
Quality and Value of the Landscape
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What makes us like certain landscapes better than others? We examine which landscape features are important to people. This helps to maintain the quality of the landscape despite its constant change.
Landscapes are characterised by elements and features such as open spaces and green spaces or typical regional settlement and management forms. People perceive these and evaluate them; the (perceived) landscape quality results from this. We look into how people perceive the landscape and what elements and features are important to them. Because landscapes are constantly changing, the following questions arise: how do landscape features change? What are the consequences for landscape quality? How can important landscape features and landscape quality be maintained in the long term? Our research provides answers to such questions and thus provides the decision-making basis for landscape policy.
Values and Performance of Landscapes
The values of landscapes are closely linked to their features. There are many of these, as landscapes have ecological, aesthetic, cultural, economic and emotional values. Identifying and evaluating these makes up a significant part of the WSL's landscape research. For example, we examine how nature and landscape can be economically assessed and what factors influence the aesthetic value of living spaces and landscapes.
The value of landscapes for people and society can be expressed through landscape benefits. These include, for example, local recreation and leisure, protection from natural hazards, and the production of renewable energies. For various spatial levels, we look at which benefits landscapes provide to the community. To this end, we are developing methods for mapping out benefits and predicting future spatial distributions, for example local recreation and leisure. Our research has made it easier to integrate this into practical spatial planning.
Further information
Publications
Unsere Ergebnisse aus der Umfrage zeigen, dass Fachleute im Naturschutz eine grosse Vielfalt an Informationsquellen nutzen. Der Bericht zeigt Handlungsmöglichkeiten auf, um den Austausch zwischen Wissenschaft und Praxis im Naturschutz effektiver zu gestalten.
In dieser Studie werden erstmals gesamtschweizerisch Wanderungsbewegungen aus den Agglomerationen in den ländlichen Raum der Schweiz untersucht.
In der vorliegenden Medienanalyse wird die Wahrnehmung und Thematisierung von Flussrenaturierungen bzw. -revitalisierungen in unterschiedlichen Zeitungstiteln der Kantone Bern und Wallis über den Zeitraum von 2000 bis 2013 rekonstruiert. Im Zentrum der Arbeit steht das Verstehen dieser medienöffentlichen Prozesse.
Regionale Naturpärke haben oft mit der Tatsache zu kämpfen, dass der Park von einem Grossteil der Bevölkerung nicht akzeptiert wird. Das hier vorgestellte Forschungsprojekt untersuchte die Hintergründe dieser Probleme bei verschiedenen Interessengruppen.
Die Kernfragen des WSL-Forschungsprogramm «Raumansprüche von Mensch und Natur» lauteten: Wie können sich Siedlung und Landschaft in den Fallstudienregionen Oberes Freiamt (AG), Luzerner Seetal (LU), Linthebene (SG) und Glarus Nord (GL) bis ins Jahr 2030 weiterentwickeln? Wie kann die Entwicklung in nachhaltige Bahnen gelenkt werden? Der Synthesebericht gibt Antworten.
Simons, N.K.; Felipe-Lucia, MaríaR.; Schall, P.; Ammer, C.; Bauhus, J.; Blüthgen, N.; Boch, S.; Buscot, F.; Fischer, M.; Goldmann, K.; Gossner, M.M.; Hänsel, F.; Jung, K.; Manning, P.; Nauss, T.; Oelmann, Y.; Pena, R.; Polle, A.; Renner, S.C.; ... Weisser, W.W., 2021: National Forest Inventories capture the multifunctionality of managed forests in Germany. Forest Ecosystems, 8: 5 (19 pp.). doi: 10.1186/s40663-021-00280-5
Felipe-Lucia, M.R.; Soliveres, S.; Penone, C.; Fischer, M.; Ammer, C.; Boch, S.; Boeddinghaus, R.S.; Bonkowski, M.; Buscot, F.; Fiore-Donno, A.M.; Frank, K.; Goldmann, K.; Gossner, M.M.; Hölzel, N.; Jochum, M.; Kandeler, E.; Klaus, V.H.; Kleinebecker, T.; Leimer, S.; ... Allan, E., 2020: Land-use intensity alters networks between biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and services. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America PNAS, 117, 45: 28140-28149. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2016210117
Churko, G.; Kienast, F.; Bolliger, J., 2020: A multispecies assessment to identify the functional connectivity of amphibians in a human-dominated landscape. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 9, 5: 287 (18 pp.). doi: 10.3390/ijgi9050287
Bolliger, J.; Hennet, T.; Wermelinger, B.; Blum, S.; Haller, J.; Obrist, M.K., 2020: Low impact of two LED colors on nocturnal insect abundance and bat activity in a peri-urban environment. Journal of Insect Conservation, 24, 4: 625-635. doi: 10.1007/s10841-020-00235-1
Bolliger, J.; Silbernagel, J., 2020: Contribution of connectivity assessments to green infrastructure (GI). ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 9, 4: 212 (17 pp.). doi: 10.3390/ijgi9040212
