Identifying Spatial Priority of Ecological Restoration Dependent on Landscape Quality Trends in Metropolitan Areas

Ecological restoration has become an important tool for mitigating and adapting to environmental degradation caused by global urbanization. However, current research has focused on single indicators and qualitative analysis, meaning that ecological restoration has not been effectively and comprehensively addressed. This study constructed a spatial priority identification system for ecological restoration, with landscape area, landscape structure and landscape function as the core indicators. The system has wide adaptability. In this work, the spatial classification of ecological degradation was performed by overlay analysis. The results showed the following: (1) In the Shanghai metropolitan area, the landscape quality showed a trend of degradation, with built-up areas encroaching on forests and cropland. (2) Ecological degradation in the suburbs was more severe than that in the urban center. Forests had the highest landscape area indicator (LAI) stability. Significant degradation of landscape structure indicators (LSIs) occurred when built-up area and cropland were transformed into forests. (3) Different types of ecological restoration had significant spatial distribution patterns. Through this identification system, this study aimed to help planners/managers of ecological restoration to recognize the changing patterns of regional landscape quality and its relationship with land cover. It ultimately provides a basis for the formulation of regional ecological objectives and spatial strategies.

Defining Natural Landscape Qualities of the Southern Part of the Krka National Park in Croatia

The paper is based on a review of the established principles for evaluating the natural qualities of landscapes and developing procedures that can contribute to current methods, upgraded with indicators derived from the perception and attitudes of the public. They were implemented into an integrated model of natural landscape qualities. The method included modeling of the natural landscape qualities for the southern part of the Krka National Park in Croatia. The first evaluation model was based on a survey whose responses were processed and classified using the AHP method and GIS. The results showed that the respondents recognize the diversity of land cover and relief forms and the degree of their fragmentation as the highest natural landscape quality. The second step included overlapping the vulnerability model of natural landscape qualities and the model of perception of natural qualities. It was found that the implementation of perceived natural qualities in the evaluation process affects the model of vulnerability of landscape quality. It also indicates the possibility of implementing the perceived natural qualities of certain landscape types into the complete landscape evaluation process, which encompasses all values in the space, including human perception. Therefore, the whole procedure pointed out the importance of the implementation of perceived values into landscape evaluation, something which is also emphasized by the European Landscape Convention (ELC).

Rigenerazione urbana e produzione di qualità paesaggistica: connessioni possibili fra strategie e strumenti

Urban regeneration and landscape policies have usually been developed on a parallel path. The change of paradigm marked by the ELC in the conception of landscape, that now includes ordinary and degraded landscapes as central to human well-being, implies that the strategies of urban regeneration and those of improving landscape quality can be complementary. Starting with some remarks on the ambiguities of the concept of urban regeneration and the threats it poses to landscape quality, the article focuses on the opportunities offered by landscape planning for inclusive and self-sustaining urban regeneration. The paper refers to practices tested in the Puglia region to point out the role played by the political tools to this end.

L’Osservatorio regionale dell’Emilia-Romagna

The Emilia-Romagna Region instituted the Regional Observatory for Landscape Quality as an implementation of the European Landscape Convention. The aim of the Observatory is to disseminate the cultural heritage of landscape in the civil society and in the public administration, in order to increase the social and environmental quality of the regional territory and to listen to the needs of the community that is part of it. Dissemination, Participation, Surveillance, Promotion are the key areas of activities and strategic planning of the Regional Observatory, including the creation and development of local observatories.

Pemetaan Kualitas Visual Lanskap Pada Daya Tarik Wisata Di Kebun Raya Eka Karya Bedugul

The visual landscape quality mapping of tourist attraction in Eka Karya Bedugul Botanical Garden. Eka Karya Bedugul Botanical Garden is a national and international reference to the ex-situ conservation of tropical mountain plant and botanical aspect service, environmental education, horticulture, landscape and tourisms. In order to provide tourism services, actual activities such as conserving and improving the quality of view are needed. The beauty of landscape view is not only determined by enviromental characteristic and landscape wealth, but it also is determined through the assessment of people from their perception over a landscape. The research aimed to map the visual quality landscape in Eka Karya Bedugul Botanical Garden and determine the best criteria of visual quality on natural landscape. The research methods used were surverys and visual assesments which include data collecting step, beauty assesment with scenic beauty estimation (SBE), and descriptive analysis about the determinant factor of visual quality on natural landscape. The beauty of the visual quality over the natural landscape was shown through the harmonic combination of landscape form elements. The visual quality over the natural landscape used were the unity of resources, well maintained natural landscape, and giving a lively effect resulted through the use of combining landscape form elements and design. There were seven landscape points that fall under the best visual quality landscape category, which were landscape number 18,32,33,34,37,38, and 40. The visual landscape quality points in Eka Karya Bedugul Botanical Garden need a regular and persistence maintainence to extend the longevity and aesthetic quality of the natural landscape.

