Natural heritage: Provision of cultural ecosystem services from the Malyovitsa Range of the Rila National Park

Nature-based tourism and recreation are attracting attention today as the most favourable form of direct connection between people and nature, and as a very successful tool to motivate people to protect their natural heritage. This study aims to develop and test a methodology to assess the potential of an acknowledged natural heritage site in Bulgaria - Malyovitsa Range and Urdini Cirque in ‘Rila’ National Park to provide cultural ecosystem services. A holistic approach is applied, using landscapes as the main territorial unit, and source of information. For the purpose of practicing representative types of mountain tourism: ‘mountain hiking’, ‘nature education’ tourism, ‘ski touring’ and ‘mountaineering’ a total of 15 ecosystem services were assessed based on 25 biophysical and social indicators. ‘Primary forest landscapes on moraine materials’ and ‘Primary landscapes with mugo pine on igneous rocks’ receive the highest score. Based on the results obtained, an assessment of the mainstream activity - access to mountain hiking provided by the landscapes was carried out and two touristic routes with very high potential to deliver this service were identified. The results of the study are directed towards the responsible parties in support of the natural heritage conservation in Rila National Park through sustainable management the potential to provide cultural (recreational) ecosystem services. The research was conducted within the scientific programme of the project “Conceptualization, Flexible Methodology, and a Pilot Geospatial Platform for Access of the Bulgarian Natural Heritage to the European Digital Single Market of Knowledge and Information Services” within the project BG05M2OP001-1.001-0001 Establishment and Development of “Heritage BG” Centre of Excellence (Operational Program “Science and Education for Intelligent Growth”, priority Axis 1 “Research and technological development”)

Mapping and assessment of ecosystem condition and ecosystem services across different scales and domains in Europe

Mapping and assessment of ecosystem condition and ecosystem services across different scales and domains in Europ

RESEARCH OF THE BIOTOPE DIVERSITY FOR THE PURPOSES OF ECONOMIC VALUATION OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN CHEPELARE MUNICIPALITY (THE RHODOPES REGION OF BULGARIA)

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Towards integrated mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services in Bulgaria: The Central Balkan case study

The aim of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 isto maintain and enhance ecosystem services (ES) in Europe and requires all Member States to map and assess the state of ecosystems and their services in the respective national territories. The EU-funded project ESMERALDA analyses ES mapping and assessment methods and approaches in their biophysical, social and economical perspectives, as well as their application in different case studies. The project also aims at the development of an integrated and consistent assessment framework. In Bulgaria, methodological guides for evaluation and mapping of the services provided by the nine main types of ecosystems have been prepared together with the respective proposals for their implementation in the national assessment. The Bulgarian research team analyses and tests various aspects of ecosystem services mapping and assessment, such as alternative economic assessments, multi-criteria analyses and biophysical assessment approaches, mapping challenges and local population surveys. In this paper paper, we review the ES activities in Bulgaria and present selected mapping and assessment methods tested in the Central Balkan case study area. It provides relevant examples for the implementation of integrated mapping and assessment of ecosystem services at local and regional level, where different mapping approaches and techniques are embedded within diverse policy contexts. The main goal of the study is to investigate how the assessment results can support the integration of the ecological functions of the Central Balkan National Park with the economic opportunities that it creates for the local and regional communities. A tiered approach has been used to organise the mapping and assessment exercises in the study area, in order to meet the needs for integrated ecosystem assessment and overcome the limitations of data availability. At tier 1, the study performs identification and initial ES mapping of the whole area. At tier 2, it applies economic valuation for the Municipality of Karlovo by using statistical data and the contingent valuation method. At tier 3, the investigation applies modelling methods to assess carbon storage and flood regulation on a larger scale. The results are presented in the form of maps at all levels, which use a uniform 0 to 5 assessment scale. The integrated approach presented here ensures a clear communication of the end results to the respective decision-makers

Mapping and assessment of urban ecosystem condition and services using integrated index of spatial structure

