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Social Sciences in Landscape Research

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The research group Social Sciences in Landscape Research studies the interaction between society and the environment with social science methods (e.g. qualitative interviews, standardised surveys, experiments, expert workshops, etc.). We are particularly interested in people’s demands towards nature, landscape and the built environment, as well as in recreational and health effects of nature. We are also investigating research questions such as: What kind of behaviour do people show regarding the environment? How can we influence this behaviour? How do people perceive environmental risks, and how can we develop a culture of risk prevention and integrative natural hazard management? The outcomes of our research projects provide a basis for the sustainable use of resources according to the needs of society, and for urban and landscape planning.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Projects

Expertenumfrage "Herausforderungen Landschaft"

10 Jahre nach der Ersterhebung werden erneut Expertinnen und Experten in der Schweiz dazu befragt, was Ihrer Meinung nach die künftigen Herausforderungen der Landschaftsentwicklung darstellen.

Effect of contact with nature during childhood on environmental attitudes, ecological behavior and environmental citizenship behavior

The project will assess the impact of a multitude of different settings on EA and EB/Environmental Citizenship Behavior by comparing children's and adults' self-report.

WaMos3

Mit WaMos 3 soll die Einstellung der Schweizer Bevölkerung zum Wald erneut erhoben werden.

Städtische Luftqualität mit Topfpflanzen messen

Einwohnerinnen und Einwohner der Stadt Zürich erhalten die Gelegenheit, Daten für die Umweltforschung zu erheben. Dies im Rahmen des internationalen Citizen Science Projekts strawbAIRies der Universität Antwerpen, an dem neben Zürich die Städte Lissabon, Paris, Poznan, Tartu und Antwerpen teilnehmen

Psycho-social effects of the displacement of allotment gardeners

Which psycho-social effects does the loss of an allotment garden have on users of these gardens? Was does the loss mean for these people? It this study we examine this in Altstetten, Zurich.

Integrated risk and resources management

This project contributes to a better understanding of the social and institutional barriers of an integrated management as strategy to climate-change related problems in Alpine regions.

Landschaftsbeobachtungsprogramm Schweiz LABES

Ziel dieses Projektes ist, das LABES Monitoring-Instrument, das zwischen 2009 und 2017 entwickelt wurde, bis 2020 konzeptionell zu überprüfen.

Conceptual evaluation of the Swiss landscape monitoring program 2018-2020

What are the qualities of the Swiss landscape? How do people assess the state of the landscape? These are the kinds of questions being taken up by the Landscape Monitoring program (LABES) launched in 2008. This project evaluates the program for relevance and use of up-front technology.

ENERGYSCAPE

This project focuses thus on assessing public judgments of the landscape effects stimulated by a mix of renewable energy systems in Swiss landscapes.

Partizipatives GIS als Planungsinstrument für Windenergieprojekte

Erhebung von lebensräumlichen Aspekten und partizipativ-interaktiver Standortwahl.

Revitalisierung der Wigger: Die Ansprüche der regionalen Bevölkerung

Ziel des Projektes ist es, zu ermitteln, welche Ansprüche die regionale Bevölkerung an die zukünftige Gestaltung der Wigger und ihre Nebengewässer hat. Dabei sollen insbesondere auch die Erholungsansprüche berücksichtigt werden. Die Erhebung sollte gleichzeitig eine Baseline für die Evaluation der sozio-kulturellen Aspekte des Revitalisierungsprojektes bereitstellen.

Small urban gardens

The aim of this study is to explore which present or imagined organizational forms of urban gardens are best suited to our current society.

Recreational spaces

Daily life stress can be a substantial detriment to human health and wellbeing. In comparing the stress-reduction capacities among different urban recreational spaces, this project aims at identifying the components of urban nature causing these health benefits.

Healthy Alps

Across the Alps, land-use is changing rapidly. The project investigates the consequences of this change for alpine agricultural landscape, focusing on ecosystem services, biodiversity, and effects on human health and wellbeing, as well as their possible interrelations.

Urban forests

Urban forests fulfil important ecosystem services and are greatly appreciated by the public for their social and cultural services. The aim of the project is to get insights into people's expectations and assessments of these services. Furthermore, the project aims to link the population's perceptions and expectations with on-site forest characteristics.

Future prospects for renewable energy

The production of renewable energy is a landscape service of growing importance and great political relevance. However, the expansion of renewable energies is causing various conflicts with competing landscape services.

Media renaturation

River renaturation has become an increasingly important issue in our society. Since 2011, Swiss cantons have been required to counteract adverse ecological effects. Various interests and demands around the river area inevitably lead to tensions and conflicts that are often difficult to resolve. An analysis of media coverage and presentation of the topic from a long-term perspective offer deeper insights into the course of the public debate and into some of the social and historical issues surrounding river renaturation.

Analyzing the Contribution of Participatory Environmental Planning to Social Learning

The research project studies the role of social learning in the context of participatory negotiation processes based on the case study of a complex planning project in the field of natural hazard management and use of natural resources.

Landscape impacts of renewable energy production

The project aims to gain insight into the population's attitudes towards the impact of renewable energy production on landscape quality. Particularly, the role of connotations attached to respective landscape changes will be investigated.

WML - WaMos meets LFI

In Switzerland, there are two very different forest monitoring instruments: The National Forest Inventory NFI and the socio-cultural forest monitoring WaMos. The aim of the current project is to bridge physical and social aspects.

Strategies for better gardens

Urban gardens experience increasing social and ecological importance, yet, there are only few studies about it. This project investigates the value of urban gardening for social benefit, biodiversity and soil quality.

Parc Adula

During the creation of the national park “Parc Adula” a written survey will be conducted. Goal of the study is to find out what locals think about of the creation of “Parc Adula” and which knowledge they have about it.

Urban Gardening

Allotment gardens are a special type of urban green and play an important role in modern urban environments both for the ecosystem and for the society. The study of the WSL investigates the effects of allotment gardens on the well being and physical and social health of their users.

GeneMig

GeneMig is an inter- and transdisciplinary CESS project that identifies societal and environmental challenges and risks associated with migration of species and their genes in a changing environment. This project (1) combines genetic methods with landscape modelling and (2) assess public attitudes and coping strategies towards species migration in the context of environmental change.

Photovoltaic-panels on avalanche protectionconstructions

In Switzerland exist around 600 km of avalanche protection constructions, mainly between 1800m and 2500m of altitude. Two pilot creations in Bellwald (VS) test whether avalanche protection constructions are suited as carriers of photovoltaic panels and for producing electric power. In our project we evaluated with qualitative and quantitative methods how local tourists and local inhabitants perceive these pilot creations and, more generally, to which degree they accept solar panels in different environmental settings.

Evaluation of steering instruments in outdoor winter sports

Disturbances through increased recreation activities have an impact on wildlife populations, especially in winter. The nation-wide campaign “Respektiere deine Grenzen” tries to minimize the conflict between winter sports and wildlife populations in the Swiss Alps. This project analyses the outcome of the campaign.

Recovery of Wildlife in the Alps

The return of large carnivores such as wolf and lynx in the Alps leads to conflicts with the local population. The goal of this project is to present practical conservation and management options for wolf and lynx in the Alps.

Energy Landscape "Grimsel" as perceived by Tourists

The Grimsel landscape is an energy landscape characterized by reservoirs, dams and power plants. Do visitors like this landscape (yet)?

KULTURisk

This EU FP7-project aims at promoting a culture of risk prevention against natural hazards. To achieve this goal benefits and costs of different prevention measures are compared, and the effectiveness of risk communication within these measures are evaluated.

Nearby Outdoor Recreation

This project has the goal to develop a GIS-based model to forecast which near-by areas local inhabitants in Switzerland preferably use in their leisure time for outdoor recreation.

WaMos 2

The aim of the research project WaMos 2 is to assess the attitudes of the population towards forest and wood related topics. In doing so, the project revisits and builds upon work that was done in 1997. The results of WaMos 2 will serve as a basis for forest related policy, and the forest- and environment-related reporting of FOEN.

Acceptance of Acceptance of Protected Areas

Projects for the designation of large protected areas often encounter acceptance problems. This research and implementation project focuses on the difficulty of missing mutual acceptance by stakeholders.

Landschaftsforschung

Die WSL hat im Auftrag des Forum Landschaft den Stand der Landschaftsforschung in der Schweiz untersucht. Es wurden aktuelle und zukünftige Herausforderungen der Schweizerischen Landschaftsentwicklung ermittelt sowie ihre Handlungsrelevanz beurteilt.

CapHaz-Net

CapHaz-Net is a unique collaboration project that brings together social scientists from various European countries. Funded by the European Community it reviews how institutions and people in Europe cope with and adapt to natural hazards.

Acceptance of Acceptance of Protected Areas

Effect on nature stay

The project analyses the influence of a stay in differently managed agricultural zones on human well-being. This allows to draw conclusions concering the optimal design of natural areas.

Einstellungen Regionaler Naturpark Pfyn-Finges

Im Rahmen des Projekts zur Bildung eines Regionalen Naturparks „Pfyn-Finges“ wurde untersucht, wie die lokale Bevölkerung dem Parkprojekt gegenüber eingestellt ist.

ENHANCE M4

Enhancing ecosystem quality (e.g. through intervention or defragmentation) is relevant for society and economy. Which ecosystem enhancement contributes best to perceived quality of life and is economically most beneficial?

