Landscape Units Research Articles

Landscape Analysis of the Arribes del Duero Natural Park (Spain): Cartography of Quality and Fragility

The landscape is a resource to be considered in the planning and sustainable management of the territory of natural spaces, such as the Arribes del Duero Natural Park. It is conditioned by environmental factors. They are highly influential on the quality of life of the people who live there. A historical analysis of the landscape was carried out with a qualitative and partially subjective character. In this work, we took advantage of current technologies, such as GIS techniques, to objectively and quantitatively calculate the variables. Firstly, it was necessary to draw up a map of landscape units, which is derived from the union of the abiotic (geomorphology and lithology) and biotic (vegetation) components in the background. Twelve homogeneous landscape units were identified by analyzing the quality and perceptual fragility of each one and considering intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The results obtained showed that the landscape quality presents areas with very high values in the fluvial canyon of the Duero river. The lowest values were found in very degraded and vegetated polygenic areas. On the other hand, the most fragile areas were those with some vulnerable character that prevents the development of human activities, such as areas with steep slopes. The procedure and results obtained constitute a useful tool for public administrations to carry out sustainable management of natural areas.

Data Analysis of Linguistic Landscape in the Context of “Internationalization +” Urban Construction

Abstract With the rapid development of internationalization and urban construction, the urban linguistic landscape has become an area of great interest. The purpose of this paper is to explore the data analysis method of urban visual linguistic landscape based on line-of-sight orientation and to optimize the design of urban linguistic landscape based on an improved genetic algorithm. The basic visual analysis unit and the viewable area analysis unit of the linguistic landscape are proposed to quantify the visual characteristic indexes and the optimal view distance of the linguistic landscape. At the same time, the viewable spatial point set analysis unit is used to obtain the view accessibility of the language landscape. Finally, the linguistic landscape optimization model was evaluated and analyzed for application effects. The results show that through the optimized design of 10 linguistic spots in H City National Forest Park, the average score of each spot evaluation is 3.48, and the full score ratio is 63.18%. The urban language landscape optimization model proposed in this paper can effectively improve the aesthetics and visual sensitivity of the urban language landscape.

A Functional Zoning Method in Rural Landscape Based on High-Resolution Satellite Imagery

Mapping functional zones for rural landscapes is the foundational work for rural land use planning and plays a very important role in the economic development and resource management utilization of rural areas. However, the traditional manual delineation of functional zone boundaries empirically in rural areas is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and lacks the consideration of spatial landscape patterns. The emergence of high-resolution remote sensing imagery and image segmentation has facilitated the analysis of ground landscape information and patterns, but there is still a lack of functional zone boundary mapping methods applicable to rural landscapes. To address this, we propose a functional zoning method called multiscale merging of landscape contextual and shape characteristics with heterogeneity indices (M2LHI) for mapping geographic boundaries for rural landscapes based on high-resolution remote sensing imagery. The landscape contextual features were first constructed based on the geospatial distances of landscape types, and then, the dominance index and shape index were introduced to quantify the landscape heterogeneity by object-oriented image analysis. Then, the automated merging of adjacent landscape units based on the thresholds of the landscape heterogeneity indices was performed to map the initial zones. The final rural functional zones were defined based on the main function in the zone. The study was carried out in three typical rural landscapes (hilly countryside, flat countryside, and grassland countryside) located in Fujian, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia, China, and the freely available Gaofen-2 (GF-2) satellite imagery was used as the data source. We compared the boundaries of mapped functional zones and reference functional zones, and the matching and inclusion ratios of the final functional zones mapped in each case were bigger than 78%, indicating that the M2LHI method has a high ability to map the functional spatial patterns. The overall accuracies of mapping functional zones with different functions were 95.9%, 89.0%, and 92.1% for the respective cases. The results demonstrated that the M2LHI method effectively quantifies landscape heterogeneity and accurately delineates functional zones with different landscape patterns. It can provide a scientific basis for rural planning and management and efficiently draw reasonable geographic boundaries for rural functional zones.

