Natural Water Reservoirs as an Example of Effective Nature-Based Solutions (NBS)

Nature-based solutions (NBS) include actions that are inspired and/or powered by nature. The level of human intervention can vary from no or minimum intervention to the creation of the entire new ecosystems. One of the types of such solutions are natural water reservoirs (NWRs) with recreational and bathing functions, in which natural water self-purification processes are used. Mechanical, biological, and chemical self-purification processes are used to filter water in natural swimming pools. The elimination of nutrients (nutrients) and bacterial contamination takes place through the use of biological filter beds, usually planted with aquatic vegetation. Implementation of natural water reservoirs also showed a multitude of positive effects on the environment benefits including: enhancing the natural capital, promoting biodiversity, creating new habitats, mitigating water runoff, enhancing water resilience, contribution to urban heat island (UHI) mitigation, increasing air quality, and improvement of local climate

In the Search of an Assessment Method for Urban Landscape Objects (ULOs): Tangible and Intangible Values, Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS), and Ranking Approach

The effective assessment of urban space must link subjective and objective approaches. The main aim of the paper was to develop and test such a method of assessment in relation to one of the elements of the urban landscape called urban landscape objects (ULOs). The tested method fulfils the following requirements: (1) merges social and expert opinions, (2) analyzes diverse characteristics of urban space, (3) quantitatively presents the results of values assessments, and (4) features the simplicity of structure and ease of public understanding. The method was tested in relation to 34 ULOs located in three different functional sites within Lublin city (Poland). The result enables authors to answer three research questions: (1) How do people perceive ULOs located in different sites? (2) What kinds of tangible values possess different ULOs and how can they be expressed? (3) How can intangible and tangible values be merged? The general finding of the study showed that the Old Town features the highest ranked position in terms of all the values (mean aggregation index (A) ULOs = 0.64), together with the higher share of the most appreciated ULOs, whereas the Lagoon features the lowest ranked position (mean AULOs = 0.35), also statistically comparable with the Campus (mean AULOs = 0.45)

Landscape indicators as a tool of assessing landscape quality

Landscape quality (LQ) is understood as the state in which its (landscape) spatial, functional and visual structure is found at a given time. To measure this landscape characteristic different research methods and data types are needed including GIS techniques and remote sensing data as well as interviews and questionnaires, results of social perception studies, analysis of documents, registers and statistical data, landscape visual studies and 3D drawings. Presented study aims to fully analyze the LQ of the Roztocze region based on above mentioned methods. To do so, the categorization of 24 quantitative indices was applied. Results indicated high structural and ecological values, medium visual values and values of spatial harmony and low cultural and perceptual properties of analyzed area. The study results also showed the great importance of spatial data and GIS techniques in LQ assessment

The Methodology of Landscape Quality (LQ) Indicators Analysis Based on Remote Sensing Data: Polish National Parks Case Study

Landscape quality (LQ) encompasses diverse characteristic of the natural and cultural environment. The most effective tool to analyze LQ is the use of indicators. The main problem in the assessment of LQ is not the lack of indicators, but its multitude. That is why, the indicators’ categorization is a problematic issue. The paper aims to introduce and test the methodology for selecting the suitable indicators based on the example of two national parks located in the south-east part of Poland. The method composed of the following stages: (1) Selection of spatial units being analyzed; (2) selection of indicators type(s); (3) selection of specific indicators; (4) calculation of indicator set no 1; (5) analysis of the correlation between indicators’ pairs; (6) selection of a final set of indicators; (7) analysis of effectiveness. The latter stage, refers to the statistical analysis of significance between results obtained dependently on the data sources, a spatial unit of analysis and analyzed regions. The results showed that the categorization composed of ten, mainly composite indicators, can be applied to conclude on different levels of LQ of protected areas. The differences between two analyzed data sources, different spatial units, as well as diverse regions, occurred to be statistically insignificant. Generally, the results of the effectiveness analysis showed that a final categorization of LQ indicators is adequate to conclude on the diverse dimensions of LQ of analyzed protected areas

Pre-Existing Interventions as NBS Candidates to Address Societal Challenges

The nature-based solutions (NBS) concept is an umbrella term that connects and organizes previous concepts from the ’green-concept family’. Therefore, interventions similar to NBS were used for a long time before this term was first introduced. Such pre-existing actions, to be considered as NBS, must meet the Global Standards formulated by the Union for Conservation of Nature Global Standards. One of these standards refers to the challenge-orientation of NBS. The aim of this study was to propose objective criteria that enable the assessment of the challenge-orientation of such interventions. To this end, a set of criteria referring to the seven societal challenges was presented. A Lublin city (Poland) case study was applied in relation to 24 types of interventions. The results showed that all of the analysed pre-existing actions met at least two of the challenges. The actions with the greatest challenge-orientation potential continuity for ecological networks are: protecting surface wetlands, public parks, allotment gardens, restoring waterbodies and maintaining floodplains, and the lowest potential are: creating nesting boxes for bats and insect hotels, installing apiaries and below-ground rainwater collection systems. The analysed interventions responded, to a greater extent, to challenges such as to human health, climate change adaptation and mitigation and ecosystem degradation/biodiversity loss, and, to the least extent, to food security and socioeconomic development Moreover, the study revealed that the scale of the pre-existing intervention type is too general to draw conclusions regarding its challenge-orientation: each piece of the intervention should be assessed separately in relation to the conditions in the local context