Young, C.; Hofmann, M.; Frey, D.; Moretti, M.; Bauer, N., 2020: Psychological restoration in urban gardens related to garden type, biodiversity and garden-related stress. Landscape and Urban Planning, 198: 103777 (12 pp.). doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2020.103777
Frolova, M.; Centeri, C.; Benediktsson, K.; Hunziker, M.; Kabai, R.; Scognamiglio, A.; Martinopoulos, G.; Sismani, G.; Brito, P.; Muñoz-Cerón, E.; Słupiński, M.; Ghislanzoni, M.; Braunschweiger, D.; Herrero-Luque, D.; Roth, M., 2019: Effects of renewable energy on landscape in Europe: comparison of hydro, wind, solar, bio-, geothermal and infrastructure energy landscapes. Hungarian Geographical Bulletin, 68, 4: 317-339. doi: 10.15201/hungeobull.68.4.1
Olschewski, R.; Tzanova, P.; Thees, O.; Polosek, P., 2019: How does wood mobilization depend on marketing decisions? A country comparison based on choice experiments. Annals of Forest Science, 76, 4: 103 (11 pp.). doi: 10.1007/s13595-019-0894-z
Boch, S.; Bedolla, A.; Ecker, K.T.; Graf, U.; Küchler, H.; Küchler, M.; Holderegger, R.; Bergamini, A., 2019: Mean indicator values suggest decreasing habitat quality in Swiss dry grasslands and are robust to relocation error. Tuexenia, 39: 315-334. doi: 10.14471/2019.39.010
Hou, G.; Delang, C.O.; Lu, X.; Olschewski, R., 2019: Valuing carbon sequestration to finance afforestation projects in China. Forests, 10, 9: 754 (20 pp.). doi: 10.3390/f10090754
Boeddinghaus, R.S.; Marhan, S.; Berner, D.; Boch, S.; Fischer, M.; Hölzel, N.; Kattge, J.; Klaus, V.H.; Kleinebecker, T.; Oelmann, Y.; Prati, D.; Schäfer, D.; Schöning, I.; Schrumpf, M.; Sorkau, E.; Kandeler, E.; Manning, P., 2019: Plant functional trait shifts explain concurrent changes in the structure and function of grassland soil microbial communities. Journal of Ecology, 107, 5: 2197-2210. doi: 10.1111/1365-2745.13182
Năstase, I.I.; Pătru-Stupariu, I.; Kienast, F., 2019: Landscape preferences and distance decay analysis for mapping the recreational potential of an urban area. Sustainability, 11, 13: 3620 (19 pp.). doi: 10.3390/su11133620
Braun, D.; De Jong, R.; Schaepman, M.E.; Furrer, R.; Hein, L.; Kienast, F.; Damm, A., 2019: Ecosystem service change caused by climatological and non‐climatological drivers: a Swiss case study. Ecological Applications, 29, 4: e01901 (11 pp.). doi: 10.1002/eap.1901
Plum, C.; Olschewski, R.; Jobin, M.; Van Vliet, O., 2019: Public preferences for the Swiss electricity system after the nuclear phase-out: a choice experiment. Energy Policy, 130: 181-196. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2019.03.054
Bauer, N.; Von Atzigen, A., 2019: Understanding the factors shaping the attitudes towards wilderness and rewilding. In: Pettorelli, N.; Durant, S.M.; Du Toit, J.T. (eds), 2019: Rewilding. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. 142-164. doi: 10.1017/9781108560962.008
Young, C.; Frey, D.; Moretti, M.; Bauer, N., 2019: Research note: garden-owner reported habitat heterogeneity predicts plant species richness in urban gardens. Landscape and Urban Planning, 185: 222-227. doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.01.013
Müller, A.; Knoke, T.; Olschewski, R., 2019: Can existing estimates for ecosystem service values inform forest management?. Forests, 10, 2: 132 (17 pp.). doi: 10.3390/f10020132
Maidl, E.; Buchecker, M., 2019: Social representations of natural hazard risk in Swiss mountain regions. Geosciences, 9, 1: 2 (30 pp.). doi: 10.3390/geosciences9010002
Di Masso, A.; Williams, D.R.; Raymond, C.M.; Buchecker, M.; Degenhardt, B.; Devine-Wright, P.; Hertzog, A.; Lewicka, M.; Manzo, L.; Shahrad, A.; Stedman, R.; Verbrugge, L.; Von Wirth, T., 2019: Between fixities and flows: navigating place attachments in an increasingly mobile world. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 61: 125-133. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2019.01.006
Bubalo, M.; Van Zanten, B.T.; Verburg, P.H., 2019: Crowdsourcing geo-information on landscape perceptions and preferences: A review. Landscape and Urban Planning, 184: 101-111. doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.01.001
Radford, S.L.; Senn, J.; Kienast, F., 2019: Indicator-based assessment of wilderness quality in mountain landscapes. Ecological Indicators, 97: 438-446. doi: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.09.054
Frick, J.; Bauer, N.; Von Lindern, E.; Hunziker, M., 2018: What forest is in the light of people's perceptions and values: socio-cultural forest monitoring in Switzerland. Geographica Helvetica, 73, 4: 335-345. doi: 10.5194/gh-73-335-2018
Ring, I.; Sandström, C.; Acar, S.; Adeishvili, M.; Albert, C.; Allard, C.; Anker, Y.; Arlettaz, R.; Bela, G.; Ten Brink, B.; Fischer, A.; Fürst, C.; Galil, B.; Hynes, S.; Kasymov, U.; Marta-Pedroso, C.; Mendes, A.; Molau, U.; ... Olschewski, R., 2018: Options for governance and decision-making across scales and sectors. In: Mader, A. (eds), 2018: The IPBES regional assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services for Europe and Central Asia. Bonn, Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). 664-803.
