Assessing land use change impacts – a comparison of the SENSOR land use function approach with other frameworks

Abstract

Land use changes play a key role in sustainable, rural development. In decision-making for land use, sustainability impact assessment is therefore essential and must provide condensed key information about impact pathway relationships based on complex scientific analysis. For this purpose a number of science-based valuation frameworks exist, including ecosystem services as applied in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, landscape functions identified through landscape ecology and land use functions, a multifunctionality-based approach developed in the EU Integrated Project SENSOR (Sustainability Impact Assessment: Tools for environmental, social and economic effects of multifunctional land use in European regions). In this article, the three approaches are comparatively reviewed for their suitability for sustainability impact assessment of land use changes, using the following criteria: premises and perspectives, application in the science–policy interface, spatial and temporal references, consideration of the three sustainability dimensions and the role of land use. Core findings are that ecosystem services were biased towards the environmental dimension of sustainability and best suited for long-term projections. Landscape functions were aligned with the above sustainability concept and met prospective planning purposes. Land use functions were a pragmatic way for stakeholder-driven sustainability assessment of land use changes.