Integrated landscape approaches in the tropics: A brief stock-take

Continued overexploitation of natural resources and the associated impacts of climate change threaten the sustainability and biodiversity of our global social-ecological systems. ‘Integrated landscape approaches’ are governance strategies that attempt to reconcile multiple and conflicting land-use claims to harmonize the needs of people and the environment and establish more sustainable and equitable multi-functional landscapes. Such approaches have gained prominence in recent conservation and development discourse, but critics have suggested a need for evidence of effectiveness to bridge knowledge-implementation gaps. Here we review the recent literature to provide a brief update on developments in the science and practice of landscape approaches, primarily in the tropics. We show that despite considerable enthusiasm for landscape approaches, the evidence base within the scientific literature remains poorly developed. Future application of landscape approaches requires concerted transdisciplinary actions that connect scales of governance to address the complex political economies in contested tropical landscapes. We highlight important challenges and opportunities for landscape approach implementation, particularly related to bridging sectorial and disciplinary divides, engaging the private sector, and monitoring landscape performance.     

Indicators for assessing changing landscape character of cultural landscapes in Flanders (Belgium)

The increasing pace and scale of landscape change initiated a renewed interest in cultural and heritage values of the landscape. Efforts are made in inventorying, monitoring, and evaluating landscapes, needed for developing management and conservation plans, and also new concepts emerged. Landscape character became a new paradigm, as well as time depth and landscape change trajectory or path. Also, the use of landscape indicators for describing character and assessing changes has been widely tested. In Flanders, the rich landscape diversity is degrading rapidly due to extreme urban pressure and severe fragmentation by transport infrastructures. In this study a series of spatial data layers was used to describe and map the transformation of landscape character. Historical topographical maps and orthophotomaps from different periods were used to define landscape character types, which were mapped as polygons in a GIS. Map overlaying allowed analyzing the time depth and landscape constancy. The landscape character types were used as patches for the spatial and structural analysis and defining indicators of character change. A selection of class and landscape-based landscape metrics were used as such indicators, as well as the openness of the landscape. This selection was based upon the presumed relationship between the indicator and perceivable (visual) properties relating to landscape character. The landscape indicators express change very differently and several indicators are necessary to assess changes in the landscape character.     

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.     

Facilitating collaboration in forest management: Assessing the benefits of collaborative policy innovations

Collaborative governance and landscape approaches have become a more prevalent in public land management in the United States in the face of increasing ecological and societal complexity and decreasing government resources and capacity. In this era of devolution and social-ecological change, there is a growing need for policy approaches that facilitate partnerships and participatory approaches to land management. One unique policy that emphasizes collaboration and large-landscape restoration on US federal forestlands is the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP), established in 2009 to accelerate the pace and scale of forest restoration. The policy included novel characteristics such as a decade-long commitment to landscapes and formal requirements for collaboration. This program presented an opportunity to assess how this policy affected collaboration and the factors that led to differential policy implementation. We conducted 89 interviews across all 23 CFLRP projects with internal agency staff and external collaborators on each project. We found that the CFLRP generated a variety of benefits related to collaboration, including increased trust and stronger relationships, increased collaborative partner influence, decreased litigation and conflict, and increased capacity to accomplish work; however, there were also challenges associated with the program, including thetime-intensive nature of collaboration and the lack of industry or contractors. Various local factors affected collaborative outcomes under the policy, including staff turnover and capacity, local leadership, and collaborative history. Successful collaborative outcomes were widespread under the CFLRP, and from this, we draw implications for the broader environmental governance literature about the policy characteristics that facilitate collaboration and the other institutional variables that may require attention in this context.     

Landscape services as boundary concept in landscape governance: Building social capital in collaboration and adapting the landscape

The landscape services concept provides a lens to study relations within the social-ecological networks that landscapes are, and to identify stakeholders as either providers or beneficiaries. However, landscape services can also be used as a boundary concept in collaborative landscape governance. We demonstrate this by analysing the case of Gouwe Wiericke in the rural west of the Netherlands. Here, a collaborative landscape governance process started off with low levels of trust between farmers and regional governments, as a result of previous processes. The introduction of the landscape services concept helped to bridge social boundaries, which eventually resulted in collective action: farmers and governments reached an agreement on adapted management of ditches and shores to improve water quality and biodiversity. However, we propose that bridging the social boundaries was achieved not merely due to the landscape services concept, but also due to the fact that multiple boundaries were managed simultaneously, and additional arrangements were used in boundary management.     

