Scenario-visualization for the assessment of perceived green space qualities at the urban-rural fringe

The provision of green space is increasingly being perceived as an important factor for quality of life. However, green spaces often face high developmental pressure. The main objective of this study is to investigate a prospective approach to green space planning by combining three-dimensional (3D) visualization of green space scenarios and survey techniques to facilitate improved participation of the public. Aside from the ‘Status quo’, scenarios ‘Agriculture’, ‘Recreation’, ‘Nature conservation’ and ‘Wind turbines’ are visualized in three dimensions. In order to test responses, a survey was conducted both in print format and on the Internet. Overall, 49 different visualizations that belong to one of the scenarios were available in the survey and were rated according to the perceived esthetic, recreational and ecological values.The highest rated scenes include vegetation elements such as meadows with orchards, single trees, shrubs or forest. The least attractive scenes are those where buildings are highly dominant or where there are no vegetation elements.Based on the ratings for the individual images and on the corresponding scenarios, our study shows that there is high potential for improving the existing landscape. All suggested changes are either rated about equal to or considerably higher than the status quo, with the scenario ‘Nature conservation’ receiving the highest scores.     

Towards a planning support system for environmental management and agri-environmental measures--the Colorfields study

The authors present the beginnings of a planning support system (PSS) for agri-environmental measures exemplified by a virtual implementation of Colorfields and blooming strips on model farms, based on real-world data. This paper starts with an introduction to the Colorfields, a concept for transdisciplinary and sustainable landscape design of set-aside land. Colorfields comprise of blooming strips of flowering annual or biennial plants, which are designed and drilled in pattern on fallow land creating Land Art. The temporary scenic arrangements of the Colorfields combine the advantages of ecological strips, e.g. providing habitats for insects (especially bees), improving soil fertility through the cultivation of intercrops, with improvements of the social recognition of farmers as producers of pleasant landscapes instead of monoculture fields.The prototype of the PSS uses two software tools of different scientific origin, the bio-economic modeling system MODAM and the landscape visualization system Lenné3D, which are linked based on geo-data. The resulting system helps to assess the economic effects and visualizes the effects of the specific landuse patterns under different scenarios.The economic assessment of blooming strips on arable land and of one Colorfield on fallow land shows that these measures prove to be profitable from an economic viewpoint assuming the current area payments for the obligatory European Union set-aside program. Furthermore, the visualizations enable the design to be tested virtually by exploring the resultant scenery. They provide artists, planners and stakeholders including farmers with a tool to virtually wander through landscape scenarios supporting a collaborative design and a shared vision for the community.The results of the two model farms and previous case studies for Colorfields demonstrate how current policy conditions could be used for the improvement of environmental and scenic qualities. Furthermore, the ability of the tools, MODAM and Lenné3D, suggests to support and promote these activities.     

Should Habitat Trading Be Based on Mitigation Ratios Derived from Landscape Indices? A Model-Based Analysis of Compensatory Restoration Options for the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker

Many species of conservation concern are spatially structured and require dispersal to be persistent. For such species, altering the distribution of suitable habitats on the landscape can affect population dynamics in ways that are difficult to predict from simple models. We argue that for such species, individual-based and spatially explicit population models (SEPMs) should be used to determine appropriate levels of off-site restoration to compensate for on-site loss of ecologic resources. Such approaches are necessary when interactions between biologic processes occur at different spatial scales (i.e., local [recruitment] and landscape [migration]). The sites of restoration and habitat loss may be linked to each other, but, more importantly, they may be linked to other resources in the landscape by regional biologic processes, primarily migration. The common management approach for determining appropriate levels of off-site restoration is to derive mitigation ratios based on best professional judgment or pre-existing data. Mitigation ratios assume that the ecologic benefits at the site of restoration are independent of the ecologic costs at the site of habitat loss. Using an SEPM for endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers, we show that the spatial configuration of habitat restoration can simultaneously influence both the rate of recruitment within breeding groups and the rate of migration among groups, implying that simple mitigation ratios may be inadequate.     

