The importance of landscape characteristics for the delivery of cultural ecosystem services

The benefits and disbenefits associated with cultural ecosystem services of urban green spaces

Cultural ecosystem services (CES) and disservices shape landscape planning policy to a huge extent. We focus on the benefits and disbenefits associated with CES. The study aimed to explore the co-occurrence of the benefits and disbenefits associated with CES as well as the relationship between spatial and landscape characteristics and specific benefits and disbenefits. We conducted a map-based online questionnaire among visitors of two urban green spaces in Kraków, Poland (Wolski Forest and Jordan Park). Respondents were asked to map places visited and assign them benefits and disbenefits using indicator statements. We found three bundles of benefits (connection to nature, social bonding in nature and responsibility) and five to seven bundles of disbenefits (1). The experiences (e.g., strengthening social bonds) were more concentrated whereas the identities (e.g., reflection) were more blurred spatially owing to their individualistic nature (2). The relationship between benefits/disbenefits and landscape features showed a relatively weak correlation, with a more discernible pattern observed in the case of experiences and capabilities (3). Respondents perceived more human-related disbenefits (overcrowding, noise, rubbish), exhibiting a greater geographical concentration, especially in proximity to tourist attractions (4). The ecosystem-related disbenefits (insects, allergies) were less geographically concentrated (5). Furthermore, the study unveiled differences in the perception of disbenefits across seasons. Visitors of warmer months expressed concerns about overcrowding, insects, and allergies, while those exploring the study areas in winter indicated challenges associated with darkness and snow-covered paths (6). These are important implications for management to increase the comfort of visits to green spaces.

Identify the significant landscape characteristics for the perceived restorativeness of 8 perceived sensory dimensions in urban green space

The restorative benefits of urban green spaces (UGSs) have been supported by many studies. Eight perceived sensory dimensions (PSDs) are regarded as a tool to classify green spaces based on perception. However, little attention has been given to the effects of landscape characteristics (LCs) on the perceived restorativeness (PR) of green spaces. Thus, this study aims to clarify this relationship using the eight PSDs. The research collected information, via video stimulus, from 30 participants on the restorative experiences of urban green parks, according to the eight kinds of PSDs. The skin conductance level obtained via biosensors was used to measure the PR. The subjective satisfaction evaluation of 10 LCs was further obtained using a 5-point Likert scale. The data were analyzed using correlation and regression analyses. The results show that the UGSs with dominant "serene," "open," and "sheltered" PSDs are rated highest for restoration. Furthermore, the findings identify the significant factors affecting the restoration of green spaces using different PSDs. In green spaces controlled by PSD, scene, vegetation, water features, and disturbances are more reliable predictors for restoration. The results indicate how different PSD spaces can be distributed in green urban planning and provide key points for designing each PSD for restoration. The use of physiological indexes rather than subjective feelings provides an alternative for demonstrating the restorative benefits of the environment. However, before it can officially be used by designers, more research is needed.

Explaining demographic-destination preferences for cultural ecosystem services: A set-theoretic configurational analysis

Many fundamental studies on cultural ecosystem services (CES) and CES destination preferences still tend to focus on detecting the respective importance of destination attributes. However, this perspective needs more efforts on the fact that visitors always select a CES destination through a configurational consideration of its ecological and environmental attributes. Based on this consideration, 22 urban green spaces in Nagoya, Japan were studied, and a configurational model was developed by applying complexity theory and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), to explain and better understand the causal patterns of CES quality and availability influencing demographic-CES destination preferences. The results showed that similar preference modes occurred between young adults and males who were very concerned about the time spent on transportation, and between older people and females who had multiple considerations regarding both CES quality and availability. Such findings on the demographic-destination preferences for CES could not only provide configurational insight into the relationships between destination attributes and travel preferences, but also help CES organizations develop multi-factor cooperative management for better CES provision.

Effects of the spatial patterns of urban parks on public satisfaction: evidence from Shanghai, China

CONTEXT

Urban parks need to meet the growing demand for activities vital to residents' well-being and urban development. A holistic understanding of public satisfaction with urban parks is a prerequisite for improving management.

