Abstract
Better recognition of public perceptions is called for in developing policies that affect landscape qualities, such as agri-environmental policies. The present study focused on the evaluation of typical agricultural landscapes in Finland. We utilized and operationalized the visual landscape quality scales introduced by Tveit et al. (2006) and further explored how these scales can be applied in citizen evaluation of agricultural landscapes. From landscape data collected via an Internet survey, we analysed whether and how the attributes of agricultural landscapes were linked to their evaluation. The results demonstrated that visual concepts such as openness, naturalness, species richness and the impression of being taken care of were significantly associated with six landscape attributes, i.e., grain, cattle, bales, farmhouses, buses and disturbances. A relationship between key landscape concepts and normative evaluation was found. The normative pleasantness of the landscape also significantly associated with individual landscape attributes and the socio-demographic characteristics of the perceivers.
Highlights
The importance of the agricultural landscape for rural livelihoods, culture and the identity of rural residents is well recognized [1,2]
The present study focused on landscape evaluations by citizens based on photographs representing five agricultural landscapes in Finland with changing attributes
The F-test showed that the concepts were able to reveal differences in landscapes between the photographs, as the means differed significantly for all concepts
Summary
The importance of the agricultural landscape for rural livelihoods, culture and the identity of rural residents is well recognized [1,2]. AES do not account for perceptions of the agricultural landscape among the public. Recent policies have emphasised better recognition of public perceptions of landscape qualities. The European Landscape Convention [5] suggests that landscapes and their changes should be identified and assessed “by the interested parties and the population concerned” (Article 6). It calls for procedures for the participation of the general public, local and regional authorities, and other parties with an interest in the definition and implementation of landscape policies (Article 5)
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