Understanding rural landscape for better resident-led management: Residents’ perceptions on rural landscape as everyday landscapes

The rural landscape is “the dwelling place” of rural residents who generate a unique landscape through their daily activities. In order to strengthen the resident-led landscape management in rural areas, this study intends to gauge how and to what extent such rural landscapes are unique, as these landscapes are not easily appraised by existing landscape assessments that rely mainly on visual criteria, and suggest residents’ perception should be consider in the landscape planning. To conduct this study, residents’ subjective perceptions, in contrast with experts’ perceptions, were collected via a survey method referred to as photo-elicitation with walking. The survey revealed various everyday landscape objects perceived by the residents as meaningful, as well as scenes where visual characteristics were prominent. The results of survey also demonstrated that the residents are relatively insensitive to the visual and physical characteristics of landscapes objects, while sensitive to the “relationship” with the landscapes formed through the residents’ experiences. This pattern of sensitivity appears to be linked to the residents’ consideration of the landscape as a kinetic “dwelling place” rather than a static image. This pattern can be regarded as the reason residents perceive meaning in everyday landscapes. The results of this study suggest that by interpreting rural landscapes as everyday landscapes, landscape planning and management could be adapted to fit the needs and perceptions of rural residents and could, therefore, provide a basis for sustainable resident-led landscape management methods in connection with the everyday lives of rural residents.     

文登市乡村景观评价

乡村景观评价是乡村旅游开发和乡村景观规划设计的基础和前提,景观评价既关系到旅游资源的开发前景又影响乡村景观规划与乡村景观的可持续发展。该文以文登市为例,采用模糊网络分析模型(FANP模型)、径向基函数网络模型(RBF模型)和GIS、RS空间分析技术,选择社会效应、生态质量和美感效果3大类及相应的指标,建立了文登市乡村景观的评价指标体系,从定量的角度分析了文登市乡村景观格局变化情况及其乡村景观的等级。结果表明:2006~2009年,文登市乡村景观格局的单元特征指数和整体特征指数都发生了明显的变化;两种模型评价得到的文登市乡村景观的值分别为3.35、3.28,对应的等级均为优秀,但是其乡村景观在美感效果方面的提升空间较大。因此,文登市在乡村旅游开发过程中,要注重乡村景观再造,进一步提升乡村景观的美感效果,实现乡村旅游发展与景观等级提升的双赢。     

Public participation in defining landscape planning scenarios and landscape quality objectives (LQO): Landscape Guidelines for Galicia (NW Spain) case study

Since the adoption of the European Landscape Convention (ELC) in 2000, greater importance has been given to citizen participation in landscape policies and, specifically, in defining landscape quality objectives (LQO). Although the task of identifying and defining LQO is undertaken by professionals, the ELC provides for a compulsory public consultation. In most cases, no clear relationship between the results of public participation and the resulting definition of LQO and planning scenarios has been found. The objective of the present study is therefore to propose a methodology for designing landscape planning scenarios and defining LQO by the systematic, objective and quantified analysis of the results of a public participation process and taking advantage of the capacity of a Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) to capture public perception of landscape. The results of a picture-based survey and of the assessment of more than two thousand landscape scenes through the PPGIS allowed us to calculate indices of satisfaction and of the level of intervention required for each landscape type and area. From the values of these indices, four types of landscape planning scenarios were identified (protection, planning and management focused on protection and on planning), and the LQO for each landscape type and area were determined according to the resulting scenario. Application of the proposed methodology to the Landscape Guidelines for Galicia revealed information about the public perception of each landscape type and the preferred measures for landscape improvement involving protection, management and planning.     

Assessment of landscape regeneration of a Natura 2000 site hosting greenhouse farming by using a dashboard of indicators. A case in Sicily through the territorial implementation of a "pilot project" at farm level

Rural landscapes within Natura 2000 network are particularly sensitive to any anthropic action which could cause the compromise of protected habitats. Agriculture, if conducted with unsustainable techniques, could cause loss of biodiversity and landscape quality. The aim of this study is to propose a dashboard of indicators to assess the landscape and environmental benefits achievable by a landscape transformation based on a sustainable management of the agriculture activity in an area characterized by the presence of intensive greenhouse farming. The method was applied in the southern coast of Sicily, where there is the largest SCI (Site of Community Importance) and SPA (Special Protection Area) site of the Region. Here, the dune system was seamlessly occupied by greenhouses, so endangering habitats that guarantee the survival of endemic species, such as the Leopoldia gussonei. The main dimensional, visual and agro-environmental indicators for assessing the landscape and environmental pressure were identified and valued both in the actual state and after the hypothesized conversion. The results show that the proposed intervention would allow a meaningful landscape improvement combined with a considerable reduction of the pollution of the area.     

