EN
The one of the most widely accepted paradigm in landscape ecology is this linking the structure of landscape with its potential. Landscape structure is definied as the assemblage of elements, their locations and mutual relations. The landscape potential, encompasses number and quantity of resources and values useful from the view point of human activity. Main task of this paper is to verify mentioned paradigm. The case study area was the Ełk region (330 sqkm) situated in the NE part of Poland (fig. 1). The structure of landscape has been analysed at the base of homogenous territorial units - geocomplexes (approx.200 patterns and ca. 11.000 units) (fig.5). Relief (fig.2), surficial lithology and land use were crileria for geocomplex delimitation. In the next step about 600 geosystems (fig.6) had been distinguished, the borders of that were simultaneously borders of the elementary catchment basins. This part of work has been done at the maps in scale 1:25.000. During the studies of landscape structure for patterns of geocomplexcs 4 parameters were determined: number, area, average area of geoeomplex in given pattern and index of internal coherency. For geosystems calculated such indices as: area, location in catchment cascade, index of landscape type, average area of geocomplex in geosystem, average internal coherency, landscape contrast, relative enthropy of landscape. For each geocomplex, thus for each geosystem too, determined the values of seven partial polentials, i.e.: biotic productivity, recreational, built-up, mineral resources, water supply, atmospherical, self-regulation. The author calculated also the coefficient of variation for values of partial landscape potentials for each type of geocomplex. At this base was found that vertical structure of geocomplexes, expressed by relief, surficial lithology and land use, indicates with high degree of reliability values of water supply, atmospherical and biotic productivity potentials. Linear correlations measures displayed relations between the structure of landscape and potentials, for example indices of landscape type and internal coherency are inversely proportional to the value of recreational potential (fig.8a, 9a), whereas are directly proportional to the built-up potential (fig.8b, 9b). It shows that in the Ełk Region, standard landscapes are good for housing and industry, less typical for recreation and tourism. Achieved results of studies in part only corroborated thesis concerning relations between structure of landscape and potential.