Mondini, M.; Hunziker, M., 2018: Psychological factors influencing human attitudes towards brown bears: a case study in the Swiss Alps. Umweltpsychologie, 22, 1: 8-29.
Felipe-Lucia, M.R.; Soliveres, S.; Penone, C.; Manning, P.; Van der Plas, F.; Boch, S.; Prati, D.; Ammer, C.; Schall, P.; Gossner, M.M.; Bauhus, J.; Buscot, F.; Blaser, S.; Blüthgen, N.; De Frutos, A.; Ehbrecht, M.; Frank, K.; Goldmann, K.; Hänsel, F.; ... Allan, E., 2018: Multiple forest attributes underpin the supply of multiple ecosystem services. Nature Communications, 9: 4839 (11 pp.). doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-07082-4
Cosyns, H.; Kraus, D.; Krumm, F.; Schulz, T.; Pyttel, P., 2018: Reconciling the tradeoff between economic and ecological objectives in habitat-tree selection: a comparison between students, foresters, and forestry trainers. Forest Science, 65, 2: 223-234. doi: 10.1093/forsci/fxy042
Kienast, F.; Buchecker, M.; Hunziker, M., 2018: Generating meaningful landscapes for globalized mobile societies: pushing an international research agenda. Landscape Ecology, 33, 10: 1669-1677. doi: 10.1007/s10980-018-0696-y
Scheurer, T.; Agnoletti, M.; Bürgi, M.; Hribar, M.Š.; Urbanc, M., 2018: Exploring alpine landscapes as potential sites of the globally important agricultural heritage systems (GIAHS) programme. Mountain Research and Development, 38, 2: 172-174. doi: 10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-18-0047
Holm, S.; Thees, O.; Lemm, R.; Olschewski, R.; Hilty, L.M., 2018: An agent-based model of wood markets: scenario analysis. Forest Policy and Economics, 95: 26-36. doi: 10.1016/j.forpol.2018.07.005
Zabel, A.; Schulz, T.; Lieberherr, E., 2018: Grüne Wirtschaft: eine Annäherung an mögliche Zielkonflikte und Synergien im Wald. Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Forstwesen, 169, 3: 143-149. doi: 10.3188/szf.2018.0143
Schulz, T.; Lauber, S.; Herzog, F., 2018: Summer farms in switzerland: profitability and public financial support. Mountain Research and Development, 38, 1: 14-23. doi: 10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-16-00118.1
Bösch, M.; Elsasser, P.; Franz, K.; Lorenz, M.; Moning, C.; Olschewski, R.; Rödl, A.; Schneider, H.; Schröppel, B.; Weller, P., 2018: Forest ecosystem services in rural areas of Germany: insights from the national TEEB study. Ecosystem Services, 31: 77-83. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2018.03.014
Niță, M.R.; Badiu, D.L.; Onose, D.A.; Gavrilidis, A.A.; Grădinaru, S.R.; Năstase, I.I.; Lafortezza, R., 2018: Using local knowledge and sustainable transport to promote a greener city: the case of Bucharest, Romania. Environmental Research, 160: 331-338. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2017.10.007
Muhar, A.; Raymond, C.M.; Van den Born, R.J.G.; Bauer, N.; Böck, K.; Braito, M.; Buijs, A.; Flint, C.; De Groot, W.T.; Ives, C.D.; Mitrofanenko, T.; Plieninger, T.; Tucker, C.; Van Riper, C.J., 2018: A model integrating social-cultural concepts of nature into frameworks of interaction between social and natural systems. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 61, 5-6: 756-777. doi: 10.1080/09640568.2017.1327424
Hernández-Morcillo, M.; Bieling, C.; Bürgi, M.; Lieskovský, J.; Palang, H.; Printsmann, A.; Schulp, C.J.E.; Verburg, P.H.; Plieninger, T., 2017: Priority questions for the science, policy and practice of cultural landscapes in Europe. Landscape Ecology, 32, 11: 2083-2096. doi: 10.1007/s10980-017-0524-9