Urban ecosystems are the areas where built infrastructure covers a large proportion of the land surface but the main source of ecosystem services provision is the green infrastructure. This provision is very much dependent on the particular combination of green spaces such as parks or vegetation belts and paved areas such as buildings and streets. The spatial arrangement of these elements is an important parameter which could be used for the assessment of the ecosystem condition in the urban areas. An integrated index of spatial structure is proposed which incorporates built types and land cover from the Local Climate Zones (LCZ) concept with urban ecosystems' classes developed on the basis of MAES typology. An algorithm has been developed for index generation using an urban ecosystems' database and remote sensing data. The index is used to define vegetation cover in urban ecosystems and assess their condition as a part of the assessment framework. It is also applied in the assessment of several ecosystem services through quantification of ecosystem services' indicators or as an indicator in a complex assessment. The results show that, although most urban ecosystems in Bulgaria are assessed as moderate and good condition, very few of them have very good condition and about 3.5% have very bad condition. The highest scores are defined for urban green areas while the lowest are for transport networks. The use of an integrated index in urban ecosystem services' assessment is represented by examples for global and local climate regulation. The results are used to develop maps of ecosystem services supply capacity for selected cities. The overall analysis indicates that the urban ecosystems in Bulgaria have a moderate to good capacity for local climate regulation and moderate to low capacity for global climate regulation. The integrated index of spatial structure provides an appropriate basis for characterisation and assessment of the urban ecosystems condition and ecosystem services following the requirements of the EU Biodiversity Strategy and the MAES process. The proposed approach enables the internal heterogeneity of the urban ecosystems at national level to be defined, this being one of the main challenges in studying urban ecological systems

Modeling water regulation ecosystem services: A review in the context of ecosystem accounting

Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) has evolved rapidly in recent years through substantial efforts of both international organizations and the scientific community. Water regulation ecosystem services (ES) are key elements of regulating services in ecosystem accounting, with most relevant studies strongly relying on models for ES quantification up to now. In this paper, we provide a review of modeling efforts for water regulation ES based on 148 scientific papers, properly systematized, analyzed and interpreted by using a detailed and structured original template. We examined emerging trends and gaps in model applications and the readiness to integrate them into the NCA and SEEA-EA frameworks. We propose a classification scheme which organizes the 92 different models and modeling approaches identified in the review process into eight model categories so that this scheme can be efficiently used in the water ES assessment of and for further integration into the accounting framework. Among the models, the hydrologic model SWAT and the modeling tool InVEST are by far the most popular. The results of the review revealed differences between the general ES literature and the accounting-related papers. Moreover, our analysis sets the basis for useful recommendations of which model categories are the most appropriate for the water regulation ES, included in the SEEA-EA reference list. Based on the number of relevant papers, the reliability and the confidence level of the recommendations for the use of models have been incorporated in our analysis. We highlight as model category with the highest confidence the ones relative to quantification water flow and flood control service aiming at ES accounting. Models for erosion control ES can only be recommended with a lower confidence, while for water purification the results lack clear evidence for using a particular group of models. Based on the research findings we identified the main research priorities on model integration in the accounting of water regulation ES: 1) further development of guidelines for the use of models in ecosystem accounting; 2) analyses of the spatial aspects of the model towards a clear distinction between ecosystem service supply and use; and 3) development of integrated modeling approaches for water regulation ES accounting. © 2022 The Author(s

Ecosystem services mapping and assessment for policy- and decision-making: Lessons learned from a comparative analysis of European case studies

This paper analyses and compares a set of case studies on ecosystem services (ES) mapping and assessment with the purpose of formulating lessons learned and recommendations. Fourteen case studies were selected during the EU Horizon 2020 “Coordination and Support Action” ESMERALDA to represent different policy- and decision-making processes throughout the European Union, across a wide range of themes, biomes and scales. The analysis is based on a framework that addresses the key steps of an ES mapping and assessment process, namely policy questions, stakeholder identification and involvement, application of mapping and assessment methods, dissemination and communication and implementation. The analysis revealed that most case studies were policy-orientated or gave explicit suggestions for policy implementation in different contexts, including urban, rural and natural areas. Amongst the findings, the importance of starting stakeholder engagement early in the process was confirmed in order to generate interest and confidence in the project and to increase their willingness to cooperate. Concerning mapping and assessment methods, it was found that the integration of methods and results is essential for providing a comprehensive overview from different perspectives (e.g. social, economic). Finally, lessons learned for effective implementation of ES mapping and assessment results are presented and discussed

