Progress in indicators to assess agricultural landscape valuation: how and what is measured at different levels of governance

Landscape is defined by the European Landscape Convention as “an area perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors”. Many efforts have been devoted in addressing the core concepts on which this definition roots: perception and interaction of men and nature, but when coming to large (continental) scale assessments, the latter prevail on the former.This paper aims at presenting a framework for a measurable landscape awareness indicator as a key link to the public demand for a specific type of landscape: the agricultural landscape. This is a necessary effort to complement more physically based assessments, which include as well the impact of human activities on landscapes.The analysis is carried out at different levels of governance: EU and regional, using an example from the Alentejo region in Portugal and EU wide databases, and addresses conceptual and practical questions: what type of societal landscape awareness can be monitored and by whom (e.g., individuals, specific social groups, society as a whole); what are the landscape dimensions that should be assessed; what are the limitations imposed by data-related constraints. By applying the methodology to build composite indicators to map landscape societal awareness, the paper shows the regional and local meaning of indicator approaches developed at European level, presents developments for downscaling to regional level, while introducing the social component to support sound policy development for European rural landscapes.     

The Pre-industrial landscape in Moravia. The case study of inventory and analysis of the ancient land use structures in the Czech Republic)

The paper deals with the process of searching and inventorying of relict - so-called pre-industrial landscape - in Moravia (approximately 1/3 of the territory in the east of the Czech Republic). So far, during the inventory of pre-industrial landscape segments in Moravia, around 1,500 land use mosaic areas have been registered, surviving without significant changes since the completion of maps of the so-called stable cadastre realized in the 1830s to the present. Each of these areas with a steady mosaic has been supplemented with substantial quantitative and qualitative characteristics. This paper presents the results of geodatabase analysis of segments of the pre-industrial landscape concerning the sea elevation and morphology of the area. The results show that although numerous parts of stable ancient landscapes have been preserved at higher altitudes, they reach larger separate areas and larger aggregate areas at lower altitudes with more fertile soils. Hypotheses attempting to explain this territorial disparity are also presented in the text of the paper.     

The influence of risk preferences,knowledge, land consolidation,and landscape diversification on pesticide use

Researchers have spent substantial effort to identify factors influencing pesticide use intensity. However, few studies have compared the relative importance of these factors. This study examines four categories of factors that potentially influence farmers’ pesticide use decisions by evaluating incentivized experiment data, farm survey data, and remote sensing data in China. Our results suggest that land diversification has the largest effect on farmers’ pesticide use. Compared with the most rice-intensive landscape type, less rice-intensive systems cause farmers to spray less on middle rice. Heavy pesticide use intensity is associated with land fragmentation as small-scale farms still dominate crop production. Farmers’ integrated pest management knowledge has significant effects on pesticide use. We also find that loss and ambiguity preferences, rather than risk preferences, are more likely to affect pesticide use intensity.     

价值共创行为分析框架构建 ——基于赋能理论视角

通过文献调查并结合案例的描述性分析,提出数字技术时代价值网络中不同行为主体之间的赋能内涵、关键维度以及基于赋能跨层次效应的价值共创行为分析框架。将"赋能氛围""主体赋能"分别作为价值网络中赋能的宏观维度和微观维度进行概念化。界定了两个维度的关键组成要素,分别包括信息共享、开放性结构、协同规则以及主体关系、资源整合和影响。构建了赋能的跨层次效应模型,分析了赋能的宏观-微观跨层次效应及其对价值网络生态和主体价值创造的影响。     

浅析如何系统地建立设计构想——以景观设计为例

任何设计在设计初期都需要构想,而构想需要系统性的建立。构想本身是一个系统,它包括立意、构思、表达技巧三个子系统。只有对这三个子系统拆分开来,对每一个子系统都进行深入的分析与了解后再将它们联系起来构成一个和谐统一的整体,才能建立一个系统的构想。从而才能创造出科学合理、适合城市发展并适应人们生活的景观。     

Identifying and mapping the tourists⿿ perception of cultural ecosystem services: A case study from an Alpine region

Landscapes provide an array of services to society, from the provision of food and material, to the provision of cultural ecosystem services such as recreation, aesthetics or spirituality. Studies on cultural ecosystem services, however, remain rare and little is known about the spatial localisation of these services. In this study, we adopt and test a framework to identify and map the provision of cultural ecosystem services as perceived by tourists in an Alpine region, i.e. the region of South Tyrol in Italy. A photo-based questionnaire survey is combined with cartographical representations of landscape types to elicit hot and coldspot areas of cultural ecosystem service provision. We statistically test for influences of the land use type and the respondents' socio-demographic background on the tourists' perception of these services. The results show that different spatial patterns emerge for each of the investigated cultural ecosystem services depending on the distribution and extent of the landscape types to which they are related. In particular traditionally managed landscapes, small in extent and mainly scattered over large areas between 1000 and 2200 m a.s.l., are hotspot areas of aesthetic beauty, leisure activities and spirituality. In contrast, intensively managed landscapes, mainly located in the lowland plains of the study site, are considered to be more important for the provision of cultural heritage values. While the results suggest that land use type exerts the strongest influence upon tourists' perception, factors such as the respondents' perceived importance of the services, their gender, cultural background, environmental engagement and experience with the landscape play a significant but subordinate role. We conclude that the spatially explicit information about the provision of cultural ecosystem services can serve as a helpful basis for the design and further implementation of land use policies that acknowledge the high touristic value of traditionally used landscapes in mountain regions.     