Bürgi, M.; Bieling, C.; Von Hackwitz, K.; Kizos, T.; Lieskovský, J.; García Martín, M.; McCarthy, S.; Müller, M.; Palang, H.; Plieninger, T.; Printsmann, A., 2017: Processes and driving forces in changing cultural landscapes across Europe. Landscape Ecology, 32, 11: 2097-2112. doi: 10.1007/s10980-017-0513-z
Ströbele, M.; Hunziker, M., 2017: Are suburbs perceived as rural villages? Landscape-related residential preferences in Switzerland. Landscape and Urban Planning, 163: 67-79. doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2017.02.015
Pütz, M.; Gubler, L.; Willi, Y., 2017: New governance of protected areas: regional nature parks in Switzerland. eco.mont, 9: 75-84. doi: 10.1553/eco.mont-9-sis75
Badiu, D.L.; Iojă, C.I.; Pătroescu, M.; Breuste, J.; Artmann, M.; Niţă, M.R.; Grădinaru, S.R.; Hossu, C.A.; Onose, D.A., 2016: Is urban green space per capita a valuable target to achieve cities' sustainability goals? Romania as a case study. Ecological Indicators, 70: 53-66. doi: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.05.044
Bamert, M.; Ströbele, M.; Buchecker, M., 2016: Ramshackle farmhouses, useless old stables, or irreplaceable cultural heritage? Local inhabitants’ perspectives on future uses of the Walser built heritage. Land Use Policy, 55: 121-129. doi: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.03.016
Nussbaum, M.; Papritz, A.; Baltensweiler, A.; Walthert, L., 2014: Estimating soil organic carbon stocks of Swiss forest soils by robust external-drift kriging. Geoscientific Model Development, 7, 3: 1197-1210. doi: 10.5194/gmd-7-1197-2014
Sattler, T.; Pezzatti, G.B.; Nobis, M.P.; Obrist, M.K.; Roth, T.; Moretti, M., 2014: Selection of multiple umbrella species for functional and taxonomic diversity to represent urban biodiversity. Conservation Biology, 28, 2: 414-426. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12213
Keller, D.; Seidl, I.; Forrer, C.; Home, R.; Holderegger, R., 2013: Schutz der Helm-Azurjungfer Coenagrion mercuriale (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) am Beispiel des Smaragd-Gebiets Oberaargau. Entomo Helvetica, 6: 87-99.
Graf Pannatier, E.; Thimonier, A.; Schmitt, M.; Waldner, P.; Walthert, L., 2012: Impacts des dépôts atmosphériques acides sur l'eau des sols forestiers. Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Forstwesen, 163, 9: 363-373. doi: 10.3188/szf.2012.0363
Diacon-Bolli, J.; Dalang, T.; Holderegger, R.; Bürgi, M., 2012: Heterogeneity fosters biodiversity: linking history and ecology of dry calcareous grasslands. Basic and Applied Ecology, 13, 8: 641-653. doi: 10.1016/j.baae.2012.10.004
Graf Pannatier, E.; Thimonier, A.; Schmitt, M.; Walthert, L.; Waldner, P., 2011: A decade of monitoring at Swiss Long-Term Forest Ecosystem Research (LWF) sites: can we observe trends in atmospheric acid deposition and in soil solution acidity?. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 174, 1-4: 3-30. doi: 10.1007/s10661-010-1754-3
Määttänen, K.; Holderegger, R., 2008: Populationsgeschichte und Managementprinzipien in Schweizer Wildbirnenvorkommen. Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Forstwesen, 159, 1: 8-16. doi: 10.3188/szf.2008.0008
Jaeger, J.; Holderegger, R., 2005: Schwellenwerte der Landschaftszerschneidung. GAIA: Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society, 14, 2: 113-118. doi: 10.14512/gaia.14.2.10
Perruchoud, D.; Walthert, L.; Zimmermann, S.; Lüscher, P., 2000: Contemporary carbon stocks of mineral forest soils in the Swiss Alps. Biogeochemistry, 50, 2: 111-136. doi: 10.1023/A:1006320129112