scholarly journals The Role of Cultural Landscapes in the Delivery of Provisioning Ecosystem Services in Protected Areas

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana D. Maldonado ◽  
Darío Ramos-López ◽  
Pedro A. Aguilera

The aim of this paper is to assess and highlight the significance of cultural landscapes in protected areas, considering both biodiversity and the delivery of provisioning ecosystem services. In order to do that, we analyzed 26 protected areas in Andalusia (Spain), all of them Natural or National Parks, regarding some of their ecosystem services (agriculture, livestock grazing, microclimate regulation, environmental education and tourism) and diversity of the four terrestrial vertebrate classes: amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds. A cluster analysis was also run in order to group the 26 protected areas according to their dominant landscape. The results show that protected areas dominated by dehesa (a heterogeneous system containing different states of ecological maturity), or having strong presence of olive groves, present a larger area of delivery of provisioning ecosystem services, on average. These cultural landscapes play an essential role not only for biodiversity conservation but also as providers of provisioning ecosystem services.

2021 ◽  
Vol 193 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Bethwell ◽  
Benjamin Burkhard ◽  
Katrin Daedlow ◽  
Claudia Sattler ◽  
Moritz Reckling ◽  
...  

AbstractProvisioning ecosystem services play a vital role in sustaining human well-being. Agro-ecosystems contribute a significant share of these services, besides food and fodder and also fuel and fibre as well as regulating and cultural ecosystem services. Until now, the indication of provisioning ecosystem services of agro-ecosystems has been based almost only on yield numbers of agricultural products. Such an indication is problematic due to several reasons which include a disregard of the role of significant anthropogenic contributions to ecosystem service co-generation, external environmental effects and strong dependence on site conditions. We argue for an enhanced indication of provisioning ecosystem services that considers multiple aspects of their delivery. The conceptual base for such an indication has been made by prior publications which have been reviewed. Relevant points were taken up in this article and condensed into a conceptual model in order to develop a more holistic and expanded set of indictors, which was then exemplarily applied and tested in three case studies in Germany. The case studies represent different natural conditions, and the indicator set application showed that ecosystem services (ES) flow—in terms of output alone—does not characterise agro-ecosystems sufficiently. The proposed aspects of provisioning ecosystem services can give a fuller picture, for example, by input-output relationships, as it is possible by just using single indicators. Uncertainties as well as pros and cons of such an approach are elaborated. Finally, recommendations for an enhanced indication of provisioning ecosystem services in agro-ecosystems that can help to integrate agricultural principles with ideas of sustainability and site-specific land use are derived.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Sophie Weber ◽  
Sen Claudine Henriette Ngomtcho ◽  
Stephen Saikiu Shaida ◽  
Gloria Dada Chechet ◽  
Thaddeus Terlumun Gbem ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Trypanosomes cause disease in humans and livestock in sub-Saharan Africa and rely on tsetse flies as their main insect vector. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa; however, only limited information about the occurrence and diversity of trypanosomes circulating in the country is available. Methods Tsetse flies were collected from five different locations in or adjacent to protected areas, i.e. national parks and game reserves, in Nigeria. Proboscis and gut samples were analysed for trypanosome DNA by molecular amplification of the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) region and part of the trypanosome specific glycosomal glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gGAPDH) gene. Results The most abundant Trypanosoma species found in the tsetse gut was T. grayi, a trypanosome infecting crocodiles. It was ubiquitously distributed throughout the country, accounting for over 90% of all cases involving trypanosomes. Trypanosoma congolense was detected in gut samples from all locations except Cross River National Park, but not in the proboscis, while T. brucei (sensu lato) was not detected at all. In proboscis samples, T. vivax was the most prominent. The sequence diversity of gGAPDH suggests that T. vivax and T. grayi represent genetically diverse species clusters. This implies that they are highly dynamic populations. Conclusions The prevalence of animal pathogenic trypanosomes throughout Nigeria emphasises the role of protected areas as reservoirs for livestock trypanosomes. The genetic diversity observed within T. vivax and T. grayi populations might be an indication for changing pathogenicity or host range and the origin and consequences of this diversity has to be further investigated.


Ecosystems ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (7) ◽  
pp. 1202-1215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ignacio Palomo ◽  
Berta Martín-López ◽  
Paloma Alcorlo ◽  
Carlos Montes

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chi-Ok Oh ◽  
Sangkwon Lee ◽  
Hyun No Kim

Ecosystem services, as public goods, are often undersupplied because private markets do not fully take into account the social cost of production. To alleviate the concern about this imbalance situation, payments for ecosystem services (PES) have emerged as a preferable alternative. While temples in Korea have owned a considerable part of the national parks, a PES approach can be used as a viable option to alleviate the conflicts among visitors, non-visitors, and temples. The purpose of this paper is to assess the economic values of ecosystem services provided by temple forests as a compensation mechanism. Using a contingent valuation method, an online survey was conducted with 1000 respondents. Study results showed that the economic benefits of the conservation of temple forests were estimated to be substantial, ranging from ₩5980 (US $5.42) to ₩7709 ($7.08) per household per year. The results also confirmed the effects of social factors such as individuals’ trust in the government’s environmental policies and importance on the conservation of temples’ cultural and religious values on the willingness to pay. With a growing interest in securing ecosystem services through a PES approach, estimating economic benefits of the conservation of inholdings in public protected areas will be a valuable piece of information as an important policy decision-making tool.


Author(s):  
Milica Dobričić ◽  
◽  
Goran Sekulić ◽  

This chapter discusses the importance of evaluating ecosystem services by showcasing the Protected Areas Benefit Assessment Tool (PA-BAT), which has been applied in seven Dinaric Arc countries, and has gathered information on a range of values and benefits that protected areas provide. The PA-BAT results presented here include data for protected areas in Serbia (national parks Tara, Djerdap, Fruška gora and Kopaonik, Landscape of exceptional features of Vlasina and Special Nature Reserve of the Upper Danube) and economic assessment of 22 protected area values with special reference to tourism and recreation. This chapter gives a brief overview of other analyzes and initiatives for assessing the value of ecosystem services related to protected areas in Serbia. This chapter aims to contribute to a better understanding and promotion of the concept of ecosystem services in tourism and other sectors using PA-BAT and other methods of evaluation of protected area services.


Author(s):  
Olga Markova

Within the framework of this research, the task of developing the principles of creating an atlas information system (AIS) for assessing the ecological state of specially protected natural areas of the Moscow metropolis was carried out. The research was carried out on the example of the Moskvoretsky park, the largest and most integrated natural-historical park in Moscow, located in the North-West and West administrative districts of the capital. Such parks have environmental, historical, cultural, educational and recreational significance as natural complexes and monuments of national history and culture that are especially valuable for the city. A general scheme for organizing data in the atlas information system about the protected areas of Moscow and specifically about the Moskvoretsky natural-historical park has been developed. All the various data are hierarchically linked. To obtain concentrated information, data from various sources were used and interconnected. The landscape and ecological structure of the Moskvoretsky park is considered. The historical and geographical processes that formed the appearance of the cultural landscapes of the natural-historical park—urbanization, hydrotechnical transformations, the construction of sports facilities, landscaping—are revealed. A map of the Moskvoretsky рark with all the protected areas that are part of its structure, other noteworthy objects, infrastructure, green areas was compiled. The role of this map is assumed as the basis for the further creation of an atlas information system and filling it with various data. A table for individual protected areas that are part of the structure of the Moskvoretsky рark, their types and main characteristics, features of natural and cultural heritage, cultural landscape, environmental problems, and conflicts of nature use are given has been compiled. The main environmental problem of the park is the expansion of urban construction, alienating the territory from the field of nature conservation. Prospects for the creation of AIS are associated with monitoring and solving environmental and cultural problems of a part of the metropolis that is part of the natural-historical park.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeria Aschero ◽  
Agustina Barros ◽  
Lorena Bonjour ◽  
Ana Mazzolari ◽  
Martín Pérez Sosa ◽  
...  