Ramshackle farmhouses,useless old stables,or irreplaceable cultural heritage? Local inhabitants’ perspectives on future uses of the Walser built heritage

Social and economic developments in rural regions call for a discussion of strategies of dealing with redundant traditional buildings. Using a social science approach, our study examines how the local population in two rural regions perceives the built heritage and which factors are underlying these perceptions. People’s attitudes towards maintaining the cultural heritage vary considerably and are partly influenced by the socio-cultural and economic context of the region. The present article discusses some of the core regional socio-cultural influences on attitudes towards the rural built heritage. Following from qualitative interviews, the article concludes that the scale of perception of the built heritage is related to the “liveliness” of the local culture: The more original and distinctive the local culture is, and the more the local economy is still based on agriculture, the wider the scale of perception of the traditional cultural landscape and built heritage. In a region with local traditions that are alive and followed in everyday life, and a local economy that is mainly based on agriculture, the entire settlement structure is perceived as cultural heritage. In such areas, alternative uses should be found for redundant buildings. In contrast, in regions where the culture is less visible and alive nowadays and where the local economy has changed, people tend to perceive single buildings as representing their cultural heritage, and they often wish to preserve and conserve such remaining houses, barns and stables. In the study, we show that from a social science point of view, there is no universal perception of the maintenance of built cultural heritage. Rather, we see different views and opinions that are important to consider when it comes to developing heritage protection strategies together with public authorities.     

“西为中用·顺势利导”——生态雨水机埠 与合流制特点的老旧城区海绵改造

以常德市柏子园汇水片区为例，运用水力模型工 具，探讨在老城区现有末端生态雨水机埠情形下，通过优化设 置低影响开发(LID)设施和管网改造工程，从源头解决机埠合 流制溢流(CSO)污染的效果和可行性。根据棚户区较多、绿 地率少、土壤渗透性差、项目实施难度大等情况，进行项目方 案布置和LID措施选择；根据现状管网特征，进行近远期管网 改造方案和源头截流措施选择。采用典型年降雨数据进行连续 模拟，分析评估在老旧城区增设源头控制设施和中途管网改造 对既定末端机埠溢流水量及溢流频次的控制效果，并通过情景 方案比选，得出在现有土地使用条件下的最优海绵改造方案， 以期为类似合流制特点的区域提供参考和借鉴。     

基于eCognition影像解译技术的风景环境 植被景观遥感量化研究 ——以云南鸡足山为例

世界遗产标准vii是UNESCO用以评价遗产地审美 价值的重要准则，由标准iii演化而来，从文化与自然美的混 合评价转向了仅对自然美学特征评价。选取以标准vii列入世 界遗产名录的145处项目(1978—2017年)，通过扎根理论 及分析，总结其运用特征、演化趋势和动因考辨。研究发现： 1)地区层面，不同地区运用标准vii所关注的审美价值具有差 异，如非洲关注色彩美学，欧洲和北美强调风景特质组合，亚 太地区重视强烈的自然文化关联、动态变化和组合关系，南美 和加勒比地区注重审美体验；2)词频运用层面，标准vii在各 地区的词频运用差异显著，各地区使用词频最高的为关于美的 “形容词”，除欧洲之外，其余地区代表“之最”特点的词频 次之；3)评价要点层面，欧洲和北美的风景特质评价具有很 强的特点与范式。最后解析了标准vii运用趋势与18世纪以来 的美学思想演变的内在联系；以期为标准vii的全球普世价值 与地区价值认知以及标准vii后续研究提供依据。     

Five scale challenges in Ecuadorian forest and landscape restoration governance

The forest and landscape restoration (FLR) targets set as part of the Bonn Challenge draw attention to the governance arrangements required to translate national FLR targets into local action. To achieve the targets, actors at multiple levels of the governance scale aim to influence relevant processes on the ecological scale. In this article, we focus on the scale challenges relating to the implementation of Ecuador’s restoration targets, by analysing the implementation of the 2014–2017 National Forest Restoration Plan in the montane Chocó Andino and Bosque Seco landscapes. From 54 semi-structured interviews, a document review, and geographical data analysis, we identified two temporal (i, ii) and three spatial scale challenges (iii, iv, v): i) Political cycles mismatch with FLR timelines; ii) Planning horizons mismatch with FLR timelines; iii) National restoration objectives mismatch with decentralised land use planning realities; iv) The governance level of existing FLR efforts mismatches with the level receiving restoration funds; and v) Tensions exist between the spatial dimensions of biodiversity and water-related restoration efforts. The findings highlight that more attention must be given to scale-sensitive governance to make the process in which national FLR targets are translated into local action more effective.