Fifteen years of Landscape Online: Looking back at the development of an e-journal

It has been 15 years by now that the International Association for Landscape Ecology – Chapter Germany (IALE-D) launched the e-journal Landscape Online. At the time of its first publication in 2007, to the best of our knowledge, it was one of the first open access peer-reviewed scientific e-journals in the field of Landscape Ecology. Over the last 15 years, it evolved from an idea driven by the German-speaking IALE community in Germany, Austria and Switzerland to a wider established journal linked to the international IALE community supported by partners across the world. In this Editorial, we (1) present the journal’s development and the regional distribution of authorships, (2) reflect on the topics addressed by the articles published, and (3) outline the latest developments in the light of continuities and changes

A multi-pressure analysis of ecosystem services for conservation planning in the Alps

Increasing anthropogenic pressures such as pollution, climate change or invasive species can have multiple impacts on ecosystems and the services (ES) they provide. To address the potential effects on ES provision, we propose a geospatial framework to identify and analyze the cumulative effects on terrestrial and freshwater ES. The framework includs an impact chain analysis based on ten pressures grouped into six categories (pollution, climate change, land-use change, overexploitation, land fragmentation, invasive species) and their single or multiple effects on five key ES of the Alpine environment (recreation, forest protection, CO2 sequestration, habitat maintenance, grassland biomass). Results show that the areas most affected by cumulative effects were located in major urban centers, in the Po Valley, Germany, Slovenia, and in coastal areas of the Adriatic Sea. The spatial coincidence analysis of pressure P-ES on IUCN protected sites showed that protection categories IV and V mostly had high P/high ES scores. Our approach will help in management and planning for mountain conservation aimed at reducing multi-pressure occurrences in transboundary environments. The framework can be used to identify areas with the highest ES provision, characterize areas with high stress from anthropogenic pressures, and examine the effects of pressures on protected areas

Nachhaltigkeit Südtirol – ein interaktives Portal für das Nachhaltigkeitsmonitoring auf Gemeindeebene

Die Agenda 21 fordert die Entwicklung und Anwendung von Indikatoren für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung sowie eine bessere Zugänglichkeit von Informationen. Bei der Umsetzung der Agenda 21 spielen Gemeinden eine entscheidende Rolle, da sie die Umwelt-, Gesellschafts- und Wirtschaftsentwicklung auf lokaler Ebene steuern, in unmittelbarem Kontakt zu ihren Bürgern stehen und somit eine nachhaltige Entwicklung direkt fördern können. Aus diesem Grund wurde das interaktive Portal „Nachhaltigkeit Südtirol“ (www.sustainability.bz.it) für das Nachhaltigkeitsmonitoring auf Gemeindeebene entwickelt. Es stellt Nutzern mittels eines interaktiven WebGIS 76 Nachhaltigkeitsindikatoren für alle 116 Gemeinden der Autonomen Provinz Bozen-Südtirol (Italien) zur Verfügung. Die Indikatoren werden seit dem Jahr 2000 jährlich aktualisiert. Alle Ergebnisse sowie Dokumentationsblätter zu den Indikatoren können heruntergeladen werden. Das Nachhaltigkeitsportal bietet darüber hinaus drei Tools zur individuellen und detaillierteren Auswertung der Indikatoren und zum Vergleich zwischen Gemeinden bzw. verschiedenen Jahren. Es wurde bereits erfolgreich in lokalen Agenda-21-Prozessen in mehreren Gemeinden Südtirols angewendet

Upscaling ecosystem service maps to administrative levels: beyond scale mismatches

As Ecosystem Services (ES) are the products of complex socio–ecological systems, their mapping requires a deep understanding of the spatial relationships and pattern that underpin ES provision. Upscaling ES maps is often carried out to avoid mismatches between the scale of ES assessment and that of their level of management. However, so far only a few efforts have been made to quantify how information loss occurs as data are aggregated to coarser scales. In the present study this was analyzed for three distinct case studies in the eastern Alps by comparing ES maps of outdoor recreation at the municipality level and at finer scales, i.e. high-resolution grids. Specifically, we adopt an innovative and flexible methodology based on Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA), to disentangle the problem of the scale from the perspective of different levels of jurisdiction, by assessing in an iterative process how ES patterns change when upscaling high-resolution maps. Furthermore, we assess the sensitivity to the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP) by calculating global statistics over three grid displacements. Our results demonstrate that spatial clusters tend to disappear when their extent becomes smaller than the features to which values are upscaled, leading to substantial information loss. Moreover, cross-comparison among grids and the municipality level highlights local anomalies that global spatial autocorrelation indicators fail to detect, revealing hidden clusters and inconsistencies among multiple scales. We conclude that, whenever ES maps are aggregated to a coarser scale, our methodology represents a suitable and flexible approach to explore clustering trends, shape and position of upscaling units, through graphs and maps showing spatial autocorrelation statistics. This can be crucial to finding the best compromise among scale mismatches, information loss and statistical bias that can directly affect the targeted ES mapping

Odyssey of First IALE World Congress in Africa and Opportunities for North-South or South-South Collaboration

The landscape ecology community witnessed a landmark event in July 2023 as the 11th International Association for Landscape Ecology (IALE) World Congress unfolded on the African continent for the first time. This editorial commemorates this historic occasion, tracing the journey from the inception of IALE Africa initiatives in 2002 to the culmination of the World Congress in Nairobi, Kenya, almost two decades later. Having previously graced Europe, Northern America, Australia, and Asia, the IALE World Congress embraced Africa, showcasing the global reach and inclusive spirit of landscape ecology.  This editorial explores the evolution of IALE Africa, highlighting the initiatives and the persistent efforts that led to the World Congress in Africa.  We delve into the socio-cultural and international significance of this shift, emphasising the unique perspectives and challenges faced by the African landscape ecology community. In addition to recounting the narrative of the 11th IALE World Congress, we assessed the participants involved, topics discussed, current trends, and priorities within the global landscape ecology research community.  To do so, we conducted a bibliometric analysis of the conference proceedings.

