Visibility Assessment of New Photovoltaic Power Plants in Areas with Special Landscape Value

Power plants based on renewable sources offer environmental, technical and economic advantages. Of particular importance is the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional power plants. Despite the advantages, people are often opposed to the construction of these facilities due to their high visual impact, particularly if they are close to places with a great cultural and/or landscape value. This paper proposes a new methodology for identifying the most suitable geographical areas for the construction of new photovoltaic (PV) power plants in zones of special scenic or cultural interest, helping to keep the environment free from the visual intrusions caused by these facilities. From several repeated analyses, the degree of visibility of the new PV plant, the potential observation time of passing visitors, considering the route they follow and their speed, and the increase in visibility of the plants when seen totally or partially with the sky as background, are determined. The result obtained is a map showing the ranking of the geographical areas based on a variable calculated in such analyses: the Global Accumulated Perception Time (GAPT). The application of this methodology can help the different agents involved in the decision-making process for the installation of new PV plant by providing them with an objective visibility criterion.

Royal Land Use and Management in Beijing in the Qing Dynasty

Management is an important factor affecting the formation and development of a landscape. This study concludes that royal land use is planned by specifying the land type, while the economic benefits and landscape value are also taken into account. The royal land has landscape value, with the core being the royal garden, the background being farmland, and the connecting line being water. Meanwhile, the royal garden management organization has a high level of authority. Based on the rules of the Imperial Household Department (Neiwufu) of the Qing Dynasty, the present paper extracts the royal land use and management records. This paper discusses the characteristics of royal land management from the spatial distribution and utilization of types of land. It analyzes the specific revenue, expenditure, and fund flow of land in detail and summarizes the land management model. Land management is based mainly on directional revenue and expenditure as well as quota revenue and the expenditure system. The management system is established to support the gardens’ construction.

Multicriteria potential mapping for Mangrove ecotourism in Batu Ampar, West Kalimantan

Mangrove ecosystems provide a wide variety of vital ecological and economic ecosystem services to coastal communities, including ecotourism. Batu Ampar, where one of the most extensive mangrove forests lies, is encouraged to develop mangrove ecotourism. This study aims to determine the priority for ecotourism development in Batu Ampar districts by using the potential map based on the multiple aspects from tourism, environment, legal, and landscape value. This research’s multicriteria use includes Natural Tourism Attraction, Mangrove Tourism Suitability, Biophysics Vulnerability, Landscape Values, and Spatial Policy, and weighted overlay based on Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) score. The results indicate that by using multicriteria for the mangrove ecotourism potential, 18% is the high potential area, 30% is moderate potential, 22.6%, and the rest are not potential. The high potential area should become the priority of ecotourism development in Batu Ampar, situated in five villages: Batu Ampar, Telok Nibong, Nipah Panjang, Tanjung Harapan, and Sungai Kerawang.

Mapping the potential aggregation values of ecotourism landscapes from stakeholder survey, structural equation modeling and GIS: Case study of Moc Chau site, Vietnam

The primary aim of this study is to propose a potential landscape value assessment from different dimensions rather than the traditional approach of a composite indicator. The method used in this study is the combination of data collection from stakeholder survey, score measurement for landscape value dimensions using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), and spatial representation with the support of Geographic Information System (GIS). From a large-scale (n = 400) investigation in the Moc Chau district, the statistical data extracted from the survey provides input data for the score determination process. SEM analysis shows that each landscape site has 11 determinants influencing the landscape value assessment. Using the RMSE comparison (for validation) with different interpolation methods, the ordinary kriging method is chosen to model the aggregation landscape value map of Moc Chau District. About 24.97% total area of the study area has great potential for tourism development, being mainly distributed in the center of a high mountainous area. This approach can be used as a model to advocate local and regional assessment and enhance value-based management in other territories in Vietnam and beyond.

GIS-MULTI CRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS FOR LAND ALLOCATION IN CONFLICTING PURPOSE Case Study: Adjoining Area of D’Aguilar National Park, Brisbane, Australia

<p>While there are much research has been conducted to apply the Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) and Geographic Information System (GIS) method to determine the suitability area for a particular purpose, only limited research has tried to examine the different approach to apply this method for the conflicting purpose. One area that has the potential to experience land use conflict in the future is the adjoining area of D’Aguilar National Park, Brisbane, Australia, due to the presence of biodiversity landscape value that needs to be protected. The objective of this paper is to allocate an area for each both residential development and conservation area in the adjoining area of D’Aguilar National Park. This research covers the method of GIS in processing the MCDA to develop the model which has many factors to support the decision making, including for the conflicting purpose. Moreover, the method also used GIS-fuzzy MCDA or widely known as GIS-Fuzzy MCDA (GIS-FMCDA). The result of this research shows that allocating the conflicting land area is quite different from the non-conflicting one. Applying MCDA for the conflicting purpose requires different decision making to show which area would be optimal to allocate.</p>