Geoecological assessment of the prospective system for the development of cities in the Central Chernozemic region of Russia based on the index method

The article presents the results of assessing the comfort potential and development prospects of the urbanized territories of the Central Chernozemic region of Russia based on the developed and tested geoinformation index of the urban environment comfort development potential (City Development Potential Index, CDPI). The calculation of the total indicator of the areas of technogeosystems by ecological and functional structures was carried out, followed by an analysis of the ratio of existing and planned landscape units to areas suitable for expanding green infrastructure. For the first time, cartographic models of Voronezh, Belgorod and Kursk are presented, showing the spatial distribution of urban geosystems with index values. On the basis of the obtained geoinformation values, features of urban development and geomorphometric indicators, landscape structures were identified to develop the comfort of the urban environment. Calculations of index values for the presented cities showed significant differences, due to the peculiarities of the urban structure and spatio-temporal development of the territories. In the city of Voronezh, the values of the CDPI index are characterized by negative and low positive, the territory is relatively suitable for planting trees and shrubs. Belgorod is distinguished by extremely low values of the environmental comfort development potential index among the selected cities. Index values aimed at determining the potential for the development of comfort in the city of Kursk are significantly higher than those of Voronezh. Positive indicators of the index (above +0.5) were recorded, indicating a high level of prospects for the formation of green infrastructure with a low degree of economic pressure on the landscape.

The environmental footprint of Holocene societies: a multi-temporal study of trails in the Judean Desert, Israel

The global distribution of footpaths and their inferred antiquity implies that they are widespread spatial and temporal anthropogenic landscape units. Arid environments are of special interest for investigating historically used footpaths, as older routes may preserve better due to minimal modern impact and slower pedogenic processes. Here we examine footpaths in the Judean Desert of the southern Levant, a human hotspot throughout the Holocene. We studied one modern and two archaeological footpaths (one attributed to the Early Bronze Age and one to the Roman period) using micromorphology, bulk samples laboratory analysis, and remote sensing. Field observations and color analysis indicate that footpaths in the studied arid limestone environment can result in brighter surface color than their non-path surroundings. Similar color changes are reflected using both laboratory analysis and high-resolution remote sensing, where the difference is also significant. Microscopically, the footpaths studied tend to be less porous and with fewer biogenic activities when compared to their non-path controls. However, the two ancient footpaths studied do exhibit minimal indicators of biogenic activities that are not detectable in the modern footpath sample. Our study shows that high-resolution remote sensing coupled with micromorphology, while using appropriate local modern analogies, can help to locate and assess both the environmental effect and the antiquity of footpaths.

Locating Kadu in Adivasi portrayals of protected forest areas in Southern India

Globally, Indigenous Peoples are the stewards of a large portion of the global land base, and their interactions and associations with the land have shaped and sustained it for centuries. Yet conservation studies and land management practices still struggle to understand or use Indigenous interpretations of the natural world. In many cases, this perpetuates a colonial sensibility across land use policies, which also dangerously misrepresents Indigenous relationships with that land. This paper focuses on Kattunayakans, a hunter-forager Adivasi (Indigenous) community living within the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala, India. Our focus is how they characterize kadu (‘forest’ in Kattunayakan language), both what it is constituted of and what it means from an Adivasi point of view. Using open-ended interviews, transect walks, and spatial mapping we find that for Kattunayakans, the forest is seen as an entity with agency; and a body of discrete biocultural landscape units classified as: a convergence of good places and God people; and a realm of spaces populated by kinfolk with fluid human-and-nonhuman identities that do not follow any physical boundaries of protected areas. This understanding of what a protected area forest is and is comprised of is neither adequately represented and discussed in the history of India's protected areas nor addressed in forest and wildlife management policies and approaches. This is highly consequential for Adivasi communities such as Kattunayakans, who do not have written or material evidence of their productive and historical relationship to forest land. We argue, as well, that when engaged appropriately, Adivasi portrayals of the kadu can bolster equity in land management and strengthen collaborative governance that more broadly advances human rights alongside the goals of biodiversity conservation.

Predicting soil organic carbon stocks under future land use and climate change conditions in Northeast China

There are large uncertainties in predicting soil organic carbon (SOC) in response of future changing climate and human activities. This study estimates SOC stocks under future changing land use and climate conditions in Northeast China using a state-of-the-art digital soil mapping technique. A total of 487 soil samples and 12 environmental variables from 37 landscape units (derived from soil, topography, climate, and human activity data) combined with boosted regression trees (BRT) and random forest (RF) models are first used to map the topsoil (0–20 cm) SOC stocks in Northeast China in 2015. The primary environmental variables influencing the variability of SOC stocks are mean annual temperature, elevation, mean annual precipitation, and land use. We then applied the space-for-time substitution method in conjunction with the BRT model to predict the spatial distribution of SOC stocks under future (the 2050s and 2090s) climate and land use scenarios. SOC stocks under the scenarios of shared socioeconomic pathways (SSP245) and SSP585 (average and upper estimate of the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases for that time) decreased by 1.5% and 4.5% in the 2050s, respectively, compared with 2015 (5293 Tg C). For the 2090s, the SOC stocks under the SSP245 scenario increased by 1.9%, and those under the SSP585 scenario decreased by 0.4%. The SOC stocks in both future periods are mainly stored in farmlands and forests, accounting for 90% and 92% of the total SOC stocks, respectively. Our high-resolution estimated SOC maps provide a scientific basis for optimizing ecological management in Northeast China.

Overview of Urban Landscape Rewilding Research

Urban wildscape refers to landscape units within or surrounding urban areas that are primarily shaped by natural processes exhibiting high ecological value and diversity. Due to urbanization urban wildscapes are at risk of disappearing or degrading but they also present opportunities for the protection and restoration of urban ecosystems. The purpose of this article is to systematically review and analyze the concepts classifications values threats and conservation strategies of urban wildscapes in order to provide references for urban planning and wildscape design.

Landscape and bioclimatic regionalization of the coast of Oaxaca (México)

ABSTRACT In this paper we propose an integral methodology to spatially represent the landscapes of the coastal region of Oaxaca at a scale of 1: 250,000. For this purpose, we start from the geosystemic and bioclimatic approach, using inputs of relief types, lithology, precipitation and temperature patterns at different spatial scales and extending the analysis with photointerpretation. Once the information was processed, the landscape units were delimited. The map shows a total of 58 units distributed in 6 isobioclimates, which reflects a very significant geoecological heterogeneity. The combination of both approaches represents a novel advantage for landscape mapping, since it allows us to represent detailed information at different scales, making the map of the coast of Oaxaca a useful and efficient input for territorial planning and management at a local scale.

Contribution of the Landscape Evaluation in the Study of the Impact on Environment: Application of the Hydro-Québec Method on the Technical Landfill Center of Hamici, Tipaza (Algeria)

The development and operation of Technical Landfill Centers (TLC) for urban solid waste lead to significant landscape alterations and have a negative impact on its overall image. However, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) conducted for these TLCs in Algeria do not currently consider the impact of this activity on the landscape as a determining factor for validating the implementation of the landfill site. It is limited, instead, to some mitigation measures.
 This work addresses the importance of taking into account the impact of TLCs on the visible landscape through EIAs. In this context, the planned landscape integration measures within the scope of the EIA conducted by the Ministry of Environment for the urban solid waste landfill site of Hamici, situated 29 km from the capital Algiers, were examined. In addition, an evaluation the TLC’s impact on the visible landscape after its construction and operation was implemented using the Hydro-Québec method.
 The results show a high visual impact of the TLC on the landscape unit receiving the landfill cells, a moderate impact on the unit receiving the TLC buildings, and a minor impact on the unit hosting the human settlement, which has the largest number of potential observers in the area. In the light of these findings, it is imperative to integrate landscape evaluation as an operational phase through EIAs before making decisions regarding the siting of landfill sites. This is essential for the purpose of preserving the image of the environment conveyed by the visible landscape.