Assessment and governance of Ecosystem Services for improving management effectiveness of Natura 2000 sites

The Natura 2000 network is the cornerstone of the EU Biodiversity Strategy aimed at halting the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Yet in many EU Member States the level of development and execution of management plans and conservation measures of Natura 2000 sites is often very low due to scarce financial resources; for this reason management effectiveness is rarely achieved. This paper presents initial insights from the Life+ MGN project and highlights the costs and benefits associated with 2 out of 21 Natura 2000 study sites in Italy in order to present a new governance approach relying on the qualitative and quantitative valuation of Ecosystem Services (ES). Preliminary results suggest that the quantification of costs and benefits related to the Natura 2000 network is crucial for reaching Natura 2000 conservation objectives and measuring management effectiveness

Kapitel 3. Sozioökonomische und klimatische Treiber der Änderung der Landnutzung in Österreich

Dieses Kapitel beschäftigt sich mit den klimatischen, ökologischen und sozioökonomischen treibenden Kräften, welche die Landnutzung in Österreich in der Vergangenheit und der Gegenwart maßgeblich bestimmt haben und die zukünftigen Entwicklungen beeinflussen werden. Es behandelt die in der Vergangenheit beobachteten und in der Zukunft erwarteten treibenden Kräfte von Landnutzungsänderungen in der Landwirtschaft (Abschn. 3.2), der Forstwirtschaft (Abschn. 3.3) und der Siedlungs- und Infrastrukturentwicklung (Abschn. 3.4). Abschließend werden die möglichen und erwarteten Auswirkungen dieser treibenden Kräfte auf die Bereitstellung der Ökosystemleistungen (ÖSL) beschrieben (Abschn. 3.5). Der Abbau von Mineralien wie Schotter oder Metalle wird aus Platzgründen nicht in diesem Kapitel behandelt, wenngleich es unumstritten ist, dass es sich auch dabei um landnutzungsrelevante Aktivitäten handelt. Kap. 3 unterscheidet zwischen natürlichen und anthropogenen Faktoren und wie sich diese auf die Landnutzung ausgewirkt haben und auswirken. Die sozioökonomischen Auswirkungen berücksichtigen dabei allerdings nicht die möglichen Anpassungs- oder Minderungsstrategien der einzelnen Sektoren, da diese in den Kap. 4 und 5 gesondert dargestellt werden

Prediction of the visual impact of motorways using GIS

Large scale transportation projects can adversely affect the visual perception of environmental quality and require adequate visual impact assessment. In this study, we investigated the effects of the characteristics of the road project and the character of the existing landscape on the perceived visual impact of motorways, and developed a GIS-based prediction model based on the findings. An online survey using computer-visualised scenes of different motorway and landscape scenarios was carried out to obtain perception-based judgements on the visual impact. Motorway scenarios simulated included the baseline scenario without road, original motorway, motorways with timber noise barriers, transparent noise barriers and tree screen; different landscape scenarios were created by changing land cover of buildings and trees in three distance zones. The landscape content of each scene was measured in GIS. The result shows that presence of a motorway especially with the timber barrier significantly decreases the visual quality of the view. The resulted visual impact tends to be lower where it is less visually pleasant with more buildings in the view, and can be slightly reduced by the visual absorption effect of the scattered trees between the motorway and the viewpoint. Based on the survey result, eleven predictors were identified for the visual impact prediction model which was applied in GIS to generate maps of visual impact of motorways in different scenarios. The proposed prediction model can be used to achieve efficient and reliable assessment of visual impact of motorways

Past and future impacts of land-use changes on ecosystem services in Austria

Environmental and socio-economic developments induce land-use changes with potentially negative impacts on human well-being. To counteract undesired developments, a profound understanding of the complex relationships between drivers, land use, and ecosystem services is needed. Yet, national studies examining extended time periods are still rare. Based on the Special Report on land use, land management and climate change by the Austrian Panel on Climate Change (APCC), we use the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework to (1) identify the main drivers of land-use change, (2) describe past and future land-use changes in Austria between 1950 and 2100, (3) report related impacts on ecosystem services, and (4) discuss management responses. Our findings indicate that socio-economic drivers (e.g., economic growth, political systems, and technological developments) have influenced past land-use changes the most. The intensification of agricultural land use and urban sprawl have primarily led to declining ecosystem services in the lowlands. In mountain regions, the abandonment of mountain grassland has prompted a shift from provisioning to regulating services. However, simulations indicate that accelerating climate change will surpass socio-economic drivers in significance towards the end of this century, particularly in intensively used agricultural areas. Although climate change-induced impacts on ecosystem services remain uncertain, it can be expected that the range of land-use management options will be restricted in the future. Consequently, policymaking should prioritize the development of integrated land-use planning to safeguard ecosystem services, accounting for future environmental and socio-economic uncertainties