Abstract
Landscapes provide significant ecosystem service value in Natural World Heritage Sites (NWHSs) and are required to be preserved by regular monitoring and evaluation. It is vital to choose appropriate monitoring tools according to local conditions to guarantee the process is effective and efficient. This study aims to find out the spatial suitability of monitoring tools under a three-dimension system of space-based monitoring, sky-based monitoring, and ground-based monitoring. A suitability assessment was conducted from three aspects—the monitoring environment, object, and effect—from which typical differences existed among the three types of tools. Nine indicators were finalized, in which eight were classified and scored using the Delphi method with objectivity, and the remaining indicator was processed subjectively by quantifying the different monitoring effects on different landscape units by each of the tools. The method was verified using a case study in Bogda of Xinjiang Tianshan through overlay analysis in ArcGIS. The results showed an apparently stepped distribution characteristic related to altitude, where space-based monitoring zones are located in regions of high altitude, and the landscapes in low-altitude regions had the best monitoring effects using the ground-based tool and sky-based tool. Combined with the distribution characteristics of the 3-level protected zones, the results show a consistency with reality and could help planners to strategically deploy monitoring sites and allocate them advisable monitoring facilities and staffing.
Highlights
For Natural World Heritage Sites (NWHSs), being inscribed on the World Heritage List is not the end of the story
This study aims to find out the spatial suitability of different types of monitoring tools in landscape monitoring
It is realistic to conduct a spatial suitability assessment for commonly used monitoring tools; this area of research is lacking in current landscape monitoring research
Summary
For Natural World Heritage Sites (NWHSs), being inscribed on the World Heritage List is not the end of the story. As recommended by the World Heritage Committee in 1997, the State Parties should conduct periodic monitoring services by taking appropriate technical, administrative, and financial measures to reach the ultimate goal of protecting the outstanding universal value (OUV) of the heritage site from any direct or indirect damage [1,2]. It has turned out that most of the listed NWHSs contain at least one OUV with landscape aesthetic value (criteria vii) out of the total four standards [3], making landscape monitoring an essential aspect for NWHS protection. For nature-based reserves, a healthy landscape is the direct expression of a sound habitat system, and it can attract tourists for sightseeing with its aesthetic value [4]. For the NWHSs, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), the landscape aesthetic value of a NWHS is identified as “superlative natural phenomena, exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance” [5]; Sustainability 2020, 12, 649; doi:10.3390/su12020649 www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability
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