Landscape Valuation of Environmental Amenities throughout the Application of Direct and Indirect Methods

Luís Loures,José Nunes,Ana Loures,Thomas Panagopoulos

doi:10.3390/su7010794

Abstract

Landscape design, construction and management should no longer be the result of superficial approaches based exclusively on designers’ and planners’ ideas. This research starts with the assumption that the aesthetic component constitutes an essential attribute for better understanding and evaluating landscapes. This study analyzes the aesthetic quality and economic valuation of the Lower Guadiana river landscape, through the application of direct and indirect landscape evaluation methods. In order to gauge not only experts’ opinion, it is supported by the application of public participation techniques about the opinion and perceptions of the site visitors/users. The present research considered the analysis of six landscape subunits regarding landscape quality, fragility and visual absorption capacity. The obtained results showed that there are significant differences between the perceptions of the general public and experts’ analysis. Touristic Complexes and Golf Courses had high visual quality, while Agricultural and Production Areas had high visual fragility. Moreover, the performed analysis made clear that the combined use of landscape assessment methods is suited to this type of study, since it enables quantifying the value of existence, management and maintenance of a particular environmental assets and/or services.

Highlights

There is more to landscape than what we see
- The results obtained for the subunit agricultural and production areas corroborate with the conclusions drawn by Panagopoulos [10], according to which the organization of agricultural production landscapes tends to be associated with a low aesthetic quality;
- marshes are considered as one of the richest ecosystems in environmental and ecological perspectives, it appears that, regarding landscape visual quality, this ecosystem/landscape subunit is characterized by low values, when compared to other landscape subunits considered in the present study;

Summary

Introduction

There is more to landscape than what we see. An observer’s knowledge, the processes that led to its formation, and the ways it can be influenced are becoming ever more important in landscape assessment practices [1]. Artists were the first to begin to reconceive this concept, seeking a type of formal assimilation for everyday use, architects were the ones that attempted to define it, using a method capable of reacting and integrating aesthetics in man’s life and in the spaces that protect him [4]. For this reason, many landscape architects and other environmental specialists have begun to look at landscape as a scenery in which to intervene, inserting an indefinite variety of objects, but as a tool through which to design and manipulate complex realities

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion