scholarly journals Experimental mapping and assessment of ecosystem services based on multi-level landscape classification

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 31-39
Author(s):  
Hristina Prodanova

The importance of the landscapes for the development of recreation and ecotourism is significant but very little studied. Usually, scientists use spatial units to map and assess the ecosystem services CORINE land cover or similar classifications. Traditional multi-level landscape classifications, very well-known and developed in the XXth century in Bulgaria, Russia, and other Eastern and Central European countries, could give valuable information for various indicators for ecosystem services assessment. From another hand, these classical landscape ecological maps are very little- known for the international scientific audience. We decided to conduct an experimental mapping and assessment of ecosystem services based on multi-level landscape classification. For this, we have chosen a case study area with hilly karst relief, which is part of the inner Predbalkan Region, located in North-Central Bulgaria. The site represents a scientific interest in terms of its transitional position between the Stara Planina Mountain and the Danube Plain and the presence of various anthropogenic changes. The study aimed to develop and test an original methodology for mapping and assessment of the capacity of the contemporary landscapes in the Strazhata syncline upland and Melovete hills to provide cultural ecosystem services – recreation and ecotourism. The results showed that 70% of the territory has medium or higher capacity, dominated mainly by karst areas with natural vegetation in protected sites.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Christie Zoeller ◽  
Georgina G. Gurney ◽  
Graeme S. Cumming

Abstract Context: Recent efforts to apply sustainability concepts to entire landscapes have seen increasing interest in approaches that connect socioeconomic and biophysical aspects of landscape change. Evaluating these connections through a cultural ecosystem services lens clarifies how different spatiotemporal scales and levels of organisation influence the production of cultural benefits. Currently, however, the effects of multi-level and multi-scale ecological variation on the production of cultural benefits have not yet been disentangled.Objectives: To quantify the amount of variation in cultural ecosystem service provision by birds to birders that is due to landscape-level attributes.Methods: We used data from 293 birding routes and 101 different birders in South African National Parks to explore the general relationships between birder responses to bird species and environmental conditions, bird-related observations, the biophysical attributes of the landscape and their effect on bird-related cultural benefits.Results: Biophysical attributes (particularly biome, vegetation type, and variance in elevation) significantly increased the percentage of variance explained in birder benefits from 57–65%, demonstrating that birder benefits are derived from multi-level (birds to ecosystems) and multi-scale (site to landscape) social and ecological interactions.Conclusions: Landscape attributes influence people’s perceptions of cultural ecosystem service provision by individual species. Recognition of the complex, localised and inextricable linkage of cultural ecosystem services to biophysical attributes can improve our understanding of the landscape characteristics that affect the supply and demand of cultural ecosystem services.


Author(s):  
Dang Kinh Bac ◽  
Dang Van Bao ◽  
Benjamin Burkhard ◽  
Felix Müller ◽  
Giang Tuan Linh

Recently, ecosystem services assessment has been developed as an effective tool to exchange and understand science, develop policies, especially in cultural ecosystem services. However, quantification and mapping of cultural ecosystem services are obstructed by complications in their definitions and suitable indicators. It can be solved based on a geomorphological approach. The similarities of related indicators between geomorphological resources and cultural ecosystem services can be a helpful key for quantifying a recreation and tourism, landscape aesthetics and cultural identity in a particular region. Therefore, study applied an Analytical Hiearchy Process (AHP) to cultural ecosystem services assessment in Sapa, Lao Cai province. Six indicators relating to geomorphology, ecology and social were used in the process. Results indicated a high potential of cultural ecosystem services supply in research area, especially in forest, water bodies and paddy fields. Two local regions, that have not brought into play their available geomorphological potential, need to be invested for cultural ecosystem services.


Author(s):  
Sakineh Ghorbanzadeh ◽  
Kaj Björkqvist

The study investigates local level environmental conflict between two groups of stakeholders, by analysing their opinions about the importance and use of the cultural ecosystem services of the Anzali Wetland in northern Iran. Data were analysed statistically on the basis of semi-structured interviews with 193 respondents from (a) administrators within the areas of forestry, agriculture, environment, and harbour, and (b) non-administrators, i.e. local people such as fishermen, hunters, and visitors. The results showed that there was a difference between the two groups of stakeholders regarding use of, and attitudes towards cultural services in the wetland. The sense of belonging to the place, and the importance of the cultural heritage were cited as more important among the non-administrators. They also used the wetland more for activities such as sports, social activities, fishing and hunting, while the administrators appreciated the wetland more for the enjoyment of its beautiful natural scenery. The locals used the wetland practically, while the administrators saw the importance of the wetland in more abstract terms. The study highlights the importance of assessing viewpoints of a variety of stakeholders, and including also cultural values in decision-making about ecosystem services.


2021 ◽  
Vol 009 (01) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Eka Yudhistira ◽  
◽  
Tridoyo Kusumastanto ◽  
Luky Adrianto ◽  
Fredinan Yulianda ◽  
...  

Ciletuh Bay has a natural magnificence that attracts local and foreign tourists. Tourist interest was reflected by the many visits demanding the government manage it properly to achieve social, economic, and ecological sustainability. Research on the assessment of cultural ecosystem services in Ciletuh Bay has not been carried out. At the same time, this is necessary for policymakers to maintain sustainable Ciletuh Bay coastal ecotourism. This study aims to estimate the value of cultural ecosystem services in Ciletuh Bay in two ways. The first method is assessing the balance of supply and demand for cultural ecosystem services that adopt the Burkhard Model, namely through individual preferences for the beauty of several types of landscapes in Ciletuh Bay. The second assessment is an economic valuation using the travel cost method (TCM). The results showed that the balance of supply and demand for cultural ecosystem services in Ciletuh Bay contained several types of landscapes in unstable conditions. The economic value of Ciletuh Bay coastal ecotourism is IDR 862,640,124,311.00/year or IDR 77,911,861.00/ha/year.


Author(s):  
Erin Roberts ◽  
Merryn Thomas ◽  
Nick Pidgeon ◽  
Karen Henwood

Contributing to the cultural ecosystem services literature, this paper draws on the in-depth place narratives of two coastal case-study sites in Wales (UK) to explore how people experience and understand landscape change in relation to their sense of place, and what this means for their wellbeing. Our place narratives reveal that participants understand coastal/intertidal landscapes as complex socio-ecological systems filled with competing legitimate claims that are difficult to manage. Such insights suggest that a focus on diachronic integrity (Holland and O’Neill 1996) within place narratives might offer a route to more socially and culturally acceptable environmental management strategies.


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