OBJECTIVE

The spatial patterns and composition of urban parks vary greatly, and the objective of this study is to comprehensively investigate public satisfaction with urban parks and the impact of their structure.

METHODS

With the metropolis of Shanghai, China, as an example, we employed 111,814 social media data sets for 50 urban park sites to quantify public satisfaction via the long short-term memory model. We analyzed the internal, boundary and external dimensions of spatial patterns and described the internal landscape patterns from the perspectives of size, heterogeneity, aggregation, shape, diversity and landscape elements. Moreover, we used all-subset regression and hierarchical partitioning to quantify the relationship and mechanism of action between spatial patterns and public satisfaction.

RESULTS

The results indicate that the mean value of public satisfaction with urban parks was 0.716 (ranging from 0 to 1), which is generally positive or neutral. Satisfaction was influenced by the internal, boundary, and external spatial patterns of urban parks. The independent contribution rates of external transportation facility density (51.49%) and internal edge density (48.51%) to satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

We highlight the roles of spatial patterns, especially the degree of external transportation convenience and the edge density of urban parks at the landscape level. The findings provide guidance and recommendations for the planning and design of public satisfaction-oriented urban parks.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10980-023-01615-z.

Could green infrastructure supplement ecosystem service provision from semi-natural grasslands?

Ancient semi-natural grasslands in Europe are important for ecosystem service (ES) provision. Often, the surrounding matrix contains 'Grassland Green Infrastructure' (GGI) that contain grassland species which have the potential to supplement grassland ES provision across the landscape. Here we investigate the potential for GGI to deliver a set of complementary ES, driven by plant composition.We surveyed 36 landscapes across three European countries comprising core grasslands and their surrounding GGI. We calculated community-level values of plant species characteristics to provide indicators for four ES: nature conservation value, pollination, carbon storage and aesthetic appeal.Inferred ES delivery for GGI was substantially lower than in core grasslands for conservation, pollination and aesthetic appeal indicators, but not for carbon storage. These differences were driven by the GGI having 17% fewer plant species, and compositional differences, with 61% of species unique to the core grasslands. In addition, connectivity to the core, the amount of GGI and inferred seed dispersal distances by livestock, were strongly positively correlated with conservation value, pollination and aesthetic indicators. All ES indicators showed similar responses to the GGI spatial structure and distance to the core, suggesting robust effects of these drivers on ES. We projected that improved landscape-wide delivery of nature conservation value and pollination could be achieved through targeted GGI management. Reductions in the distances seeds would need to disperse, more GGI, along with a diversification of the GGI elements, were predicted to enhance service credits.We conclude that for vegetation-related ES, species surveys can be employed to assess potential ES delivery. Creating and enhancing GGI is a useful landscape management strategy to supplement the ES delivered by ancient grasslands.

Spatial analysis of cultural ecosystem services using data from social media: A guide to model selection for research and practice

Experiences gained through in person (in-situ) interactions with ecosystems provide cultural ecosystem services. These services are difficult to assess because they are non-material, vary spatially and have strong perceptual characteristics. Data obtained from social media can provide spatially-explicit information regarding some in-situ cultural ecosystem services by serving as a proxy for visitation. These data can identify environmental characteristics (natural, human and built capital) correlated with visitation and, therefore, the types of places used for in-situ environmental interactions. A range of spatial models can be applied in this way that vary in complexity and can provide information for ecosystem service assessments. We deployed four models (global regression, local regression, maximum entropy and the InVEST recreation model) to the same case-study area, County Galway, Ireland, to compare spatial models. A total of 6,752 photo-user-days (PUD) (a visitation metric) were obtained from Flickr. Data describing natural, human and built capital were collected from national databases. Results showed a blend of capital types correlated with PUD suggesting that local context, including biophysical traits and accessibility, are relevant for in-situ cultural ecosystem service flows. Average trends included distance to the coast and elevation as negatively correlated with PUD, while the presence of major roads and recreational sites, population density and habitat diversity were positively correlated. Evidence of local relationships, especially town distance, were detected using geographic weighted regression. Predicted hotspots for visitation included urban areas in the east of the region and rural, coastal areas with major roads in the west. We conclude by presenting a guide for researchers and practitioners developing cultural ecosystem service spatial models using data from social media that considers data coverage, landscape heterogeneity, computational resources, statistical expertise and environmental context.

What is attractive rural landscape? Differences in the social and expert assessment of the changes in the rural landscape of the Carpathian region in Poland with regard to the need of its protection

Contemporary villages of the mountain region are subject to uncontrolled structural and spatial transformations, which cause deformation of centuries-old spatial systems of high cultural and natural value. The aim of the study is to confront the opinions of the inhabitants and experts regarding the condition of the cultural landscape of the villages in south-eastern Poland. This area belongs to the Carpathian region of Central Europe. The historical and economic conditions of the studied region, related to the functioning in the post-war period, and then its breakdown and the development of the free market economy, constitute an interesting background for the proposed research. Local communities still remembering the period of difficulties related to the period of systemic transformations, are currently experiencing a relative prosperity, many difficulties related to the period of systemic transformations, are currently experiencing a relative prosperity, which is also expressed in a completely new, previously unknown way of managing the landscape. Investments implemented in villages are associated by the inhabitants with the improvement of the standards and quality of life. They assess them rather positively. An expert assessment of these landscape transformations indicates their negative dimension and the risk of losing timeless values. The discrepancy in the assessment of experts and local residents creates difficulties in the protection of the rural landscape. Therefore, high-quality visual landscape features among rural residents is necessary from the point of view of its multi-faceted and effective protection. Local initiatives and actions in the field of industry policy should play a significant role in this respect by consolidating the images of a harmonious landscape in the public awareness.

Variable effects of vegetation characteristics on a recreation service depending on natural and social environment

In this study, we examined roles of three vegetation characteristics in provisioning of a recreation service by applying a machine-learning method to 4,708,229 spatially-explicit records of hiking activity in Japan. Then, expected impacts of land-use changes assessed and mapped based on the model. Associations between a recreation service and three vegetation characteristics were considerably variable depending on the social and natural environment such as accessibility and altitude. As a consequence, expected impacts of unit changes in vegetation characteristics on the service flow were considerably heterogeneous throughout the study area. The signs (positive or negative) of the impact can be reversed depending on the contexts even among nearby sites. Such notable but variable contributions of vegetation on a recreation service should be carefully reflected in landscape management. Even moderate changes in either the quantity or quality of vegetation can have a considerable impact on the frequency of hiking activity. Landscape management for promotion of the recreation service should be carefully designed for each locality on the grounds of the context-dependent effects of vegetation.

From urban greenspace to health behaviors: An ecosystem services-mediated perspective

Urban greenspace can provide important health benefits for urban residents, but knowledge about the potential mechanisms remains unclear, and it is challenging in promoting health behaviors through design and management practices. This study proposed a hypothetical model that assumed ecosystem services as mediating factors between urban greenspace and health behaviors. An urban park in Beijing was selected as a case area to test the hypothesis and identify the ecosystem services-mediated pathways. Results based on spatial explicit mapping and multivariate statistical analysis confirmed the hypothesis and showed that urban greenspaces contribute to health behaviors in varying degrees through the delivery of health behaviors-related ecosystem services. The promotion effect was mainly mediated by cultural services, which is much more obvious than regulating services. We identified the importance of different properties of inner urban greenspace in promoting health behaviors through ecosystem services-mediated pathways. Green elements, especially tree canopy shaded ground, were found to contribute the most to health behaviors in the pathways, and slightly higher than facilities and grey elements. To promote health benefits, the design and arrangement of facilities and grey elements in urban greenspace is suggested to be cooperated with green elements for enhancing multiple ecosystem services. The findings will enhance the understanding of potential theoretical pathways from urban greenspace to health benefits, and support health promotion-oriented design and management practices.