Local participation in cultural landscape maintenance: Lessons from Sweden

Local participation has evolved as a strategy in the conservation and maintenance of biological and cultural values in cultural landscapes. The meaning(s) of the concept, however, are fuzzy, and conditions for fruitful implementation have only been investigated to a limited extent. In this article, a couple of Swedish cases serve as points of departure for a better understanding of the prerequisites and critical aspects as regards an increased local involvement in landscape management. A review of research on community participation reveals some essential aspects; power relations, participants, the institutional framework, organisation, communication, knowledge building, monitoring and contextual factors. These aspects have formed the structure for the analysis of two cases within which local involvement is considered successful; Southern Öland, where community involvement in seminatural grassland management has been experienced in LIFE-projects and in the process of becoming a UNESCO World heritage site, and Mälarhagar, an integrated restoration and beef production project carried out in close collaboration with farmers. The results are discussed in terms of successful ingredients, counterproductive aspects and operational difficulties. The findings show that trust, communication and local influence are vital ingredients in a participatory approach. Communication and co-management are pointed out as central areas of competence for executives working with landscape management and planning. There are, however, collisions between directives concerning nature conservation and directives concerning public participation. For successful local involvement, the subject for collaboration has to be broadly defined. Furthermore, the strong emphasis on collaboration in participatory approaches demands that democratic aspects have to be considered.     

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.     

The impact of collaboration on research about rural buildings and landscape: A case study in Italy

The importance of collaboration among peers in science is widely investigated: an essential issue is the relevance of credits shared among scholars for the good faith and cooperation in research projects. Despite its significance, so far in Italy the usefulness of collaboration in research activities is not taken in due consideration by both scientific community and research assessment bodies. In this study, the main aim is at investigating the actual up today extent of scientific collaboration among colleagues belonging to the Italian Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SDS) “AGR10 Rural buildings and agro-forest land planning”. We focus on research projects dealing with territory, landscape and rural buildings with the scope of raising consciousness on the key role of collaboration with other SDSs, international institutions or organizations. We harvested data through an on-line questionnaire about several research projects, scrutinized the responses, and found that the core area of current research developed by AGR10 colleagues includes topics concerning the analysis and planning of landscape. Furthermore, we found that the design of international project proposals attains mostly rural buildings and rural heritage analysis, reuse and enhancement, rural buildings and landscape integration, and rural buildings design. While the size of partnerships on international research activities is still limited, as for external synergies the SDS AGR01 ‘Agricultural Economics and Rural Appraisal’ is the most representative, and other SDSs involving ‘Ecology’ and ‘Informatics’ deserve to be mentioned. So, this study has been designed with the secondary aim of stimulating Italian -as well as other international- scientific communities in promoting similar investigations concerning the importance of collaboration and cross-fertilization for successful research activities. As a major output, official national or international research assessment authorities would be provided by a method for better appreciating the usefulness of collaboration and interdisciplinarity.     

An assessment of ordinary landscapes by an expert and by its residents: Landscape values in areas of intensive agricultural use

The expert-based approach to landscape assessment developed in North America during the 1970s is still largely used in planning. It has proved its usefulness for the protection and the management of landscapes with remarkable visual attributes. However, facing growing social demands for the quality of surroundings, ordinary landscapes also raise great challenges for planning. But, to what extent is the expert-based approach to landscape assessment able to capture the value of these ordinary landscapes? What might be the more appropriate method for this purpose? This paper addresses these questions through an empirical research project in areas of intensive agricultural use in Quebec (Canada). The aim of this research was to measure and compare the ability of an expert-based approach and of a lay people-based approach, also named experiential approach, to capture the most valued components of ordinary landscapes. These methods were applied to two study areas. The first one has no recognised landscapes in any planning document while the second one has recognised landscapes for regional tourism. Forty-six inhabitants and an expert were invited to evaluate the landscapes of the study areas. The results have allowed comparison of the components valued by the expert and by the inhabitants as well as the criteria used in the assessment. They revealed differences between the expert and the lay people assessment. For inhabitants, the value of ordinary landscapes is based on a set of criteria related to emotion, to everyday experience and to their intimate knowledge of places. Thus, the formal visual criteria used by the expert appear to be clearly less important in the evaluation by lay people. As the expert perspective in landscape assessment is more closely associated to the experience of an individual which cross the territory (ex.: tourist), this paper concludes that to capture the value of ordinary landscapes in a planning perspective, a combination of approaches is necessary.     

