoring for river. Meanwhile, the woodland seems to be more monotonous than other two
landscapes because of its high density of vegetations and their relative similar in colors.
Settlement area is the type of landscape with the lowest visual character score. Almost all variables of visual character show the lowest scores for this type
of landscape, except the diversity variables, though it is not the highest score either. The spatial distribution of the sum of visual character variables scores can
be seen in Figure 12.
4.1.3. Visual Quality of Parangtritis Coastal Area
This visual character assessment result is then integrated together with the result of visual preferences assessment to obtain the visual quality of the study
area. Both of the thematic map of SBE value distribution and the map of visual character variables score distribution are overlaid to acquire a composite map of
visual quality of Parangtritis Coastal Area as shown in Figure 13.
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Figure 12. Spatial Distribution of Visual Character Variables Score
Figure 13. Visual Quality Map of Parangtritis Coastal Area The overlay result is grouped into 5 classes of quality which range from
very low quality until very high quality of visual resources. Sand dune places the highest position of quality with a very high quality of visual Figure 14, while
agriculture land comes straight after it with high quality of visual Figure 15. The beach places the third position with medium visual quality Figure 16. This
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result shows that based on both observers and expert judgment, sand dune and agriculture land are better in visual performance than beach though they are in
coastal area. Besides, because of the visual character variables, it is also possibly affected by the observers’ backgrounds that they are still more oriented to the
terrestrial area than the coastal area, so that they find that sand dune and agriculture area are more interesting than beach.
Sand dune
Figure 14. Landscape Characters with Very High Visual Quality
Agriculture Land
Figure 15. Landscape Characters with High Visual Quality
Beach
Figure 16. Landscape Characters with Medium Visual Quality Although those three landscape characters are evaluated as the three best
qualities in visual preferences and character, where it should be one of important considerable factors in making them as tourism attractions, but unfortunately, in
real condition, those types of landscape characters are still limited to develop as
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potential tourism attractions. So far, the tourism developments are still concentrated in certain part of beach areas in Parangtritis, which are already
known as tourist destinations, without considering them as part of the entire system of coastal area as well as a system of tourism resources. Other types of
landscape, especially sand dunes that have very high values in visual quality and preferences, are still limited considered to be developed and conserved as tourism
attractions of the area. There still not many people know about the existancies and the important values of sand dunes within the area as potential tourism
resources. It is also due to the lack of information and promotion as part of the tourism planning of the area.
Following the beach, there is woodland, river, and scrubland that have low visual quality Figure 17, while the lowest position is placed by settlement area
with the very low quality of visual Figure 18. Table 8 lists the landscape characters within the Parangtritis Coastal Area with their visual quality and its
components. Table 8. Landscape Characters in Parangtritis Area with Their Visual Quality
No. Landscape Character
Visual Preferences Rank
Visual Character Rank
Visual Quality
1. Sand Dune
I I Very High
2. Agriculture Land
II II High
3. Beach III III
Medium 4. Woodland
IV VI Low
5. River V V
Low 6. Scrubland
VI IV Low
7. Settlement Area
VII VII Very Low
50 a. Woodland
b. River
c. Scrubland
Figure 17. Landscape Characters with Low Visual Quality
Settlement Area
Figure 18. Landscape Characters with Very Low Visual Quality
4.2. Natural Quality Assessment