Urban ecosystems assessment: An integrated approach to maintenance of habitats and their biodiversity

Natural habitats and their biodiversity are usually associated with protected areas, incompatible with direct anthropogenic influence. Is there a biodiversity in urban environment, what is the role of peri-urban areas to the provision of species richness and is their potential being properly utilized? These are current issues that deserve the attention of decision-makers because the human's need of natural environment in cities is expressed more intensely than in any previous period in history. Green and blue infrastructure elements, being part of the larger system of urban ecosystems, provide an essential and proven benefits to the city dwellers, like health improvement, opportunities for nature-based daily outdoor recreation, strengthening sense of place etc. The main objective of this research is to assess this part of the landscape elements in urban and peri-urban environment, which are most supportive to the maintenance of habitats and their biodiversity. Selected Functional urban area with center city of Burgas is choosen for a case study. The urban ecosystems are assessed in GIS environment with unified indicator (based on City Biodiversity Index approach) according to 5 criteria: hemeroby index, share of protected areas, fragmentation index, presence of water and species richness. The assessment is performed on two spatial levels: within Functional urban area by Urban Atlas spatial units and within urban core – by grid cells (local climate zones). The final higher scores identify areas that provide the greatest extent the maintenance of habitats and their biodiversity. The results could support the urban planning and help to optimize the link between the natural elements within the Functional urban areas, providing ecological, economic and social benefits to the regions through the enhancement of the urban ecosystem’s functions and their services

Digital Marketing of Bulgarian Natural Heritage for Tourism and Recreation

The need for a closer and enhanced connection with nature, as the basis for human wellbeing, reinforces the importance of natural heritage governance, including wider and much improved access to information about nature-based tourism and recreation. This research seeks to reveal how Internet content can support the digital identification of nature sites and their branding as tourist destinations. To this end, it analyzes 20 exemplary websites, each known around the world, and highlights important current trends in the structuring and attractiveness of the information provided. Based on the devised benchmarking criteria, the study develops a benchmarking approach that improves digital “packaging” and marketing of natural heritage for the purposes of tourism, recreation, leisure, and sports, and then tests it in Bulgaria. The procedure includes the selection of 57 natural heritage sites and rating the content of their official websites. The results show an unsatisfactory level of representation of the heritage value of the Bulgarian NH and a severe depreciation of the provision of the necessary tourism and recreation information, in comparison to the selected global benchmark. Besides the outline of the most frequent gaps and shortcomings, the results provide managers with suggestions about the development of a “natural heritage” brand for tourism and recreation, which features amplification of site identity and messaging, plus enhancement of its visibility. The conclusions are applicable to a wide variety of geographical contexts and audiences in nature-based destination governance

Digital Marketing of Bulgarian Natural Heritage for Tourism and Recreation

The need for a closer and enhanced connection with nature, as the basis for human wellbeing, reinforces the importance of natural heritage governance, including wider and much improved access to information about nature-based tourism and recreation. This research seeks to reveal how Internet content can support the digital identification of nature sites and their branding as tourist destinations. To this end, it analyzes 20 exemplary websites, each known around the world, and highlights important current trends in the structuring and attractiveness of the information provided. Based on the devised benchmarking criteria, the study develops a benchmarking approach that improves digital “packaging” and marketing of natural heritage for the purposes of tourism, recreation, leisure, and sports, and then tests it in Bulgaria. The procedure includes the selection of 57 natural heritage sites and rating the content of their official websites. The results show an unsatisfactory level of representation of the heritage value of the Bulgarian NH and a severe depreciation of the provision of the necessary tourism and recreation information, in comparison to the selected global benchmark. Besides the outline of the most frequent gaps and shortcomings, the results provide managers with suggestions about the development of a “natural heritage” brand for tourism and recreation, which features amplification of site identity and messaging, plus enhancement of its visibility. The conclusions are applicable to a wide variety of geographical contexts and audiences in nature-based destination governance