Expanding the toolbox : Assessing methods for local outdoor recreation planning

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Find the one you like! Profiling Swiss parks with user generated content

The establishment of national parks originated from the desire to preserve scenic landscape areas of national or regional importance. With more recent diversification of protected area types and goals, obtaining knowledge on how parks are recreationally used has become more challenging for (local) policy makers and park managements, as there is a general lack of systematic and publicly available visitor monitoring data. We analyze recreational park use for 20 Swiss parks of national importance and develop park profiles, using user-generated content from Flickr. The 20 Swiss parks are described by 111,437 unique images taken by 6,468 unique users between 2007 and 2020. We fill an existing research gap by defining park use across three dimensions space, time and users, and combining these in our analyses. The park profiles provide information on diversity of recreational use and serve as a starting point for analyzing how the three dimensions contribute to this diversity. Our results show diverging park uses for the three dimensions indicating that park location matters, especially in terms of peri-urbanity and geographic region. Our method can be translated into European scale analyses, provided that different languages are considered. Park profiles are easy to communicate and easy to interpret tools for (local) policy-makers and park managers to segment the tourism market and develop new park marketing strategies to e.g. streamline visitation flows and reduce the negative impacts of outdoor recreation. In broader terms, our study serves as input for future recreation policy to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of protected areas Management implications • We offer insights into recreational park use in terms of users, space and time, particularly valuable for parks where monitoring visitation is vital (i.e. protected areas). • Park profiles provide easy to communicate and interpret extensible tools for (local) policy-makers and park managers. • Park profiles can be used for among others the development of new park marketing strategies catering preferences for differentiated user groups. • Since different recreational user groups differ in their recreational behavior and in turn their environmental impact, park profiles can help in streamlining visitors as a potentially effective management measure for increased park sustainability (e.g. biodiversity conservation)

Multifunctionality of a peri-urban landscape: exploring the diversity of residents’ perceptions and preferences

Developing successful policies for sustainable land use requires understanding the perspectives of different actors. This study explored how residents–an often under-represented and un-organized group–vary in their valuation of ecosystem services (ES) and perception of multifunctionality in a peri-urban setting. We conducted 127 interviews in the Kromme Rijn region of the Netherlands guided by an interactive, visual canvas tool (STREAMLINE). We addressed four research questions: (1) Is there variation among residents regarding preferences for ES? (2) Which competing interests do residents see in this landscape? (3) Where are hotspots of perceived multifunctionality? and (4) Can the level of perceived multifunctionality be explained by its location on the rural–urban gradient? Our findings demonstrate that while the majority of ES are important to residents of a peri-urban landscape, there is variation in relative preference towards a subset of ES (mainly provisioning services). A typology of preferences distinguishes three groups: (A)‘I want it all’–all ES (very) important; (B)‘I want most of it’–majority of ES important; and (C)‘I want some’–several ES not important at all. The majority of competing interests identified by respondents were between biodiversity and either a provisioning or cultural service. Universal hotspots of perceived multi-functionality overlapped with the area around residential areas, whereas natural (grassland) areas and water were considered multifunctional by only a small share of respondents. These perceptions and preferences do not necessarily align with current policy and management efforts, it is advised that residents’ perceptions and values are better accounted for in landscape governance

‘Bonkers but good!’ – Using illustration-based interview methods to understand land management and conservation visions

Forest biodiversity studies conduct Visions help to understand common ground and tensions among citizens and stakeholders, supporting inclusive land management and conservation solutions to the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis. With careful design and sufficient resource, it is possible to bring together communities and other stakeholders to share perspectives and deliberate desired futures, identifying more acceptable alternatives and avoiding costly delays. We evaluated researcher and participant experiences of illustration-based interviews to understand land management visions using four studies in Scotland, The Netherlands and Spain. These studies used STREAMLINE, a visual mixed-method interview format using thematic illustrated canvases designed to provide an inclusive and creative framing for participants to contemplate their desired future. Participants enjoyed the informal visual format, which reduced pressure, increased comfort through the research process, and helped their thinking and reflection about complex topics. They also valued being listened to and having the opportunity to share their views. Researchers appreciated the ability to triangulate rich qualitative data with a variety of quantitative measure through the mixed-method format and the flexibility to adapt the canvases to suit their research aims. Positive participant experience made facilitation easier and was stimulating for the researchers. The credibility and legitimacy of illustration-based interviews will ultimately depend on specific research design-decisions and testing, which can make the approach more resource intensive than conventional interviews. While organisal barriers should be considered realistically, illustration-based interviews can have high saliency by providing useful and usable insights that strengthen land management policy and planning. Inclusive Conservation Participatory planning Governance Visions Visual methods Participatory methods d across Europe use a multitude of forestry terms, often inconsistently. This hinders the comparability across studies and makes the assessment of the impacts of forest management on biodiversity highly context-dependent. Recent attempts to standardize forestry and stand description terminology mostly used a top-down approach that did not account for the perspectives and approaches of forest biodiversity experts. This work aims to establish common standards for silvicultural and vegetation definitions, creating a shared conceptual framework for a consistent study on the effects of forest management on biodiversity. We have identified both strengths and weaknesses of the silvicultural and vegetation information provided in forest biodiversity studies. While quantitative data on forest biomass and dominant tree species are frequently included, information on silvicultural activities and vegetation composition is often lacking, shallow, or based on broad and heterogeneous classifications. We discuss the existing classifications and their use in European forest biodiversity studies through a novel bottom-up and top-driven review process, and ultimately propose a common framework. This will enhance the comparability of forest biodiversity studies in Europe, and puts the basis for effective implementation and monitoring of sustainable forest management policies. The standards here proposed are potentially adaptable and applicable to other geographical areas and could be extended to other forest interventions.publishedVersio