Investigating the potential impact of ecological restoration strategies on people-landscape interactions through cultural ecosystem services: A case study of Xilin Gol, China

Although cultural ecosystem services (CES) are greatly valued by diverse stakeholders, the full range of CES provided by a landscape is notoriously difficult to estimate. The resulting lack of objective norms for CES may lead to the loss of the multiple non-material factors that contribute to how a landscape is valued and experienced. This is especially true under ecological restoration, which could sharply change how people experience landscapes. Therefore, our aim in this study was to identify and analyze the CES that arise from people's interaction with their landscape, focusing specifically on the influences of different ecological restoration strategies. We carried out semi-structured interviews with the residents of villages in the Xilin Gol League, Inner Mongolia, China. Regarding the implementation of ecological restoration measures, the people living in typical pastoral zones would be most affected by these measures because their main livelihood (animal husbandry) depends strongly on grasslands. Our results demonstrated that human perception of the CES provided by landscapes is affected not only by the factors related to an individual's cultural worldview (e.g., ethnicity, age, education) but also by the utility of landscape features, which are reflected in the individual's landscape dependence (occupation). Our research provides a cultural perspective for aspects of local well-being in addition to ecological and economic targets. Understanding these other aspects is critical for implementing sustainable ecological restoration.

Management and Mapping Ecosystem Services in a Privately Owned Natura 2000 Site: An Insight into the Stellantis–La Mandria Site (Italy)

The Natura 2000 network is an ecological network covering the whole territory of the European Union to ensure the long-term maintenance of threatened or rare natural habitats and species of flora and fauna, including in metropolitan and rural areas. Some of the Natura 2000 sites have been subject to changes in ownership that have led to a fragmentation of the territory. Private entities may own areas within a Natura 2000 site and must ensure sustainable management of their property, especially from an ecological point of view. The case study is the Stellantis–La Mandria site, a private area owned by Stellantis, within the Natura 2000 site “ZSC IT1110079 La Mandria”, near Turin. The research proposes a participatory methodology, mainly addressed in this first phase to experts and professionals and aimed at the valorisation and management of private Natura 2000 sites previously considered as industrial sites, to allow a careful fruition and safeguarding of the natural heritage. The aim of the research is to provide a methodological approach and the first qualitative results useful to providing the owners with an indication for a more targeted management of the site; mapping the areas that provide ecosystem services (ES, especially cultural ones); mapping the areas that could be subject to future fruition; collaborating with the managing body to collect useful data for the future drafting of a new area plan. Two main research activities were carried out, a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis concerning the management and possible future fruition of the site and a participatory mapping of ES. It should be emphasised that the research allowed the first results to be obtained, which, on the one hand, make it possible to validate the methodology used to achieve the objectives and, on the other hand, the results will have to be implemented over time by involving numerous stakeholders among those who can access the private area. The results of the research highlight opportunities and threats with regard to the conservation of ecological–environmental characteristics and future fruition of the site. The participatory mapping identifies areas with different ecological value and, therefore, different management needs and identifies areas that could be used differently for future fruition. Overall, the results aim to meet some of the European Commission’s wishes regarding Natura 2000 sites, with particular reference to the involvement of different stakeholders and experts for the conservation of biodiversity and the integration of ecological and social aspects into the management and fruition plans.

Assessing Relations between Cultural Ecosystem Services, Physical Landscape Features and Accessibility in Central-Eastern Europe: A PPGIS Empirical Study from Hungary

