Abstract
This research aims to test a scalable and transferable Geographic Information System (GIS)-based evaluation methodology for the identification, quantification and assessment of multi-functional landscape features. The evaluation of multi-functional features is one of the key tasks required when it comes to identifying the values that people attribute to landscapes, according to the principles of the European Landscape Convention. Mapping the static distribution of Landscape Services (LS) through data-derived estimates and performing spatial composite indicators are fundamental steps in understanding the current state of the Social–Ecological System (SES) of threatened or resilient landscapes. The methodological process is structured in four phases: intelligence (i), design (ii), choice (iii) and outcome (iv), according to the framework of the Multi-Criteria Spatial Decision Support System (MC-SDSS). This process has been implemented in the case study of the National Park of Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni (Italy). The weighting of the spatial indicators, which simulates the model of LS-functioning for the study area, derives from an entropy-based method. Such a method, by which the weights are estimated without decisional agents, concerns a key-concept of information entropy theory, whereby the amount of information for each criterion determines its relative importance within a defined set of spatial criteria. The output of the model concerns mapping composite indicators of the LS; this involves the macro-categories of Regulating, Provisioning, and Cultural Services.
Highlights
Since the time of the Industrial Revolution, substantial environmental pressures have affected the landscape, with many of these pressures resulting from human activities and the deep transformations of the Social–Ecological System (SES)
These factors characterise the contemporary epoch and have led some authors to define the period as the “Anthropocene Age”: a new human-dominated geological epoch [1,2]
According to the above-mentioned considerations, the main topic of this paper focuses on a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based evaluation methodology for the incorporation of the Landscape Services (LS) approach into landscape planning and environmental management
Summary
Since the time of the Industrial Revolution, substantial environmental pressures have affected the landscape, with many of these pressures resulting from human activities and the deep transformations of the Social–Ecological System (SES). These factors characterise the contemporary epoch and have led some authors to define the period as the “Anthropocene Age”: a new human-dominated geological epoch [1,2]. Technological innovations, anthropological discoveries and strengthened power systems activate the processes of change of the SES by generating gradual but ongoing modifications in the landscape structure. These phenomena characterise the trigger phase of the Anthropocene (i.e., Industrialization). While the breakdown generates conflicts or an irreversible loss of resources/values, the breakthrough fosters relationships between the human being and the ecosystem of the urban, rural, semi-natural and natural landscapes, according to a total sustainability perspective [6,7]
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