Analysis of spatial–temporal evolution trends and influential factors of desert-oasis thermal environment in typical arid zone: The case of Turpan–Hami region

As a typical geographic landscape unit in the arid zone of northwest China, the distribution of the thermal environment in the substratum of the desert-oasis is of great significance to the monitoring of the ecological environment and the quality of human habitat in the region. The purpose of this research is to reveal the spatial–temporal evolution pattern of the thermal environment of the desert–oasis in the Turpan–Hami region from 2005 to 2020 and its trend changes, and to investigate the relationship between natural and human factors and the thermal environment and to conduct a long time series analysis. Firstly, the accuracy of MODIS land surface temperature (LST) data combined with site data was verified. Secondly, the mean-standard deviation method is used to identify desert heat island and oasis cold island zones. Again, the spatial–temporal distribution and change trends of thermal environment are explored by using standard deviation ellipse and spatial autocorrelation combined with land use/land cover (LULC) types. Finally, based on the multi-source remote sensing data, the natural factors and human factors are selected to explore their correlation with the thermal environment using Pearson correlation analysis. The results show that (1) the desert heat island zones are distributed in the desert areas on the periphery of urban built-up areas in Gaochang District, Shanshan County and Yizhou District of Hami Region. The oasis cold island zones are concentrated in the urban built-up areas of Gaochang District and Yizhou District, mainly because the vegetation coverage of urban built-up areas is higher than that of the peripheral desert areas. (2) The spatial development characteristics of the extremely high temperature (EHT) zone and the high temperature (HT)zone from 2005 to 2020 are “southeast-northeast-northwest” and “southeast-northwest” respectively, and the area of construction land 16a increased by 0.31%. This indicates that the spatial evolution of the thermal environment is closely related to the LULC and the degree of urbanization development. (3) From a four–period image with P < 0.001 and Z > 2.58, the thermal environment displays a high positive spatial correlation with Moran's I values of 0.45, 0.54, 0.47, and 0.45. (4) Temperature (Tem), downward longwave radiation (LWdown), and nighttime light intensity (NPP) all exhibited positive correlations with the LST and are significant in the desert region (p < 0.05); The albedo exhibited negative correlations with the LST and is significant in the grassland and woodland regions (p < 0.05).

An Operational Model to Downscale Regional Green Infrastructures in Supra-Local Plans: A Case Study in an Italian Alpine Sub-Region

In recent years, green infrastructure (GI) has increasingly become a strategic tool to integrate ecosystem services in spatial planning at different scales. GI has the potential to foster the achievement of environmental targets and landscape enhancement promoted by several planning instruments that act at different territorial scales. Despite this, the combination of the GI strategy with other ordinary plans is poorly investigated and developed due to the difficulty in making planning instruments dialoguing in a transversal approach. This paper presents a case study in an Italian alpine sub-region (Media and Alta Valtellina, Province of Sondrio) focused on a regional GI—defined by a landscape plan—used for testing a replicable methodology to downscale regional strategies by combining them with sub-regional environmental and landscape rules and recommendations derived from planning instruments. The aim is to create an organic connection between GI goals and other sub-regional planning instruments that would otherwise remain siloed within the hierarchical downscaling process of the top-down planning system. The result is the development of a comprehensive matrix that is useful for downscaling the strategies established by a regional landscape plan in sub-regional landscape units that relapse at the local scale; this is also achieved through GI deployment and the promotion of site-specific nature-based solutions.

Assessment of landscape visual fragility in the Natural Protected Area Sierra de las Nieves (southern Spain)

Visual fragility is a fundamental analysis of landscape quality, especially for protected natural areas highly valued for their biodiversity, geodiversity and cultural heritage. This is the case of the Sierra de las Nieves Protected Natural Area, located in southern Spain, declared a national park in 2021 and which brings together outstanding natural systems. Its aesthetic character is a key point for both the local population and visitors, so phenomena such as fire pose a territorial threat. This study analyses which are the most fragile landscapes from a visual point of view. Thus, using spatial analysis techniques in GIS, the landscape units were delimited and their visual fragility was evaluated considering a 5x5m DEM of spatial resolution and defining visual basins from geolocated points along the road network, which included paved roads, unpaved roads and official trails of the study area. The results indicate a broad spatial variability in visual fragility depending on the observation point, throughout the natural area, although the landscapes with the highly valued forests of Abies pinsapo Boiss. and Quercus alpestris showed the greatest fragility, especially those located in the central, southern and eastern sectors over 900 m above sea level. These results contribute to managing the areas most exposed to threats with a visual impact, such as fire, which can negatively influence the aesthetic character of the landscapes of the Sierra de las Nieves.