Despite the growing quantity of ecosystem-services-related research, there is still a lack of deeper understanding on cultural ecosystem services (CES). This is mainly due to the perception of CES, which can vary by geographic location and population. In this study, we present a Public Participation Geographic Information System (PPGIS) method in a Hungarian microregion. Our goal is to increase understanding on how cultural services are perceived in this geographical context and level, and how this relative importance is related to biophysical landscape features. We also consider the influence of accessibility on the perceived landscape and compare our findings with the results of other studies with different sociocultural backgrounds. The research consists of participatory mapping with 184 persons that were digitized and analyzed with GIS and statistical software. During the analysis, we identified CES hotspots and compared CES with landscape features, as well as CES perception with accessibility. Our results showed positive correlation of CES with land covers related to built-up areas, as well as aesthetic and recreational services with water bodies. Compared to other studies, we found different spatial relationships in the case of spiritual services, and higher importance of agricultural land covers during the CES perception, thanks to the Central-Eastern European (CEE) sociocultural background. Our study highlights the effect of accessibility on CES perception; nevertheless, these relationships varied by different infrastructural elements. We conclude by discussing the implications and limitations of our study and encouraging future landscape research to apply the PPGIS method in this geographical context.

Considering landscape-level processes in ecosystem service assessments

The provision of ecosystem services is inherently spatial. Landscape structure affects service provision through multiple landscape-level processes, such as fragmentation, edge and connectivity effects. These processes can affect areas of ecosystem service supply and demand, and the flows linking those areas. Despite the emergence of sophisticated spatial ecosystem service assessments in the last two decades, we show through a literature review that landscape-level processes are still rarely considered in a comprehensive way. Even when they are considered, landscape effects are mostly limited to landscape composition, and configuration effects are underrepresented. Furthermore, most studies infer ecosystem service provision by only evaluating supply, ignoring demand and flows. Here we present a simple conceptual framework that illustrates how to incorporate landscape-level processes in the assessment of the different components of the service provision chain (supply, demand and flows). Using simulations, we evaluated how estimations of ecosystem service provision change when considering different landscape processes and discussed the implications of disregarding landscape effects. However, to fully implement the framework, a series of challenges linked to mapping and quantifying supply and demand, defining adequate scales of analysis, measuring flows, and parameterizing models for different types of services, still need to be overcome. To promote an adequate use and management of ecosystem services, it is essential to better incorporate landscape processes in ecosystem service assessments. This will lead to more quantitatively accurate and spatially precise estimates.

Electroencephalogram Application for the Analysis of Stress Relief in the Seasonal Landscape

This study proposes an integrated approach to assess the psychological and physiological responses of people in natural seasonal landscapes. The questionnaire of restoration outcomes scale (ROS), willingness to visit (WTV), cultural ecosystem services (CES) cognitive classification, and the neuroscientific technique based on electroencephalogram (EEG) measurements were applied. The effects of different landscapes on human perception were studied by comparing the EEG data of different landscape types and different seasons. The coupling relationship between EEG data and stress recovery was also examined. The results showed the following: First, there was a significant difference between the winter landscape and the summer natural landscape. Second, only the winter landscape showed significant gender differences. Third, the values of ROS and WTV in the summer landscape were greater than those in the winter landscape. Fourth, the number of CES in the summer landscape was significantly higher than that in the winter landscape, and the number of CES in water was higher than that in the forest and grassland. Thus, brain wave data and quantified values from questionnaires including ROS, WTV, and CES showed significant seasonality. Therefore, an EEG can be used as a new, more objective tool and method for landscape evaluation and planning in the future.

Assessing the ecological balance between supply and demand of blue-green infrastructure

Given that improving urban ecological environment requires a clear recognition of the urban ecological elements, investigating the ecosystem service capabilities of urban green-blue infrastructures (UGBIs) becomes ever important. This study aims to reveal and compare the synergistic ecosystem service ability of UGBIs with different characteristics and the relationship with human demand in Wuhan city. It was found that the climate regulation service and water regulation service value of lake-type parks both reached the highest over the other UGBIs. Nature-type parks revealed the most capable cultural service, and green-type parks demonstrated the greatest exercise cultural service value. The analysis showed that the ecosystem services delivered by the UGBIs were influenced by the park area, the total value of the normalized difference vegetation index and normalized water body index, and the distance from the city centre. Furthermore, a significant spatial phenomenon was found that the ecological capacity of lake-type parks in the city centre was higher than that of the other UGBIs at the same location. Regarding the relationship with the human activity intensity, the high-demand and high-supply regions were mainly concentrated in highly developed areas in terms of regulating services. Nevertheless, a severe environmental inequality occurred in small urban centres, which requires urgent attention from the government. This work answered the question of where and how to optimize the green-blue infrastructures in Wuhan, and it contributes to the construction of the existing blue-green space.