Ecosystem Services for Scenic Quality Landscape Management: A Review

Since the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Project proposed the valuation of ecosystem services—defined as regulatory, provisional, ecosystem and cultural—the question arises as to the utility of such assessments for scenic landscape management. This author as well as others has looked at the issue of integrating ecological concerns with landscape planning. This article will be a comprehensive literature review and analysis of issues involved with utilizing ecosystem services of assessment of scenic/visual landscape quality as well as management implications. Special emphasis will be placed on the role of cultural ecosystem services.

An Assessment of the Ecological Landscape Quality (ELQ) of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) Based on Existing Elements of Green and Blue Infrastructure (GBI)

Nature-based solutions (NBS) positively impact ecological landscape quality (ELQ) by providing multiple benefits, including enhancing natural capital, promoting biodiversity, mitigating water runoff, increasing water retention, and contributing to climate change adaptations and carbon sequestration. To analyze the specific contribution of different NBS types, this study assessed 14 ELQ indicators based on the application of spatial data. Five NBS based on existing elements of green and blue infrastructure (GBI) were analyzed at the city level (Lublin, Poland), including parks (UPs), forests (UFs), water bodies (UWs), allotment gardens (AGs), and woods (Ws). The analysis revealed that different NBS contribute in contrasting ways to the improvement of various dimensions of ELQ. UFs made the biggest contribution to the maintenance of ecological processes and stability, as well as to aesthetic values. Ws together with AGs were crucial to maintaining a high level of diversity at the landscape scale and also contributed to preserving the ecological structure. UWs and UPs had no outstanding impact on ELQ, mainly due to their high level of anthropogenic transformation. The application of spatial indicators proved useful in providing approximate information on the ecological values of different types of NBS when other data types were either unavailable or were only available at a high cost and with considerable time and effort.

Aesthetic resources of the central ecological zone of the Baikal natural territory (within the borders of the Irkutsk region)

The research considers the results of the aesthetic assessment of landscapes in the central ecological zone of the Baikal natural territory (CEZ BNT). The expert assessment based on a set of indicators was carried out in Quantum GIS using landscape photographs. Cartographic materials (landscape typological map, Forest Resource Management maps, SRTM, areas affected by fire, etc.) were also involved in the assessment. The map «Aesthetic Evaluation of the Geosystems of the Central Ecological zone of Lake Baikal within the Borders of the Irkutsk Region» was created based on the analysis of the estimated indicators of the aesthetic landscape quality. The construction of the map is based on the principle of the priority of landscape scene viewpoints; the assessment is assigned to the polygon from which the landscape scene is observed. The article contains the detailed structure of the landscape scene complexes of the CEZ BNT.

Towards Managing Visual Pollution: A 3D Isovist and Voxel Approach to Advertisement Billboard Visual Impact Assessment

Visual pollution (VP) is a visual landscape quality issue, and its most consistently recognized symptom is an excess of out of home advertising billboards (OOHb). However, the VP related research concerns landscape aesthetic and advertisement cultural context, leaving the impact of outdoor billboard infrastructure on landscape openness unanswered to date. This research aims to assess the visual impact of outdoor billboard infrastructure on landscape openness, precisely the visual volume—a key geometrical quality of a landscape. The method uses 3D isovists and voxels to calculate the visible and obstructed subsets of visible volume. Using two case studies (Lublin City, Poland) and 26 measurement points, it was found that OOHb decreased landscape openness by at least 4% of visible volume; however, the severe impact may concern up to 35% of visual volume. GIS scientists develop the proposed method for policy-makers, and urban planners end users. It is also the very first example of compiling 3D isovists and voxels in ArcGIS Pro software in an easy-to-replicate framework. The research results, accompanied by statistically significant proofs, explain the visual landscape’s fragility and contribute to understanding the VP phenomenon.