Values and attitudes of the urban public towards peri-urban agricultural land

Peri-urban agricultural landscapes around the world are undergoing rapid transformation due to urban expansion. While some landscape values are being protected by current land-use planning frameworks, we know little about the broader values and attitudes of the urban public shaping this transformation. The structure of the values assigned to peri-urban agricultural landscapes by residents of Melbourne, Australia was explored and related to stated landscape preferences and people's underlying values. Exploratory factor analysis was used to categorise assigned values in multifunctional, food and native biota groups, and stated preferences for photographs into four landscape categories: intensive landscapes, extensive landscapes, high tree cover and plantations. The structure of underlying personal values closely resembled other studies of environmental value orientations. Multiple regression analysis revealed that preferences for all landscape categories were predicted strongly by multifunctional assigned values. Significant relationships were also evident between all assigned value groups and the biospheric underlying value orientation. Attitudes towards residential development approaches were also related significantly to assigned but not underlying values. Assigned values appear therefore to mediate between underlying values and attitudes towards peri-urban landscapes. This research demonstrates that peri-urban agricultural landscapes are perceived as multifunctional systems by the urban public and are valued for a range of functions not typically included in land use policies. This study also suggests that in the context of rapid land use change, a variety of landscape types should be retained on the urban fringe for their benefit to the urban public, and synergies promoted between landscape functions.     

In landscape management all of us have something to say. A holistic method for landscape Preservability evaluation in a Mediterranean region

Landscape assessment methods have traditionally valued the landscape through a panel of experts with little or no participation of the population. However, after the adoption of the European Landscape Convention (ELC), the perception and the participation of the population has played an increasingly important role in landscape evaluation and planning. In this regard, the goal of this paper is to develop a model able to evaluate and integrate both the objective and subjective landscape factors into a new concept: the Preservability. This model, as well as selecting and classifying the landscape attributes according to the bio-geographic features of the study area i.e., Ricote Valley (Region of Murcia, Spain), includes two online surveys: one to assess the populatiońs landscape preferences and the other to obtain the specific weight of each objective and subjective landscape factor from a panel of experts. These landscape factors were incorporated into a GIS. To obtain the best model, the Preservability was assessed from three different approaches: objective, objective-weighted and weighted. The final results demonstrate how the Preservability weighted method returns different thresholds appropriate to the landscape attributes, the population’s perceptual preference and the protected areas. The different thresholds allows for priority areas to be identified for protection, as well as the adoption of appropriate management and planning strategies according to the landscapes characteristics, current state and uniqueness.     

3S技术在景观生态学中的应用研究概述

景观生态学是研究景观尺度上的生态学问题;3S技术是景观生态学的重要技术支撑它为景观生态学研究提供了极为有效的一系列工具,成为资料收集、存储、处理和分析所不可缺少的手段;对当前国内外利用3S技术在景观数据的获取、景观空间格局分析、景观生态监测、评价与管理、景观空间模拟、景观生态规划等方面的应用研究进行了概述,旨在为3S技术在景观生态学中的广泛应用起一定的推动作用。     

Urban population looking for rural landscapes: Different appreciation patterns identified in Southern Europe

In the context of the peripheral European rural landscapes, the role of the urban population, generally referred to as the ‘outsiders’, has shown to be influential in the dynamics of rural space. This influence occurs namely through the demand for non-productive functions leading to the emergence of new modes of occupancy. In addition, the emerging policy framework concerning policies and planning in rural landscapes call for an improved understanding of the diversified social demands for these landscapes. We argue that a more profound knowledge on the urban demand for rural landscape is needed to better integrate the urban interests into rural policy and planning. The present paper aims to gain greater insight on this demand by identifying landscape preferences of urban users, framed by the multifunctional transition theory, and using a photo-based survey with contrasting land covers derived from CORINE Land Cover classes. Furthermore, the use of land cover classes as the main landscape component, and thereby relating preferences to specific land covers, offers a sound basis for a territorial approach, able to integrate landscape into rural policy and land use planning practice. A case-study in Southern Portugal was developed at the regional scale and results showed different appreciation patterns for rural landscapes varying from humanised and more naturalised landscapes according to the different functions sought by urban users. Another prominent result is that urban demand for rural landscapes, even if driven by consumption, is strongly influenced by both protection and production values. A deeper knowledge on the interests of urban population can be a step forward for rural communities, land managers, and sectoral policy decision-makers to better define investment strategies in rural-urban partnerships facing the growing urban demand over rural space.     

湘西州典型乡村聚落景观空间分异特征及驱动因素分析

[目的]乡村聚落景观是乡村景观的重要组成部分,乡村聚落景观的规划设计对乡村生态文明建设乃至可持续发展具有重要意义。[方法]文章基于175个典型乡村聚落景观研究样本,借助Google Earth与ArcGIS10.2,采用最邻近指数、地理集中指数等5种地理研究模型,分析湘西州典型乡村聚落景观的空间分布特征。并从聚落景观生态价值、社会价值、文化价值及经济价值等4个层面,构建包括18个指标在内的乡村聚落景观评价指标体系,对湘西州175个典型乡村聚落景观质量展开评价。[结果]湘西州175个乡村聚落景观总体呈集聚分布,且主要分布在中部和西部。农村常住人口和总产值与乡村聚落景观个数之间的地理联系率分别为81.6和80.5,乡村聚落景观的分布与经济规模和人口规模存在较紧密关联。质量评价发现,聚落质量评价分值为7.01,处于中等偏上的水平。通过对乡村聚落景观驱动因素进行分析,进一步说明聚落景观的分布与人口、经济、交通密切相关。[结论]湘西州乡村聚落景观空间分异呈现生态价值与社会价值高、文化价值与经济价值低,以及中西部集聚的特点,应稳固现有乡村聚落景观建设成效,并注重发展乡村旅游经济、现代农业经济。     

Navigating conflicting landscape aspirations: Application of a photo-based Q-method in Transylvania (Central Romania)

In combination, the economic realities brought about by globalization, and the sustainability goals set by the European Union, translate into contradictory challenges for European cultural landscapes. With its high natural and cultural diversity, Transylvania (Central Romania) is facing the choice between development based on a “production for profit” logic, with the risks of a liberalized land market, versus a largely untested development pathway based on sustainability, landscape multifunctionality and conservation. In the context of these largely externally imposed and contradictory development pathways, clarifying the viewpoints and preferences of local people is important, and may help explain the outcomes of past policies, as well as inform future interventions. We undertook a photograph-based Q methodology study – interviewing 129 residents from 30 villages – to understand and explore the diverse range of landscape preferences held by locals in Southern Transylvania. We clarified these preferences by identifying groups of participants who shared similar viewpoints regarding local landscapes and their changing purpose. Our findings revealed five different “preference narratives” about Transylvanian landscapes, namely (1) landscapes for prosperity and economic growth; (2) landscapes for traditions and balanced lifestyles; (3) landscapes for human benefit; (4) landscapes for farming; and (5) landscapes for nature. Our systematic assessment of narratives showed areas of consensus and disagreement among participants. We relate the five preference narratives to current management approaches targeting rural landscapes. We conclude by suggesting policy approaches to tackle the diversity of opinions and interests found in this culturally and ecologically diverse landscape. Important policy priorities include fostering economic diversification and improving social capital.     

Social landscape: Ten years of planning ‘valuable landscapes’ in Estonia

This paper gives an overview of theme planning on designating valuable landscapes in Estonia (1999–2003) and traces its impacts through the decade up to the present. We claim that in addition to the mapped list of valuable landscapes and their attributes as we have described them, this planning exercise called forth changes in society as well as in landscapes and their appreciation. As the project applied participatory planning tools unprecedented in post-communist Estonia, the Estonian word for landscape (maastik) is now being used more in everyday language, according to the way its meaning altered in the process.     