The Construction and Validation of a Sustainable Tourism Development Evaluation Model

As climate change, food crises, sustainable development, and ecological conservation gain traction, the revival of traditional fishing villages has become an important governmental policy for Taiwan. To reduce cognitive bias, the choice experiment method was applied to construct an attribute function in fishing village tourism coupled with virtual reality headsets. Conditional logit and random parameter logit models were employed to estimate tourism utility functions. Moreover, a latent class model was employed to determine whether hetxerogeneous preferences regarding fishing village travel existed. The sampling sites were distributed across the Dongshi area. In total, 612 tourists and 170 local residents were interviewed. After incomplete questionnaires were removed, 816 valid questionnaires remained, representing 95.83% of the total questionnaires. Older residents and residents with shorter histories of education were inclined to increase land development and utilization by reducing natural landscapes; tourists preferred preserving landscapes and preventing land development. Residents with more education believed that local landscape imagery was essential. Tourists who were more educated, with high incomes, and those who were older believed that a selling platform incorporating local industries and products within the villages would be attractive for other tourists.

Participatory Mapping of Cultural Ecosystem Services in Madrid: Insights for Landscape Planning

Cultural ecosystem services are gaining increasing attention in the scientific literature, despite the conceptual and methodological difficulties associated with their assessment. We used a participatory GIS method to map and assess three cultural ecosystem services, namely, (a) outdoor recreation, (b) aesthetic enjoyment, and (c) sense of place, in the Madrid region (Spain). The main goal of the study was to identify cultural ecosystem service hotspots in the region and to explore the relationships among the three ecosystem services mapped. We developed a Maptionnaire online questionnaire asking participants to locate places that they associate with these three ecosystem services and their main reasons for choosing those places on a map. We collected 580 complete questionnaires with 1710 location points (807 for outdoor recreation, 506 for aesthetic enjoyment and 397 for sense of place). We found that the three ecosystem services analysed were spatially correlated, with similar hotspots appearing across the region. Most of the identified hotspots were located in the northern part of the region, which is characterised by mountains and forests. Other hotspots appeared within the city of Madrid, highlighting the importance of urban green areas. Natural protected areas supplied significantly more cultural ecosystem services than non-protected areas. Among CORINE land-use types, forested areas, mountain shrubs and rocky landscapes were more relevant than arable lands for the supply of cultural ecosystem services. Our results highlight the utmost importance of including ecosystem services mapping within land-use planning and policy-making agendas to ensure the conservation of areas supplying cultural services that are critical for societal wellbeing.

Evaluating Cultural Ecosystem Services of Urban Residential Green Spaces From the Perspective of Residents' Satisfaction With Green Space

Green spaces in residential areas provide multiple cultural ecosystem services (CES), which can contribute to human health by increasing the frequency of residents' visits. We evaluated the CES of residential green spaces by assessing residents' satisfaction with these spaces in the city of Zhengzhou, China. The data reveal the supply capacity of CES in residential green spaces: the results suggest that the level of recreational services is low, whereas the residents' satisfaction with the sense of place and neighborhood relations is high. The lower the frequency of residents who visit a park outside the residential area, the higher the satisfaction with the CES. This suggests that residential green spaces can effectively compensate for the lack of nearby parks owing to their proximity to residents' living quarters. The CES in residential communities increased as vegetation coverage increased, indicating that natural vegetation is a source of CES. In addition, the results showed that residents' perceptions of plant decoration, landscape patterns, and management and infrastructure in particular can effectively improve the level of CES, and this could compensate for CES that have shrunk owing to low green space coverage. This study has practical significance and value for the planning and design of residential green spaces, offering suggestions for urban landscape planners and decision makers. Future research should combine the residents' perception of demand and supply of CES and should clarify the gap and trade-off between them.

