The interviews revealed a wide variety of human–nature connections and relational values. In the first section, we explain how the five dimensions of human–nature connectedness were perceived and influenced by landscape simplification (Table 3). In the second section, we present findings regarding the interactions between human–nature connectedness and relational values. Finally, we highlight the effects of landscape simplification on the links between human–nature connectedness and relational values.
Landscape simplification effects on human–nature connectedness
Different types of connectedness were influenced by landscape simplification in various ways—some types changed without fundamentally declining, while others were perceived to be declining.
Material connectedness was generally perceived to have declined, driven by an increase in industrialised food production. Due to the structural transformation in the agricultural system, which included a decrease of smallholder farms and intensification of agricultural production, local food, feed and fuel were often exported from the region. The size and use of home gardens used for growing food were perceived to be decreasing, as were the use and availability of local products supplied by small shops belonging to smallholder farms. These changes in material human–nature connectedness were perceived to negatively affect interactions with the local environment. In addition to associations with farming, material connectedness was occasionally associated with local natural materials used for heating, building, decoration or collection of wild fruit or herbs.
In contrast to material connectedness, experiential connectedness was perceived to be stronger, and comparably less influenced by landscape simplification. Generally, interviewees spent a large amount of time in nature in consequence of their profession, voluntary engagement or leisure activities. Due to the time constraints of daily life, many experiences in nature were unplanned or bound to the area close to people’s work and living spaces. Hence, when interviewees’ direct surroundings experienced rapid land simplification and agricultural intensification, experiential connectedness towards those spaces declined, and we observed a retreat of people into their own gardens or other spaces for nature experiences. While there was a trend that indicated hiking had increased, especially in the Lueneburg Heath, day-to-day nature experiences for most inhabitants were perceived as decreasing. Interviewees raised the issue of alienation from nature, stating that disconnected parents were unable or unwilling to experientially connect their children with nature. Further, the decrease of smallholder farms was perceived to negatively influence experiential connectedness because of the lack of possible passive and active interactions with local farmers and their farms.
Cognitive connectedness, as knowledge and awareness of the natural environment, was related to the motivation to see and experience something new. Interviewees perceived it to be connected to stimulating experiences including animal sightings, special activities or memorable adventures. The new, unknown or attractive sights of historical, natural or aesthetically valuable places were a motivation to go out into nature. Environmental education was generally seen as very important, and both areas offered many possibilities for this. Using all five senses was highlighted as important for children’s education and to sensitise children for nature. Overall, our findings suggest that cognitive connectedness was relatively high, despite ongoing landscape simplification. However, it was also discussed how knowledge and awareness about problems in the regions seemed not to lead to any significant behavioural change, and hence might not be enough to create meaningful change for sustainability.
Similarly to cognitive connectedness being fostered by stimulating experiences in diverse or structurally rich parts of the landscape, emotional connectedness also appeared to be related to biodiversity and landscape multifunctionality. Landscape simplification was generally perceived to have a negative effect on landscape aesthetics because monofunctional landscapes were seen as less beautiful. Through increasing monocultures, intensification and a general increase of infrastructure, inhabitants feared that the landscape’s horizon may lose its sense of naturalness. We also found notions of anger and despair when it came to the topic of landscape simplification or the statement of general detachment from nature in society. One interviewee expressed the experience of watching the landscape simplification and growing disconnection between humans and nature with strong emotions: “[…] a great, deep, fundamental pain, grief. Despair. Helplessness. Or often again a bewilderment about this state of semi-sleep [due to lack of agency]” (Dötlingen, inhabitant). General love for nature was expressed with regard to old trees, special natural or historical sites, or animal sightings. Spiritual notions were linked to special or mystic atmospheres of places, such as early mornings in a foggy, calm heathland.
Finally, with respect to philosophical connections to nature, interviewees used a range of constructs, acknowledging the tensions between instrumental values of nature, such as the importance of nature for people’s livelihoods, and values, such as the duty of care towards the environment. Interviewees frequently stated instrumental values when considering that nature’s purpose was that it had to sustain livelihoods and could be used for recreational purposes. While environmental protection was seen as necessary, managing the land for humans was widely held as equally important. Many interviewees showed a feeling of unease and insecurity when it came to the current development of the landscape. Without being specifically prompted, interviewees often focussed on contrasts and tensions within the region as well as problematic narratives of (economic) growth when talking about landscape simplification. This discussion unravelled differing understandings of agriculture and environmental protection and often pointed to hardened ideological fronts—“The facts are just created [felling of trees and ploughing up marshlands], and then it is destroyed. And you are standing there and you are thinking: yeah. And now it is broken, what should I do now?” (Dötlingen, employee in local administration).
Interlinkages between human–nature connectedness and relational values
When interviewees discussed human–nature connections, they often also referred to relational values—focussing on their decrease as a result of landscape simplification. In terms of material connectedness, interviewees stated that the general notion of knowing where the food comes from is very important, and this was linked to values of a good life (stewardship eudaimonic, social responsibility). Similarly, some material goods had a symbolic character for cultural identity, such as regional specialty foods like certain types of potatoes or honey (Table 2).