Abstract While the role of environmental filters, usually described by elevation as proxy, and anthropogenic disturbance as drivers of non-native plant diversity and abundance in mountains have been extensively studied, the impact of herbivores are less explored. Livestock grazing can facilitate the introduction of non-native species by seed dispersal and reduce biotic resistance due to consumption and trampling of native plants, even in the highest protected areas in the Andes. We here explored the effects of elevation, livestock and distance to the road on non-native and native plant distributions. Our results confirm the largely negative relationship of non-native plant richness and cover with elevation, with a peak in richness and cover at low to intermediate elevations. Similarly, we show a strong decline in non-native richness with increasing distance to the road, especially at low elevations, accompanied by a strong negative effect of roads on native species richness. Most importantly, however, we show that the presence of non-native herbivores greatly increases the cover of non-native species away from the roadside, identifying herbivore disturbance as a potential catalyst of non-native plant invasion into natural vegetation of high-Andean protected areas. Our results confirm the often-shown role of disturbance as driver of plant invasions in mountains, yet highlight the interactive effects of disturbance by roads and herbivory: roads funnel non-native species towards higher elevations, while non-native herbivores can promote non-native plant success away from the roadside and into the natural vegetation. Hence, regulating soil and non-native herbivory disturbance is important for minimizing plant invasions at high elevation in the Arid Andes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 358-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Widawski ◽  
Zdzisław Jary ◽  
Piotr Oleśniewicz ◽  
Piotr Owczarek ◽  
Julita Markiewicz-Patkowska ◽  
...  

AbstractThis article examines the tourist role of protected areas important for their unanimated nature potential. In Poland the highest form of legal protection is a national park. Babiogórski National Parks is one of 23 national parks in Poland. The aim of this article is to present its tourist attraction based on its geotourist potential considered by tourists who visit this park. At the beginning a brief history of protection of Babia Góra is presented. Based on stock-taking sightseeing method an analysis of the most important tourist attractiveness elements (like infrastructure or tourist values) is done. The focus on the values of unanimated nature is made grouping them into four main categories. As the result of research on infrastructure the most important accommodation units were indicated present at the surroundings of this National Park which is vital for its tourist capacity. For the correct functioning of tourist movement at the protected area the supporting infrastructure is important bearing a lot of functions. The function of channeling of the tourist movement as well as the didactic function are the most important for protection and correct use of geotourist values. Among the many elements of the supporting infrastructure the most important ones are tourist and didactic routes (their course and themes are presented). The most important part of the article is the presentation of the participants of the tourist movement opinions on the Babiogórski National Park tourist attractiveness. A survey was conducted and then analysed on 308 respondents in 2011. They were asked to judge both the quality of infrastructure as well as attraction of geotourist values together with their adaptation to reception by the tourist movement. The results analysis served as a base to appraise the state and perspectives for the geotourism development in Babiogórski National Park from the point of view of the receivers of tourist product i.e. the protected area.


Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 106
Author(s):  
Andrés Caballero-Calvo ◽  
José Luis Serrano-Montes

This study is the first analysis of the influence of the design of the logos of the National and Natural Parks of Spain on social attitudes toward these protected areas (PAs). The effect of certain elements in the logo of a PA on its attractiveness and on support for its conservation was explored through a questionnaire survey of groups of university students. The respondents were asked to choose between different park logos, using three main criteria: tourist interest, conservation priority, and willingness to pay for conservation. The results showed a higher preference for PAs whose logos include animals and a lower preference for those with heritage elements. No significant differences were found in terms of types of university programs. The results suggest that greater attention should be paid to the role of iconographic elements in considerations of the protection and management of landscapes. This study adds to our understanding of the social mechanisms that influence the interest of the public in Natural and National Parks. These results can be used to increase the involvement of the general population in conservation goals, contributing to the social, economic, and environmental sustainability of PAs.


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