Geoecological assessment of the relief of the island of Hvar from the perspective of agricultural valorisation

Abstract

Geoecological assessment of the relief of the island of Hvar for the purpose of agricultural development has been conducted using the method of relative valorisation of the relief, modified to suit this particular terrain and the ways in which it is used. The valorisation is based on previously conducted geomorphological analysis, as well as the analysis of the physical suitability of the island’s relief (hypsometry, vertical dissection, exposition, slope stability). In addition, the suitability of the terrain and availability of certain parts of the island for agricultural activities were also taken into consideration.
The main aim of this research was to determine which parts of the island of Hvar are suitable, or potentially suitable, from the perspective of agriculture. The results reveal that only 15% of the area of the island of Hvar is suitable for marketable sustainable agriculture. Most appropriate parts of the island of Hvar are Hvarsko polje (Hvar’s plain), Plame plain and Rudine-Kabal hills. The main limitations to agrarian valorisation of certain parts of the island of Hvar are: altitude, significant vertical dissection, and a high degree of tilt that increases the mobility of slopes. The limitations for the agrarian use of this area are particularly prominent in the central part of the island’s reef, which is therefore marked as the least suitable area for agrarian valorisation. The existence of suitable terrain or roads cannot substitute for the unsuitability of terrain as the result of its physical characteristics (slopes, exposition).