Integrating Ecosystem Services Supply–Demand and Spatial Relationships for Intercity Cooperation: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Delta

Transboundary environmental problems caused by urban expansion and economic growth cannot be solved by individual cities. Successful intercity environmental cooperation relies on the clear identification and definition of the rights and obligations of each city. An Ecosystem services (ES) approach not only budgets the ES supply and demand of a city, but also defines the spatial relationships between Services Provisioning Areas (SPA) and Services Benefiting Areas (SBA). However, to date, quantitative studies integrating ES budgets and spatial relations have been scarce. This study integrates ecosystem services supply–demand budgeting with flow direction analysis to identify intercity environmental cooperation in the highly urbanized Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region of China for water-related ecosystem services (flood protection, erosion regulation and water purification). The results demonstrated that there were significant spatial mismatches in the supply and demand of three water-related ES among 16 core cities in the YRD region: five to six cities in the southern part of the region had significant service surpluses, while ten to 11 cities in the north–central part had significant service deficits. We then went on to offer definitions for Ecosystem Services Surplus City, Ecosystem Services Deficit City and Ecosystem Services Balance City, as well as Service Provisioning City, Service Benefiting City and Service Connecting City in which to categorize cities in the YRD Region. Furthermore, we identified two intercity cooperation types and two non-cooperation types. This framework can be used to promote ecological integration in highly urbanized regions to advance sustainable development.

Management and Perception of Metropolitan Natura 2000 Sites: A Case Study of La Mandria Park (Turin, Italy)

The European Commission promotes management practices for nature conservation and human well-being, requiring the involvement of users in Natura 2000 sites. The research aim was to investigate the user’s aesthetic perception in relation to the adoption of different management measures, within an Italian metropolitan Natura 2000 site. The research was performed in La Mandria Park in 2018 (1780 ha). The method was based on a participatory approach (interviews, questionnaires and participatory mapping), involving both park managers and users. Four main landscape elements were identified: lawns, woodlands, lines of trees and water bodies. Questionnaires (N = 232) were analyzed by descriptive and regression analysis. Mapped preferred places were analyzed using ecological indexes on 500 m land use buffers. A gendered perception of the aesthetic quality was detected, demonstrating that women are more strictly connected to nature than men. Users involved in park activities better perceived the aesthetic quality, while regular visitors had a worst perception. From participatory mapping (N = 137), it emerges that the eight preferred places are characterized by a mixed land use with different maintenance regimes and ecological values. Users’ perceptions should be integrated in a co-management plan in metropolitan Natura 2000 sites, combining nature conservation with user enjoyment.

Surplus or Deficit? Spatiotemporal Variations of the Supply, Demand, and Budget of Landscape Services and Landscape Multifunctionality in Suburban Shanghai, China

Landscape services are inevitably interlinked with human wellbeing. It is essential to assess landscape services and multifunctionality from both supply and demand points of view toward sustainable landscape management. This study focused on the spatiotemporal variations of the supply, demand, and budget of landscape services in suburban Shanghai, China, including crop production, nutrient regulation, air-quality regulation, soil-erosion regulation, water purification, and recreation and aesthetical value. A new index landscape multifunctionality budget (BMFI) was developed, integrating the budget status of surplus and deficit with landscape management. Spatial autocorrelation analysis and regression analysis were conducted to identify spatial agglomeration and influencing factors of BMFI. Pronounced spatiotemporal heterogeneity of landscape services was observed. BMFI was in surplus status in 2005 and 2010, but turned to deficit in 2015. Landscape service budgets generally followed the spatial pattern of positive in the west and negative in the east. Budget deficits covered half of the villages in 2015, which were mainly situated near central Shanghai with high population density, high average income, and a fragmented and less diverse landscape pattern. Rapid urban sprawl and the following land-cover changes are the main drivers for the spatiotemporal variations. Landscape function zoning with effective economic development and ecological conservation policies can comprehensively improve the competitiveness achieving sustainable future.