‘Bonkers but good!’ – Using illustration-based interview methods to understand land management and conservation visions

Visions help to understand common ground and tensions among citizens and stakeholders, supporting inclusive land management and conservation solutions to the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis. With careful design and sufficient resource, it is possible to bring together communities and other stakeholders to share perspectives and deliberate desired futures, identifying more acceptable alternatives and avoiding costly delays. We evaluated researcher and participant experiences of illustration-based interviews to understand land management visions using four studies in Scotland, The Netherlands and Spain. These studies used STREAMLINE, a visual mixed-method interview format using thematic illustrated canvases designed to provide an inclusive and creative framing for participants to contemplate their desired future. Participants enjoyed the informal visual format, which reduced pressure, increased comfort through the research process, and helped their thinking and reflection about complex topics. They also valued being listened to and having the opportunity to share their views. Researchers appreciated the ability to triangulate rich qualitative data with a variety of quantitative measure through the mixed-method format and the flexibility to adapt the canvases to suit their research aims. Positive participant experience made facilitation easier and was stimulating for the researchers. The credibility and legitimacy of illustration-based interviews will ultimately depend on specific research design-decisions and testing, which can make the approach more resource intensive than conventional interviews. While organisational barriers should be considered realistically, illustration-based interviews can have high saliency by providing useful and usable insights that strengthen land management policy and planning

Mapping landscape potential for outdoor recreation using different archetypical recreation user groups in the European Union

Engagement with the natural environment and public enjoyment of access to farmland and woodland often takes the form of outdoor recreation. Numerous studies on landscape preferences of outdoor recreation have focused on individual characteristics and attitudes of recreation users. Although the importance of differences in user groups has been acknowledged, a clear distinction of archetypical user groups has not yet been made. This study presents spatial maps of landscapes’ outdoor recreation potential throughout the EU based on the different landscape preferences of five archetypical outdoor recreation user groups. The resulting maps are based on spatial indicators for landscape characteristics identified through a literature review of landscape preferences and an expert workshop regarding the relative importance of those preferences. We find overlapping patterns of outdoor recreation potential for all user groups, as a result of similar preferences for elevation, cultural heritage and presence of specific flora and fauna. Areas with high recreation potential for multiple user groups are dominated by forest or mosaic land use and often concentrated in mountainous areas, showing the areas’ multifunctional potential. The developed maps provide a synthesis of available information and data on the differential preferences and patterns for outdoor recreation in the EU. The differentiation of user groups enables stakeholders at different levels to develop sustainable landscape management strategies targeted at the demand for and supply of outdoor recreation opportunities

The Role of Different Types of Actors In The Future of Sustainable Agriculture In a Dutch Peri-urban Area

Peri-urban areas support a broad range of multifunctional demands for public goods. In northwest Europe, peri-urban areas tend to overlap with intensive agricultural land, resulting in conflicts between agricultural use and the public good demands of residents. Sustainable intensification (SI) of agriculture might help reconcile agricultural and well-being goals, but it is unclear how the mix of actors in a peri-urban setting can trigger or restrain SI. In a Dutch case study, we explored how SI of agriculture can contribute to making peri-urban areas more sustainable, and which actors are key enabling factors for implementing SI. We used interviews, surveys, workshops, and empirical analysis to obtain insight into the stakeholder’s vision of a sustainable future for the case study area, the farming system and actor network. We integrated these insights in a Bayesian Belief Network, where we linked the actor network to implementation of three SI measures (farm-level efficiency measures, small landscape elements, and direct sales), and used sensitivity analysis to model effects of support for implementation by different groups of actors. The case study has a dense stakeholder network, where, dependent on the SI measure, farmers are triggered by all actors to implement SI, or have a stronger role in uptake themselves. The sensitivity analysis suggested that the future preferred by the stakeholders requires broad support of all actors involved, with local actors without a formal role being essential for uptake. Overall, trade-offs among public goods are almost inevitable when taking up SI measures

Including stakeholders’ perspectives on ecosystem services in multifunctionality assessments

Multifunctional landscapes are used and shaped by a range of different stakeholders. The high number of diverging values, interests or demands in such landscapes can lead to conflicts that impact sustainability goals. In this study, our aim was to include stakeholders’ valuations of ecosystem services in multifunctionality assessments and thereby to identify different and possibly contradictory perspectives on landscape multifunctionality. Two European cultural landscapes, the Vereinigte Mulde (Germany) and the Kromme Rijn (The Netherlands), were used as case studies. Spatially explicit indicators of eleven ecosystem services were assessed and weighted according to their survey-based perceived importance for different stakeholder groups. While some significant differences between the groups were apparent, the results also revealed that all stakeholder groups acknowledge the importance of multiple ecosystem services. Stakeholder-specific multifunctionality hotspots occurred mainly in forests or grasslands and largely overlapped between the groups. Our study therefore clearly shows that the diversity of ecosystem services must be preserved in order to preserve the values that cultural landscapes offer to a wide range of people. While local solutions must be sought to resolve local land use conflicts over the use of ecosystem services, we conclude that multifunctionality can be declared a common goal