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.     

The Index of Function Suitability (IFS): A new tool for assessing the capacity of landscapes to provide amenity functions

Integrating social demands into landscape management has been proven difficult because of a lack of suitable measures. In order to address this issue this article describes the development of the Index of Function Suitability (IFS). This offers an integrated conceptual tool for incorporating social demands into landscape management. The IFS links preferences to land cover spatial patterns as it uses quantitative indicators for gauging differences between the preferred landscape patterns by users, for a certain activity related to an amenity function (e.g. hunting), and the land cover patterns of a given rural area (either at the present or from scenarios developed for the future). Introducing the measurement of the difference between the preferred spatial patterns and the landscape patterns occurring in a given landscape is a fundamental conceptual development represented in the IFS. By using the same set of indicators to quantify different land cover patterns, the IFS gauges quantitatively the differences between their spatial patterns, thus providing landscape managers with an indication of the suitability of changing land covers to support the selected amenity functions. In this paper, the conceptual aspects, as well as the methodological steps of the IFS were explained and further applied to one empirical case study in the Alentejo region of Portugal. This paper also examines both the strengths and weaknesses of the IFS approach along with a discussion for improvement.     

Beyond the community in participatory forest management: A governance network perspective

Governance of the environment and natural resources involves interests of multiple stakeholders at different scales. In community-based forest management, organisations outside of communities play important roles in achieving multiple social and ecological objectives. How and when these organisations play a role in the community-based forest management process remains a key question. We applied social network analysis to a case study in Indonesian Borneo to better understand the evolution of interactions between organisational actors, and with communities. NGOs featured most prominently in initiating the permit process, implementing management, and providing other support activities, while also being well-connected to donors and government actors. The network configurations indicated significant cooperation among organisations when initiating the community forest process, while bridging between village and organisational levels characterised all stages of the community forest process. While community-based forest management often evokes images of grassroots efforts and broad local capacity to manage forests, reality shows a more dynamic and heterogeneous picture and broader involvement of different actor types and motivations in Indonesia. These findings can be applied to other countries implementing and expanding their decentralised forest policies.     

Cultural landscapes and behavioral transformations: An agent-based model for the simulation and discussion of alternative landscape futures in East Lesvos,Greece

Agricultural intensification and abandonment have been identified as two of the more prominent and polarizing drivers of landscape change in Europe. These transitions may induce deterioration in landscape functioning and character, particularly in cultural landscapes demonstrative of evolving human-environment dynamics that have sustained environmental benefits through time. Cultural and behavioral motives are important root influences to such landscape transitions, yet efforts to address landscape degradation are often hampered by a failure to account for the heterogeneous decision-making nature of its agents of change and the inherent complexity of socio-ecological systems. Novel techniques are required to further disentangle responses to multi-level drivers and discuss alternative landscape development trajectories. Agent-based models constructed by means of participatory approaches present increasingly applied tools in this context. This study sought to capture and model the future perspectives emerging from presently occurring farming discourses in the region of Gera (Lesvos, Greece), characterized by persistent abandonment of its traditionally managed olive plantations. We constructed an agent-based model iteratively in collaboration with the local farming community and experts in landscape research. Empirical findings informed the model through the construction of a farmer typology, revealing a heavy reliance of the farming community upon sectorial profitability, prevalent cultural farming motives and emerging landscape initiatives. The model examined the de-coupled role of agricultural profitability and landscapes initiatives in shaping the behavior of land managers, mapping alternative landscape futures over a period of 25 years. Model results illustrate both increased profitability and action by landscape initiatives are required to reverse abandonment trends within the simulated time frame. The hypothesized ability of landscape initiatives to maintain and promote a cultural drive amongst adhering farmers is crucial for securing behavioral transformations towards professionalism. This study confirmed agent-based modelling to be intuitively received by stakeholders who significantly contributed to model structure refinement and the rejection of a status quo scenario.     

