Landscape character and ecosystem services assessment: a case study from India

This chapter describes a research project in Gujarat, north-west India, which resulted from a request for help with developing a strategy to deal with Prosopis juliflora, an invasive thorny shrub also known as ‘Mesquite’. After due consideration, we concluded that any attempt at eradication would not only be impractical, it would also be unlikely to succeed. Funding was therefore sought to enable us to apply an integrated approach combining several methods to provide an information base for land use planning, rather than taking a single species approach. Landscape character assessment enabled natural areas in the region to be identified and this was followed by detailed participatory ecosystem services assessment focusing on one specific natural area. This process revealed that, although the spread of Prosopis juliflora is a key concern for ecologists, local people value the plant as a source of fuel and other resources for which there was no obvious alternative. All the results were collated into a natural area profile document, which was presented to the focus group participants as well as to other stakeholders and decision-makers as a robust evidence base to inform future land use planning decision-making