Regarding experiential connections, especially passive recreation, respondents stated that they were very important for relaxation, solitude and quietness, and hence were linked to values of a good life (i.e. stewardship eudaimonic). Further, nature was valued as a backdrop for social events or as the focus for social gatherings, thus contributing to the quality of social cohesion and social relations. Such experiential connections also contributed to cultural identity in relation to their landscape, as one interviewee explained: “[in former times] the whole village community always met and went to “entkusseln” [a type of landscape conservation which removes shrubs and young trees] in the heath land. So that the heath stays beautiful” (Bispingen, inhabitant). Activities such as these strengthened the feeling of a shared cultural identity connected to “their” heathlands. Interviewees also drew on stories of their own childhood experiences in nature, which they believed led to a stronger connection to nature (i.e. individual identity, social memory).
Respondents often raised the relational value of cultural identity in regards to cognitive connectedness. Interviewees were concerned about the effect of landscape simplification on people’s knowledge of nature, including formal knowledge through work and informal knowledge through inheritance and self-taught. Topics raised included knowledge of the landscape such as its cultural, historical and natural specifications. Further the interviewees’ knowledge on environmental protection and sustainability was linked to statements of how nature should be treated (i.e. stewardship principle), as stated by one interviewee: “Only then [referring back to the co-creation of knowledge and awareness of nature], when there is a connection, then I feel responsible for something; or I consider something beautiful, or there is an effect of recognition with people that I meet. Only then, can I engage [in nature]” (Dötlingen, environmentalist).
Emotional connectedness ranged from positive to negative emotions and respondents linked these with certain relational values. On the positive spectrum, both study areas had a very strong sense of cultural identity. Especially in Bispingen, the Lueneburg Heath was seen as a special area and its inhabitants often felt a sense of place or spiritual connections to certain places. Negative emotions towards landscape simplification were related to impacts on individual identity, diminished social cohesion and deteriorating social relations. In addition, the negative emotion of frustration emerged when interviewees considered simplification as an inappropriate trajectory of the landscape, expressing the relational values of stewardship principle and social responsibility. “I am very very critical of this development [intensification/simplification]. And some things scare me. I am usually a positive person…or a positive thinking person… but some things really scare me” (Dötlingen, forester).
In statements on philosophical connections, interviewees expressed opinions that nature was seen as fragile and it was deemed necessary to treat it well or give something back (stewardship principle) including the sense of agency to do so. Nature was also stated to be as essential for a good life (stewardship eudaimonic). This was, for example, stated by farmers with a high attachment to their own land and the future development of it, or related to the hunters’ paradigms of “protection and care” (German: Hege und Pflege): “We are a family business which grew decades, centuries. And we cannot leave this place, and hence we have to care for it, not emaciate and then move on. […] especially for older farms and heath farms, this [stewardship] is obvious” (Bispingen, farmer).
Effect of landscape simplification on the interlinkages between human–nature connectedness and other relational values
While patterns in human–nature connectedness were broadly similar in both study areas, interviewees stated more negative influences of landscape simplification on relational values in Dötlingen (Table 3). By contrast, in Bispingen we observed fewer statements regarding the effect of landscape simplification on relational values and human–nature connectedness.
In Bispingen, the protected area status of the area constrained the growth of agriculture, leading to “smaller” farms with more livelihood diversity that included other experiences in nature, such as tourism and recreation. In fact, tourism in the Lueneburg Heath had long been a strong factor in the region for economic activities and for forming a cultural identity: “this is what defines our commune, that we have this landscape, this heath” (Bispingen, farmer). The diversity of experiences, in turn, was related to collaboration among local actors: “Of course everyone has to look out for himself, but among farmers there is a real sense of unity, there are no animosities here” (Bispingen, farmer). While conflicts and tensions existed, dialogue was seen as the best option to reach transparent decisions.
In contrast, the landscape in Dötlingen had seen uneven growth favouring a few, increasingly larger farms that focus in intensive agriculture. The growth of those farms had now reached limiting factors such as land availability and increased rents, as well as national emissions regulations that limit the construction of new mass husbandry stables. The growth of farm sizes seemed to be associated with a decline in people identifying with the surrounding landscapes. It also seemed to give rise to the alienation between fractions, such as smaller and bigger farmers and environmental protection groups: “When you are constantly told that you are the bogeyman of the nation, you are not willing to voluntarily give in to anyone. You’d rather say: as long as you treat me like this, I won’t do anything here” (Dötlingen, farmer). One employee in the local administration in Dötlingen who works in environmental conservation expressed a similar sentiment, albeit directed against intensification: “I just don’t want this anymore. And I think: then just do your shit, just let it go your way. I don’t want to say something against it all the time. You will see what the outcome is. […] and I am not the only one having this effect [i.e. no feeling this way]”. To continue working in agriculture, farms were increasingly pushed to focus on efficient production, which fostered instrumental values. This stood, in contrast, with the sense of place and cultural heritage inhabitants valued but felt disappearing through agricultural intensification of the landscape. In Dötlingen, a feeling of lack of agency and frustration with the current trajectory of land simplification emerged among interviewees. This led to people retreating into their own homes (where they had agency) or expressing anger (Table 3): “I really think if we continue like this, with industrial animal husbandry and intensive agriculture, then our soil will be so damaged that nothing will grow, because that’s it!” (Dötlingen, tourism operator).