Social Sciences and landscape analysis: opportunities for the improvement of conservation policy design

This article develops a methodology aimed at generating a systematic social diagnosis of social and natural landscapes. The analytical process is divided into six easily replicable and causatively connected steps. The goal is two-fold: first, to present the inextricable connections between physical landscapes and the communities that occupy them. And second, to provide a fundamental tool to public policy designers that should simultaneously improve social acceptability of conservation policies and policy efficiency and effectiveness. Finally, this methodology is consciously heterogeneous from a theoretical perspective. This article puts together, in fruitful dialogue, contributions from varying places on the social theory spectrum: from political economy to poststructural theory.     

天池风景资源开发过程中的环境预警评价

在天池风景名胜区专家咨询和环境质量综合分析的基础上,对天池风景名胜区旅游资源的开发活动进行了预警评价,提出了天池风景名胜区风景资源开发的保护对策,为天池景区的环境管理工作提供了依据。     

中国自然保护区可持续管理模式探讨——伦敦自然保护区管理模式借鉴

近年来,世界各地自然保护区迅速发展,如何有效持续地管理这些自然保护区成为一个重要的问题。文章分析了我国自然保护区现有管理模式的特点与存在的问题,简要介绍了伦敦自然保护区的管理模式现状,根据我国的实际情况,笔者认为中国的自然保护区应采用强制式和完全参与合作式相结合的管理模式,并提出了几点管理模式的改革建议。     

乌鲁木齐市土地利用景观格局变化研究

运用GIS、RS技术及景观生态学理论和方法,基于乌鲁木齐市2006年和2010年遥感影像解译数据,对乌鲁木齐市5年间土地利用景观格局变化特征进行分析,分别从斑块类型和景观水平2个方面对研究区土地利用景观类型进行动态分析。揭示其变化原因和内在规律,为研究区生态治理提供数据支撑,对景观的规划与管理、资源的有效利用和生物多样性保护具有重要意义。     

大连市臭氧污染特征及典型污染日成因

通过对大连市区10个空气监测子站的监测数据进行分析,探讨了大连市臭氧污染的时空分布、气象条件对臭氧污染的影响,对臭氧污染日进行了归类分析。结果表明,大连市臭氧污染主要出现在4—10月。在强紫外辐射、高温、低湿、低压和低风速的气象条件下,监测点位的臭氧浓度较高。臭氧污染日的日变化分为单峰型、双峰型和夜间持续升高型3种类型。通过对2015年的一次高浓度臭氧污染过程的气象条件、污染物浓度和污染气团轨迹进行分析,发现臭氧浓度在夜间持续升高现象与区域输送密切相关。     

中国人口集疏格局与形成机制研究

人口集聚和疏散是人口空间分布格局最直观和最集中的体现,基于人口集聚度的中国人口集疏的空间格局和形成机制的研究,有助于准确把握中国人口空间分布的基本脉络,具有重要的学术价值和实践意义。研究采用了人口集聚度分级评价的方法,依据人口集聚度的不同,将各个地区划分为不同等级的人口集聚区,并对其分别讨论。在此基础上,结合中国人口分布格局、自然条件的空间分布格局、人居环境自然适宜性评价结果以及经济发展格局和城市化格局,对中国的人口集疏的空间格局进行了归纳,并进一步对相应的形成机制进行了探讨,得出了我国人口分布的空间不平衡日益加剧,并呈现沿海、沿江、沿线集聚的态势的基本结论,并对我国人口分布集疏格局的形成进行了探讨,提出了自然因素奠定我国人口分布的基本格局,而经济发展不平衡与城市化成为人口集聚的动力的观点。     

Coastal landscape preference evaluation: A comparison among tourists in Greece

An evaluation of coastal landscape of pine forest in Greece by summer visitors of various nationalities was carried out. The visual preferences for a set of landscape, represented in photographs, expressed by these various nationality groups were compared. The subjects used in this research came from Greece, Germany, Italy, France, Great Britain, Austria, Yugoslavia, and Scandinavian countries. The findings show that there is an agreement over the basic preference, but, nevertheless, there are differences of opinion between the nationality groups that might be attributed to cultural influences and the effect of being familiar with their own environments. Since coastal landscape plays an important role in the tourist industry, these findings could be very useful to policy-making agencies.