Landscape as a Focus for Integrating Human and Environmental Processes

The landscape has long been an important object of rural policy, particularly in terms of protecting scenic areas. Increasingly, however, landscape is seen as a multifunctional and holistic entity, which provides a framework for the governance and interdisciplinary study of spatial units. A central dilemma in the maintenance of cultural landscapes is that the historical practices which produced them are often obsolete, and new social and economic forces may fail to reproduce their valued properties. Sustainable development strategies therefore seek to instil ‘virtuous’ circles in cultural landscapes, linking society and economy to environmental service functions and land uses, in order to generate mutually reinforcing feedback loops resulting in socially preferred outcomes. We explore ways of investigating these linkages as a basis for future rural research and policy. We conceptualise cultural landscapes as ‘socio‐ecological systems’ (SESs), and consider their capacity for resilience and stability. Noting that resilient systems are characterised, not by simple equilibria, but by ‘basins of attraction’, we argue the need to understand the ways in which SESs stabilise within a particular basin, or move to an alternative. In particular, we reflect on the dynamics of ‘adaptive cycles’ that may lead to changes in system state. Finally, we discuss the development of appropriate models as tools for investigating whether a landscape is trending towards stability within a ‘vicious’ or a ‘virtuous’ circle, and evaluating potential interventions to alter this trajectory.     

景观生态风险评价的方法研究

区域景观生态风险评价是在景观基础上,描述人类活动或自然灾害对区域内生态系统结构、功能等产生不利作用的可能性和危害程度.区域景观生态风险评价的方法步骤可以概括为研究区的界定与景观分析、受体分析、风险源分析、暴露与危害分析以及风险综合评价等几个部分.     

五大连池火山地貌景观及其开发保护

介绍了五大连池自然保护区火山地貌景观,对火山锥、熔岩流、熔岩洞及湖岸风光等典型景观进行了较详细的描述;由于开发不当,火山景观遭到破坏,甚至造成水土流失、湖岸坍塌、湖水变浅、湖水受到污染威胁;要完善保护规划,健全保护机构,严格保护,适度开发,确保火山景观不被破坏,防治污染,保护环境。     

Investigating Preferences for the Local Delivery of Agri‐environment Benefits

Since 2005, Environmental Stewardship (ES) has been the principal agri‐environment scheme for England and is the key instrument for the delivery of increased environmental benefits from agricultural landscapes. The main objective of this study is to investigate the hypothesis that individuals have greater relative preferences for the environmental benefits associated with agri‐environment schemes when they are delivered within those landscapes closest to where they live. A choice experiment approach based on a national survey provides the data and a mixed logit approach is used to model relative preferences for the environmental benefits of ES across five generic landscape types. Results show that most respondents have a preference for benefits delivered in those areas closest and most accessible to where they live.     

Multifunctional forest management in Northern Portugal: Moving from scenarios to governance for sustainable development

If there is a strong argument in favour of multifunctional forest management, there is also controversy regarding the types of multifunctionality able to instil virtuous circles across landscapes. Managing forests in such a way that user groups, sustainability practitioners and forestry institutions all agree to, is not easy. For any reliable consensus to occur, via viable landscape design procedures, through which multiple functions (production, environmental protection and recreation) may be coordinated by means of innovative planning, there is a need to negotiate a set of common objectives and shared responsibilities. This paper examines the policy dimensions of multifunctional forest management, and, through an exploratory case study, proposes an approach for cooperative planning and institutional design. The case study involved two parishes in the Minho region of Portugal (Gavieira and Entre Ambos-os-Rios) combining the local communities, the National Park, and local forestry officers. The case study created, developed and validated two scenario storylines through a series of participatory processes (two focus group meetings, one comprehensive workshop, and one expert meeting). One scenario focussed on continuity of the traditional management patterns, with an emphasis on direct goods such as timber and livestock grazing (traditional multifunctionality). The other concentrated on indirect ecological services, such as soil and water protection, as well as carbon sequestration (new multifunctionality). An attempt was also made to implement the scenario storylines through initiating a pilot project in both of the case study areas. However, there were neither robust planning mechanisms nor adaptive governance systems with the capacity to put into place forest management “futures” likely to deliver more sustainable landscape-scale uses in these areas. This paper illustrates the difficulties in forging governance systems that have the capacity and the vision to be able to put sustainable development concepts into practice, even when a coherent package of planning measures are tried out, given a policy setting that is confused, contradictory, and where the “status quo” tends to be given prominence.     