Estimating global ecosystem service values and its response to land surface dynamics during 1995-2015

Changes in land use due to the industrial revolution, increasing population, ever-increasing desire for economic growth is a global concern. The aforementioned changes can have a significant impact on global and regional ecosystem services which are indispensable for human well-being and their subsistence. This study identifies several approaches (Costanza et al., de Groot et al., and Xie et al.) to estimate the value of global terrestrial ecosystem services. High resolution (300 m) land use products provided by European Space Agency-Climate Change Initiative (ESA-CCI) were used to quantify the global ecosystem service values (ESV) for 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015 respectively. The coefficient of elasticity (CE) and coefficient of sensitivity (CS) was calculated to compute the response of ESV's corresponding to land use land cover (LULC) change. The results estimated the mean global ESV's (Trillion US$ year^-1) to be 58.97 in 1995 and 57.76 in 2015, indicating a net loss of ESV (1.21 Trillion US$ year^-1) during the analysis period (1995-2015) due to depletion of forest cover and wetland/water surface. The overall ESV (Trillion US$ year^-1) increased in cropland (4.8 in 1995 to 4.9 in 2015) and urban coverage (0.3 in 1995 to 0.59 in 2015) whereas, it reduced substantially in forests (17.59 in 1995 to 17.42 in 2015), grasslands (9.1 in 1995 to 8.9 in 2015), wetland (22.19 in 1995 to 21.11 in 2015) and water bodies (5.29 in 1995 to 5.27). The forestland, wetland, and water bodies are the highest sensitive eco-regions defined by all valuation methods. The current research provides a way to quantify the overall economic loss or gain due to changes in the past, present, and future land use. This will bridge the gap between economic evaluations of current assets concerning the changes in land use. It will also help planners to provide an in-depth thought to the changes in the overall economic value of a particular land use in future (keeping biodiversity in mind) while validating long-term policies concerning to ecological conservation of a country.

Assessment of the Spatial Dynamics and Interactions among Multiple Ecosystem Services to Promote Effective Policy Making across Mediterranean Island Landscapes

To manage multiple ecosystem services (ES) effectively, it is essential to understand how the dynamics of ES maintain healthy ecosystems to avoid potential negative impacts on human well-being in the context of sustainable development. In particular, the Ionian Islands in the central Mediterranean are characterized by high natural, ecological, and recreational value; however, the intensification of human activities over time has resulted in the loss of natural ecosystems, which might have negatively impacted ES. Here, we aimed to assess and understand the spatiotemporal dynamics of ES supply and how these components interact across the Ionian Islands to optimize future ES provision and mitigate current trade-offs. We quantified multiple ecosystem services and analyzed their interactions at a temporal scale across the four prefectures of the Ionian Islands. Seven ES were quantified covering all three ES sections (provisioning, regulating and maintenance, and cultural) of the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES). ES interactions were investigated by analyzing ES relationships, identifying ES bundles (sets of ES that repeatedly occur together across space and time), and specifying ES occurrence within bundles. The three ES groups exhibited similar patterns on some islands, but differed on islands with areas of high recreation in parallel to low provisioning and regulating ES. Temporal variations showed both stability and changes to the supply of ES, as well as in the interactions among them. Different patterns among the islands were caused by the degree of mixing between natural vegetation and olive orchards. This study identified seven ES bundles that had distinct compositions and magnitudes, with both unique and common bundles being found among the islands. The olive grove bundle delivered the most ES, while the non-vegetated bundle delivered negligible amounts of ES. Spatial and temporal variation in ES appear to be determined by agriculture, land abandonment, and increasing tourism, as well as the occurrence of fires. Knowledge about the spatial dynamics and interactions among ES could provide information for stakeholders and decision-making processes to develop appropriate sustainable management of the ecosystems on the Ionian Islands to secure ecological, social, and economic resilience.