Sustaining multifunctional agricultural landscapes: comparing stakeholder perspectives in New York (US) and England (UK)

This paper compares levels of public subsidy and community stakeholders’ perspectives on American and British approaches to managing agricultural landscapes. In the US, changes in agriculture have played out on the landscape (i.e. countryside) with far less discussion about nonfood, public benefits derived from the working agricultural landscape. British stakeholders outlined a purposeful approach to landscape conservation and management programs, targeted at enhancing the agricultural system in support of landscape functions deemed to be of direct social value. In contrast, the New York stakeholder group was less comfortable with the idea of achieving a shared positive vision for the rural countryside, and more concerned with the negative consequences of agricultural production and greenfields conversion.     

Agricultural landscape dynamics in response to economic transition: Comparisons between different spatial planning zones in Ningbo region,China

Many major agricultural regions worldwide are experiencing drastic landscape transformations. Examining the complex links among agricultural landscape dynamics (ALD), land use and land cover (LULC) change, socioeconomic development and government planning is pivotal to enhance the efficiency of agricultural landscape management. With a case of the Ningbo region (China), this paper employs the structural equation modeling (SEM) to quantify and compare the relationships between ALD and economic transition as well as the mediating LULC factors in different spatial planning zones. ALD are quantified by time series remotely sensed imageries and a set of landscape metrics; and economic transition is described by a set of indicators from three aspects (globalization, decentralization and marketization). Results show that ALD present similar trend in the two spatial planning zones between 1979 and 2013. However, the magnitude of ALD is larger in the non-urban planning zone. In particular, agricultural landscapes change into the fragmented, irregular, decreased, and isolated patterns at a more rapid pace. Economic transition drivers and LULC mediators differ remarkably between the two spatial planning zones. For the urban planning zone, economic transition influences ALD through construction land morphological changes and water body spatial density increases. For the non-urban planning zone, economic transition influences ALD through forest morphological changes and construction land spatial density increases. In addition, the relative importance of ALD determinants differs between the two spatial planning zones. Marketization plays a more critical role in driving ALD in the urban planning zone, while decentralization has a stronger impact on ALD in the non-urban planning zone. It is argued that land use master plan for agricultural landscape protection should be implemented in the non-urban planning zones and land use plan in the two spatial planning zones should be integrated. This study contributes to the understanding of the complex mechanism of ALD in response to economic transition.     

Integrated planning for landscape diversity enhancement,fire hazard mitigation and forest production regulation: A case study in central Portugal

Forest fires and forest biodiversity are related issues of major concern in Mediterranean countries and require an integrated approach to landscape planning. The aim of this study was to develop a GIS approach for regulating forest production while promoting landscape diversity and mitigating fire hazard. A study area located in the centre of Portugal was chosen. The area was primarily occupied by maritime pine and had a high fire hazard, low tree species diversity and an extensive protection area. The classical area control method was used to assist in forest production regulation. Species suitability maps were produced for 21 recommended species for afforestation in the study area. Maritime pine management compartments were defined, and a 50-year harvesting plan was proposed. In each harvested compartment, protection areas were identified for species conversion (e.g., native oaks and/or broadleaves). Afforestation species were proposed according to the species suitability maps produced earlier. Low flammability species that produce high-quality wood, non-wood products and landscape enhancement were preferred. A comparison of the land cover in the study area in 2007 to that anticipated in 2064 via the proposed plan showed that a more fragmented landscape structure could be achieved by introducing 16 species of lower flammability than maritime pine into the study area. This study proved the usefulness of this methodological approach for guiding sustainable changes in homogeneous, unmanaged forest landscapes prone to fire. Further research is needed regarding integrated planning approaches that incorporate environmental, economic and social dimensions (e.g., human desertification of rural areas).     

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.