村级土地规划中的农村居民点用地方式适宜性评价

研究目的：对农村居民点用地方式的适宜性进行评价,为村级土地利用规划和农村土地整治提供依据。研究方法：文献查阅、专家咨询、对比分析、权重和法。研究结果：新安置区农村居民点用地方式可分为城镇型、集镇型、中心村型三种基本类型,其主要影响因素有农民就业结构、农民经济实力、村集体经济实力、村所在乡镇和县市的经济实力等;义乌市活鱼塘村和西澄村可建成城镇型农村居民点,海盐县横港村和百联村可建成集镇型农村居民点。研究结论：建立的农村居民点用地方式适宜性评价指标体系和评价方法具有一定的应用价值,对村级土地利用规划及农村居民点整理具有一定的指导作用。     

The EU societal awareness of landscape indicator: A review of its meaning,utility and performance across different scales

There is increasing recognition that agricultural landscapes meet multiple societal needs and demands beyond provision of economic and environmental goods and services. Accordingly, there have been significant calls for the inclusion of societal, amenity and cultural values in agri-environmental landscape indicators to assist policy makers in monitoring the wider impacts of land-based policies. However, capturing the amenity and cultural values that rural agrarian areas provide, by use of such indicators, presents significant challenges. The EU social awareness of landscape indicator represents a new class of generalized social indicator using a top–down methodology to capture the social dimensions of landscape without reference to the specific structural and cultural characteristics of individual landscapes. This paper reviews this indicator in the context of existing agri-environmental indicators and their differing design concepts. Using a stakeholder consultation approach in five case study regions, the potential and limitations of the indicator are evaluated, with a particular focus on its perceived meaning, utility and performance in the context of different user groups and at different geographical scales. This analysis supplements previous EU-wide assessments, through regional scale assessment of the limitations and potentialities of the indicator and the need for further data collection. The evaluation finds that the perceived meaning of the indicator does not vary with scale, but in common with all mapped indicators, the usefulness of the indicator, to different user groups, does change with scale of presentation. This indicator is viewed as most useful when presented at the scale of governance at which end users operate. The relevance of the different sub-components of the indicator are also found to vary across regions.     

基于策划理念的城市多维绿地景观形象塑造——以广州花都为例

城市绿地景观形象塑造不仅需要植物景观的实体规划建设,更需要对植物景观内涵精神的宣传和推广。文章以广州花都为实例,引入"策划"理念,通过有效的策划,确定最具独特性和鲜明性的绿地景观架构特征,设计有特色、有场所精神的绿化产品。并依靠策划活动,提升城市绿地景观形象的知名度,使绿地景观形象实现从视觉识别上升到理念识别。     

湖南省乡村建设水平评价及对景观的影响利弊

［目的］改善乡村人居环境，推动新农村建设，是全面建设小康社会的重要组成部分。［方法］从经济发展水平、生活质量水平、社会发展水平及生态发展状况等4个方面构建包括20个指标在内的评价体系，基于2007—2017年的统计数据，采用熵权法对湖南省乡村建设水平进行定量化测度。在此基础上，进一步阐述了乡村建设对乡村景观影响的利弊。［结果］湖南省乡村建设发展水平评价分值呈现显著的递增趋势，由2007年的0177提高到2017年的0692。其中经济发展水平、生活质量水平、社会发展水平均明显提升，但生态发展状况波动较大，虽近年来得到一定的控制，但仍是制约新农村建设的重要因素。新农村建设为乡村景观的规划提供了经济支持，改善了乡村景观基本硬件设施条件，乡村旅游产业的发展也丰富了乡村景观的形式内容，推动了乡村景观的建设，但也在一定程度上引发了对生态系统平衡的破坏和对乡村景观的蚕食。［结论］在新农村建设过程中，遵循生态理论，充分体现地域特色，科学合理地进行乡村景观规划对推动新农村建设水平的整体提升至关重要。