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Participatory mapping of landscape values in a Pan-European perspective

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Abstract

Context

Human–nature interactions are reflected in the values people assign to landscapes. These values shape our understanding and actions as landscape co-creators, and need to be taken into account to achieve an integrated management of the landscape that involves civil society.

Objectives

The aim of this research was to increase the current knowledge on the most and least common landscape values perceived by local stakeholders, the patterns in the spatial distribution of values, and their connection to different socio-economic backgrounds and landscape characteristics across Europe.

Methods

The research consisted of a cross-site comparison study on how landscape values are perceived in six areas of Europe using Public Participation GIS surveys. Answers were analysed combining contingency tables, spatial autocorrelation and bivariate correlation methods, kernel densities, land cover ratios, and viewshed analyses. Results were discussed in the light of findings derived from other European participatory mapping studies.

Results

We identified shared patterns in the perception of landscape values across Europe. Recreation, aesthetics, and social fulfilment were the most common values. Landscape values showed common spatial patterns mainly related to accessibility and the presence of water, settlements, and cultural heritage. However, respondents in each study site had their own preferences connected to the intrinsic characteristics of the local landscape and culture.

Conclusions

The results encourage land planners and researchers to approach landscape values in relation to socio-cultural and bio-physical land characteristics comprehensibly, acknowledging the complexity in the relationship between people’s perception and the landscape, to foster more effective and inclusive landscape management strategies.

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Acknowledgements

This research has received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Program under Grant Agreement No. 603447 (Project HERCULES). This research contributes to the Program on Ecosystem Change and Society (www.pecs-science.org) and the Global Land Programme (https://glp.earth/). We would like to acknowledge the important contribution to this research of Brian J. Shaw, Kim von Hackwitz, Karl-Heinz Gaudry, Matilde Silvia Schirru, Rubén Hernandez Romero, Dominica Williamson, Zoe Lane, Natalie Kaiser, Thomas Balatsos, Eftichia Kappa, Eirini Pavlou, Elisavet Bourgia, Iliana Christia, Alexandros Tzimos, and Viðar Örn. We are very grateful to the respondents of the six study sites that participated in the surveys and to the reviewers for their constructive feedback that has strengthened the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chair of Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacher Str. 4, Freiburg, Germany

    Maria Garcia-Martin

  2. Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 23, 1958, Fredriksberg C, Denmark

    Nora Fagerholm & Tobias Plieninger

  3. Department of Geography and Geology, University of Turku, 20014, Turku, Finland

    Nora Fagerholm

  4. Societal Transition and Agriculture (430b), Institute of Social Sciences in Agriculture, University of Hohenheim, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany

    Claudia Bieling

  5. Department of Geography, University of the Aegean, University Hill, Mytilene, 811 00, Greece

    Dimitris Gounaridis & Thanasis Kizos

  6. Centre for Landscape and Culture, School of Humanities, Tallinn University, 10120, Tallinn, Estonia

    Anu Printsmann

  7. Research Unit Landscape Dynamics, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland

    Matthias Müller

  8. Institute of Landscape Ecology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Akademická 2, 949 10, Nitra, Slovak Republic

    Juraj Lieskovský

Authors
  1. Maria Garcia-Martin
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  2. Nora Fagerholm
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  3. Claudia Bieling
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  9. Tobias Plieninger
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maria Garcia-Martin.

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Garcia-Martin, M., Fagerholm, N., Bieling, C. et al. Participatory mapping of landscape values in a Pan-European perspective. Landscape Ecol 32, 2133–2150 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-017-0531-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-017-0531-x

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