A Field Method for Landscape Conservation Surveying: The Landscape Assessment Protocol (LAP)

Vassiliki Vlami,George Kehayias,Ioannis Kokkoris,Stamatis Zogaris,Hakan Djuma,Panayotis Dimopoulos

doi:10.3390/su11072019

Vassiliki Vlami, George Kehayias + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su11072019

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Abstract

We introduce a field survey method to assess the conservation condition of landscapes. Using a popular rapid assessment format, this study defines observable “stressed states” identified through the use of general metrics to gauge landscape degradation. Fifteen metrics within six thematic categories were selected through a literature review and extensive field trials. Field tests on the Greek island of Samothraki show a strong correlation between a single expert’s scores and five assessor’s scores at 35 landscape sites. Only three of the metrics did not maintain a high consistency among assessors; however, this is explained by the difficulty of interpreting certain anthropogenic stressors (such as livestock grazing) in Mediterranean semi-natural landscapes with culturally-modified vegetation patterns. The protocol and proposed index, with five conservation condition classes, identified areas of excellent and good quality, and reliably distinguished the most degraded landscape conditions on the island. Uncertainties and difficulties of the index are investigated, and further research and validation are proposed. The protocol effectively goes beyond a traditional visual aesthetic assessment; it can be used both by experts and non-scientists as a conservation-relevant multi-disciplinary procedure to support a holistic landscape diagnosis. The combination of an on-site experiential survey and its simple integrative format may be useful as a screening-level index, and for promoting local participation, landscape literacy and educational initiatives.

Highlights

Assessing the quality and overall health of landscapes is an important aspect of nature conservation and sustainability [1,2,3]
The European Landscape Convention (ELC) provides a broad definition of landscape as “an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors” [7]
Our index calculation follows the format and field form template of the stream visual assessment protocol (SVAP), a popular interdisciplinary field-based “bioassessment” approach to assess river and stream corridors [37], which has been adapted for use in broader assessment procedures (e.g., [33])

Summary

Introduction

Assessing the quality and overall health of landscapes is an important aspect of nature conservation and sustainability [1,2,3]. Diagnosing the conditions of landscape quality or its degradation has proven to be a complex undertaking [4,5]. These diagnoses are hampered by the conceptual difficulties of landscape definition and the bewildering diversity of multifunctional cultural landscapes [6]. The European Landscape Convention (ELC) provides a broad definition of landscape as “an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors” [7]. Efforts to educate people about landscapes (i.e., landscape literacy) are needed since many of their values and the services they provide are non-material cultural attributes that cannot be quantified or systematically assessed [5,11,12], while "reading the landscape" should lead to better stewardship [13]

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