BiodiverCity

The main goal of the project is to understand the relationship between urban diversity, built environment and the acceptance of the human population, in order to identify initial measures for integrating findings on how to enhance urban biodiversity and the acceptance of the residents into urban development processes.

Influence of nature on wellbeing and health

The positive influence of natural environment can contribute to public health, and should be considered in landscape architecture. We will show the comparison of an influence of tended and wild woods onto human wellbeing.

Erholungsnutzung im periurbanen Raum

Durch Zunahme der Freizeit steigt der Druck auf Naherholungsräume im periurbanen Raum. Um Nutzungskonflikte zu vermindern, braucht es Informationen zu Nachfrage, Potential und Intensität der Raumnutzung. Wissenschafter ermitteln deshalb Kriterien, die das Naherholungsverhalten bestimmen und entwickeln Naherholungsmodell.

Use conflicts in outdoor areas

Considering the constantly increasing leisure activities in various outdoor areas the question arises, how social use conflicts and ecological impairment of nature can be reduced.

Requirements for local quality of life

Today the development of space and Mobility is far away from the principle of sustainability. New ways of spatial planning are required. This project aims at establishing a basis for a more sustainable spatial planning and mobility.

Wahrnehmung und Bewertung von Naturgefahren

Sozialwissenschafter möchten im Projekt herausfinden, wie sich die Wahrnehmung und Bewertung von Lawinen, Murgängen, Steinschlag, Hochwasser, Stürmen usw. auf die Akzeptanz von Präventionsmassnahmen auswirken.

Alpine landscape development

In the context of sustainable development of the resource alpine landscape it is necessary that these developments are supported by a large part of the population. Therefore people's manifold objectives and desires must be known and included in planning measures.

Impact of transit traffic on society

The aim this project is to investigate the implications of transit traffic on nature and society and to design a monitoring tool to detect changes related to the amount of traffic. The project also investigates the influence of transit traffic and the related landscape changes on wellbeing and place attachment of inhabitants.

Socially sound river restorations

What is the meaning of the river space for the local public? What are the attitudes and demands of the population in regard to river restoration and which demands do people have regarding participation? This project shows possible ways towards socially sound river restorations.

BioScene: Reconciling biodiversity conservation

For centuries agriculture has played a multifunctional role in defining and sustaining mountain biodiversity in Europe through the management of habitats, species and landscapes. The overall aim of this project is to investigate the implications of agricultural restructuring and decline for biodiversity conservation in Europe’s mountain areas.

Outdoor-activities in nature and landscape

Outdoor-activities can have negative consequences on nature and landscape. A PhD student has analysed the motivation of outdoor-activists, their attitudes towards nature and landscape and their behaviour changing strategies.

Consequences of "Lothar" to interest groups

The storm Lothar has had consequences for totally different groups interested in the forest. These are not only groups economically linked with the forest, but also people, which use the forest in their leisure time. Which consequences did "Lothar" have for the different interest groups?

Management of dry meadows

One option to regulate the management of dry meadows is signing a contract with farmers. It has become evident that not all farmers are willing to sign such contracts in spite of the possibility to earn some extra money. The question was why some farmers refuse to sign.

Perception of natural hazards

With a telephonic survey the Swiss inhabitant's perception of natural hazards and specifically the hurricane "Lothar" has been investigated. The scientists asked almost 1000 people.

Attitudes of the society towards wilderness

What are the global attitudes towards nature and wilderness? What is perceived as wilderness and what degree of wilderness is accepted by the population in general? What are the differences between people accepting wilderness and those objecting it?

Biosphere reserves from people's view

Acceptance and success of biosphere reserves depend very much on the local population`s perception of and identification with the biosphere reserves. The objective of the study is to determine the attitudes of various social groups towards nature and nature protection.

Natural science experiments

Do natural science experiments have an influence on the politicians' readiness to plan environ-political measures and on the public's acceptance? The significance of experiments in natural science in the public discussion on CO2-emissions was investigated. Among the politicians three different types of attitudes towards natural science in general were found.

Attitudes towards decaying forests

A major concern for landscape conservation strategies is the public attitude towards nature in general and towards efforts to let "nature return to the cultivated landscape". In this context the attitudes of national park visitors towards declining forest patches have been investigated.

Need-oriented landscape development

Rural communities in Switzerland experience a process of urbanization running contrary to the needs of the locals. In order to stop this harmful process, answers to the following questions are needed: What needs of the people can be met by the "every-day-landscape"? Why don't people shape their "every-day-landscape"? How could they be encouraged to participate?