An Integrated Method for Landscape Assessment: Application to Santiago de Cuba Bay, Cuba

Human activities often drive landscape degradation and the associated loss of value. This paper describes a method that, by integrating multiple factors, characterize landscape value to establish relevant and effective management practices. The new integrated method for landscape assessment (IMLA) is a four-step model that includes: (i) establishment of a general theoretical basis for sustainability relevant metrics; (ii) characterization of the landscape; (iii) landscape valuation; (iv) recommendations for landscape value management. Each step includes different interactive components of analysis. The new IMLA considers the potential range of values associated with each landscape unit and facilitates sustainable landscape management. The method is systematic and includes both inductive and deductive reasoning. Its articulation is represented in the conjunction and overlapping of all factors and variables considered. IMLA was tested in Santiago de Cuba Bay (Cuba) and used to determine five landscape scopes, eight first-order landscape units and 29 s-order units. It proved to be a useful tool to establish landscape values and sound management strategies. Application of IMLA in Cuba will help local authorities institute land-use plans and to establish decision-making processes that include valuation of cultural landscapes.

Using Ecosystem Service Bundles to Evaluate Spatial and Tmporal Impacts of Large-scale Landscape Restoration on Ecosystem Services on the Chinese Loess Plateau

ContextFrom 1999 onwards, China has initiated a large-scale landscape restoration project on the Chinese Loess Plateau, which has had profound but variable impacts on the local ecosystem services supply. There was less understood of land restoration impacts on the ecosystem services and dynamics of ecosystem services thoroughout the restoration process.ObjectivesTo to analyse the spatial and temporal dynamics in ecosystem services before and after the implementation of the land restoration project, and to understand trade-offs and synergies between multiple ecosystem services. MethodsWe used InVEST model and statistical yearbook data to quantify the ecosystem, the concept of ecosystem service bundles was applied to understand the dynamics of ecosystem services.ResultsA significant increase of fruit production, sediment retention, habitat quality, aesthetic landscape value, learning and inspiration value was found overtime in Yan’an area, while a decrease of timber production and water yield was also observed. The majority of ecosystem services bundles area were transformed from having a focus on timber production to aesthetic landscape value. The dynamics of ecosystem services change by land restoration was discovered, to start with increasing regulating services at expense of provisioning services, cultural services exceeding regulating services and occupied the main proportion subsequently.ConclusionBoth trade-offs and synergies were found between provisioning, regulating and cultural services, implementation of the large-scale restoration project is recognized as a key driving force inducing change of ecosystem services.

The geosite of Pertosa-Auletta cave: an educational journey into the underworld

&lt;p&gt;The Pertosa-Auletta cave is a complex karst system of southern Italy included in the &amp;#8220;Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni&amp;#8221; UNESCO Global Geopark as a focal geosite for the important geological heritage, the experience in geoturism management and the cultural, didactic and recreational appeal. Representing one of the most important perennial springs of the Alburni massif, since the early 1900s, this cave has played a key role within the territory of the Alburni, Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park, so the complex welcomes thousands of visitors from all over the world every year. The site is managed by the MIdA Foundation (Integrated Environmental Museum) with the goal of education on environmental and landscape value of the caves. Geological peculiarities, historical-cultural characteristics, as well as environmental protection of the geosite are the main subjects of MIdA actions targeted to the local community and geotouristis. Thanks to the cooperation with several national and international research institutes, the Foundation contributes to the production of new knowledge and to the dissemination of results through its organization. In addition to the cave, the MidA system includes two Museums: the Speleo-Archaeological Museum and the Soil Museums, where visitors are led on a journey into the underworld. Tours and practical activities focus on multidisciplinary information about carsism, genesis of the Pertosa-Auletta cave, archeological findings in the site. A special effort is devoted to soils, precious sources of underground treasures, and ecosystem processes regulating life on the planet. The tour starts from the rocks and their properties and continues through habitats for the growth of numerous lifeforms linked to their structure and chemical composition. The complex relationshis of below-ground environments with water and other earth features are presented. The Pertosa-Auletta cave offers a good example of how people can understand the importance of a complex karst system. Inside the cave the Negro, an underground river flows and it plays an important role in the karst complex. Water and sediments of the Negro have preserved an archeological settlement on piles dating back to the Bronze Age. The presence of piles inside a cave represents one of the most characteristic features of this karst complex and is an example of different uses of the cave through the ages. During the Bronze Age, the Pertosa-Auletta cave was used for both a cultural and a living purpose. In Classical and Medieval times, the complex became a shrine, dedicated first to pagan gods related to fertility and then to the Archangel Michael. Findings are shown in the MIdA Speleo-Archeological Museum along with multimedia displays and reconstructions of the Prehistoric pile. The Pertosa-Auletta cave is also a research site on karst phenomena, hydrology and speleo-biology with important findings on vermiculations, where the evidence of microbial activity supports the possible involvement of biogenic processes in vermiculation development in karst caves.&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;