WSL felix kienast et al. wsl/ethz Landscape services: an indispensable concept for modern landscape...

WSLfelix kienast et al. wsl/ethz

Landscape services: an indispensable concept for modern landscape

monitoring programs

Felix Kienast Jacqueline Frick

Jochen Jäger1, Christian SchwickSwiss Federal Research Institute WSL/ETHZ

1Concordia University, Montreal, Canada


Landscape monitoring

• Landscape monitoring measures the capacity of landscapes to deliver services over time

( landscape services) • It is a must for landscape management and

suggested by the European Landscape Convention( Landscape Observatories)



Good news: • Numerous landscape character assessments (LCA)

are available

Wascher et al. (2005)



Good news: • Numerous landscape character assessments (LCA)

are available

Bad news: • Many LCAs consist of 1 time step only, no

monitorings• Frequently biased towards nature inventories• Often unable to accomodate the holistic notion

„landscape“ • Many monitorings are not embedded in the

landscape service or EGS paradigm


Countryside Quality Counts

Haines-Young (2005)


Physical landscape

Evolutionary determined landscape perception(Kaplan&Kaplan)

Culturallydetermined landscape perception

Land-use

Kienast et al. in press

Concept of the Swiss Landscape Monitoring Program


Landscape Indicators

Physical landscape

Evolutionary determined landscape perception(Kaplan&Kaplan)

Culturallydetermined landscape perception

Land-use

Kienast et al. in press

Concept of the Swiss Landscape Monitoring Program


Services assessed by the Swiss landscape monitoring

Num

ber

of

indic

ato

rs

Provisioning

Regulating

Cultural heritage

0

2

4

6

8


Examples of innovative landscape indicators


Urban permeation

Indicator combines:• Area of buildings• Dispersion of

buildings• Number of

inhabitants

(the more concentrated the buildings and the higher the land utilization, the lower the index)

Jaeger, Bertiller, Schwick, Kienast 2010a,b, Ecol. Indicators

Indicator measures „soil consumption“ (ecological integrity / EGS)


Urban permeation 1935

Schwick, unpublished

Low

High



Low

High



Fragmentation Indicator measures „provision of suitable habitat“ (ecological integrity / EGS)


Light emmissions

% area with complete night darkness

Indicator measures „provision of suitable habitat“ &„health- and recreation related landscape services“

Mountain regions

Densely populated Plateau & Jura

Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP); Operational Linescan System (OLS).


Getting an idea of people‘s landscape experience• Sampling in 2011 in three languages G, F, I

• 8700 households (35% returned)

• Respondents assessed the landscape in their municipality

• 38 questions to the following perception concepts:

• Questions to preferred landscape elements• Coherence• Complexity• Uniqueness• Mysteriosity• Fascination• Legibility• Authenticity


Questions per perception concept• Landscape beauty: Is the landscape beautiful? (4 questions)

• Diversity: a) Complexity: Are there many things? (4 q)b) Coherence: Do things fit together? (4 q)

• Landscape character: a) Uniqueness: Is the landscape unique? (3 q)b) Cultural heritage: Are there signs of former land(scape) use?

(3 q)

• Mysteriosity: Am I able to discover things? (5 q)• Legibility: Does the landscape support my orientation?

(5 q)• Fascination: Is the landscape interesting and unusual? (6 q) • Authenticity: To what degree does the landscape fit the

region‘s character? (4 q)


Example: Fascination(Is the landscape interesting and unusual?)

Community type:

rural-agrarian

mixed agrarian

rural-commuter

industrial

touristic

periurban

rich

suburban

urban

medium Degree of appreciation high


Example: Authenticity(To what degree does the landscape fit the region‘s character?)

Community type:

rural-agrarian

mixed agrarian

rural-commuter

industrial

touristic

periurban

rich

suburban

urban

medium Degree of appreciation high


Take home message

Good news / bad news :-) • One more landscape character assessment (LCA)!

Good news continued: • Swiss landscape monitoring is indeed a

monitoring involving different time steps• Holistic in character and assesses both natural

and perceived aspects of „landscape“ • embedded in the landscape service paradigm• Methodology can be generally adapted


Landscape services

• Ecosystem service assessments extended to accomodate the notion „landscape“ by including context and perceived landscape characteristics landscape services

Tree patches timber woodland landscape

Landscape structure Ecosystem service Landscape service


Urban permeation (measures „soil consumption“)

Index amalgamates:• Area of buildings• Dispersion of

buildings• Number of

inhabitants

(the more concentrated the buildings and the higher the land utilization, the lower the index)

• Innovative & widely accepted indicators

Jaeger, Bertiller, Schwick, Kienast 2010a,b, Ecol. Indicators

Weighted urban proliferation

WUP = Asettle

Areportunit * DIS * g1(DIS) * g2(LU)

WSL felix kienast et al. wsl/ethz Landscape services: an indispensable concept for modern landscape...

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