Spontaneous reforestation

One of the main arguments for handing out agricultural subsidies in Swiss mountainous areas is the conservation of traditional landscapes. To find out what people think about land abandonment WSL conducted qualitative in-situ-interviews as well as standardised questionnaires and photo-experiments.

Landscape change assessed by tourists

The lay assessment of tourism-induced landscape changes was investigated with standardized questionnaires and photo-experiments. A main result was that tourists are very sensitive to landscape changes caused by tourist infrastructure. They wish the landscape to remain traditional.

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Publications

Scientific publications (peer-reviewed)

Yang, M.; Jane, H.; Li, S.; Bauer, N., 2020: Trees, grass, or concrete? The effects of different types of environments on stress reduction. Landscape and Urban Planning, 193: 103654 (11 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.103654

Garcia, X.; Benages-Albert, M.; Buchecker, M.; Vall-Casas, P., 2019: River rehabilitation: preference factors and public participation implications. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, doi: 10.1080/09640568.2019.1680353

Hussain, R.I.; Walcher, R.; Eder, R.; Allex, B.; Wallner, P.; Hutter, H.; Bauer, N.; Arnberger, A.; Zaller, J.G.; Frank, T., 2019: Management of mountainous meadows associated with biodiversity attributes, perceived health benefits and cultural ecosystem services. Scientific Reports, 9, 1: 14977 (9 pp.). doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-51571-5

Wartmann, F.M.; Tieskens, K.F.; Van Zanten, B.T.; Verburg, P.H., 2019: Exploring tranquillity experienced in landscapes based on social media. Applied Geography, 113: 102112 (10 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.apgeog.2019.102112

Baer, M.F.; Wartmann, F.M.; Purves, R.S., 2019: StarBorn: towards making in‐situ land cover data generation fun with a location‐based game. Transactions in GIS, 23, 5: 1008-1028. doi: 10.1111/tgis.12543

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Further scientific publications

Wartmann, F.M.; Mackaness, W.A.; Bauer, N.; Bolliger, J.; Kienast, F., 2019: Towards an interdisciplinary understanding of landscape qualities: wilderness, tranquillity and dark skies. In: Mueller, L.; Eulenstein, F. (eds), 2019: Current trends in landscape research. Cham, Springer. 191-220. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-30069-2_7

Salak, B.; Kienast, F.; Olschewski, R.; Spielhofer, R.; Wissen, U.; Grêt-Regamey, A.; Hunziker, M., 2019: steuerBAR? Wo wollen wir "Energielandschaften" und wo nicht?. In: Björnsen Gurung, A. (eds), 2019: Schweiz erneuerbar!. Forum für Wissen 2019: Schweiz erneuerbar!, Birmensdorf, Switzerland. 15-22.

Radford, S.; Kienast, F.; Senn, J., 2019: Modellierung von Wildnis. In: Kern, M.; Moos, S.; Conradin, K.; Radford, S.; Von Atzigen, A.; Bauer, N. (eds), 2019: Das Potenzial von Wildnis in der Schweiz. Bern, Haupt. 65-94.

Tyrväinen, L.; Bauer, N.; O'Brien, L., 2019: Impacts of forests on human health and wellbeing. In: Marušáková, Ľ.; Sallmannshofer, M. (eds), 2019: Human health and sustainable forest management. Zvolen, Forest Europe. 30-57.

Marušáková, Ľ.; Sallmannshofer, M.; Kašpar, J.; Schwarz, M.; Tyrväinen, L.; Bauer, N., 2019: Human health and sustainable forest management. In: Sallmannshofer, M. (eds), 2019: Human health and sustainable forest management. Zvolen, Forest Europe. 58-97.

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Magazine articles and brochures

Home, R.; Moretti, M.; Frey, D.; Bauer, N., 2019: Hobbygärtnerinnen und -gärtnern ist Biodiversität wichtig. Hotspot, 39: 18-19.

Home, R.; Moretti, M.; Frey, D.; Bauer, N., 2019: Pour les jardiniers amateurs, la biodiversité compte. Hotspot, 39: 18-19.

Hegetschweiler, T.; Fischer, C., 2018: Das Projekt "WaMos meets LFI". Infoblatt Arbeitsgruppe Waldplanung und -management, 18, 1: 7-9.

Frey, D.; Young, C.; Zanetta, A.; Tresch, S.; Fliessbach, A.; Bauer, N.; Lewis, O.; Home, R.; Moretti, M., 2017: Bettergardens: Biodiversität, Bodenqualität und sozialer Wert von Stadtgärten. Bettergardens: biodiversité, qualité du sol et valeur sociale des jardins urbains. Nature + Paysage. Natur + Landschaft: Inside, 27-31.

Buchecker, M.; Michel, A., 2017: Passen Solaranlagen in den alpinen Raum?. GeoAgenda, 24-27.

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Staff