Closing the gap between science and management of cold-water refuges in rivers and streams.

Human activities and climate change threaten coldwater organisms in freshwater ecosystems by causing rivers and streams to warm, increasing the intensity and frequency of warm temperature events, and reducing thermal heterogeneity. Cold-water refuges are discrete patches of relatively cool water that are used by coldwater organisms for thermal relief and short-term survival. Globally, cohesive management approaches are needed that consider interlinked physical, biological, and social factors of cold-water refuges. We review current understanding of cold-water refuges, identify gaps between science and management, and evaluate policies aimed at protecting thermally sensitive species. Existing policies include designating cold-water habitats, restricting fishing during warm periods, and implementing threshold temperature standards or guidelines. However, these policies are rare and uncoordinated across spatial scales and often do not consider input from Indigenous peoples. We propose that cold-water refuges be managed as distinct operational landscape units, which provide a social and ecological context that is relevant at the watershed scale. These operational landscape units provide the foundation for an integrated framework that links science and management by (1) mapping and characterizing cold-water refuges to prioritize management and conservation actions, (2) leveraging existing and new policies, (3) improving coordination across jurisdictions, and (4) implementing adaptive management practices across scales. Our findings show that while there are many opportunities for scientific advancement, the current state of the sciences is sufficient to inform policy and management. Our proposed framework provides a path forward for managing and protecting cold-water refuges using existing and new policies to protect coldwater organisms in the face of global change.

Representation of Hydrological Components under a Changing Climate—A Case Study of the Uruguay River Basin Using the New Version of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool Model (SWAT+)

SWAT+ is a revised version of the SWAT model that has the capability to route flow across landscape units in the catchment, which is expected to improve the spatial representation of processes in watersheds. We applied the SWAT+ model in the Uruguay River Basin, an international river basin in South America with a total surface area of 370,000 km2, in order to (1) assess the water balance components, (2) represent their spatial distribution, and (3) examine their changes over time. The catchment was divided into uplands and floodplains and a decision table rule was developed based on streamflow data. The SPOTPY Python library was linked to SWAT+ and used as a tool to perform sensitivity analyses and calibration. The model represented the fluctuations of discharge well, although there was a general tendency to underestimate peak flows. Blue (precipitation and runoff) and green (evapotranspiration and soil water content) hydrological components were spatially plotted. Overall, SWAT+ simulated a realistic spatial distribution of the water cycle components. A seasonal Mann–Kendall test suggests a positive increasing trend in the average temperature (p-value = 0.007; Sen’s slope = 0.09), the soil water content (p-value = 0.02; Sen’s slope = 1.29), and evapotranspiration (p-value: 0.03; Sen’s slope = 1.97), indicating that the ecosystem experienced a changing climate during the simulation period. The findings presented in this study are of significant value for the impacts of sustainable management and the evaluation of climate change on water resources in the Uruguay River Basin.

The wildland-urban interface in Poland reflects legacies of historical national borders

ContextThe wildland-urban interface (WUI) is an area where houses are located near wildland vegetation. As such, the WUI is a focal area of wildfire risk, human-wildlife conflicts, and other human-nature interactions. Although there is a wide consensus on the impact WUI existence might have, little is known about the WUI spatial determinants over long periods, especially in countries with long settlement history.ObjectivesOur goal here was to map the WUI across Poland, and to quantify the extent to which historical legacies shape current WUI pattern, since Poland is one of the countries, which experienced substantial political changes over time, which had an impact on historical settlement development.MethodsWe analysed a database of nearly 15 million building locations and a 10-m Sentinel-2-based land cover map to produce a country-wide WUI map of Poland. Then we compared the WUI pattern among parts of Poland which belonged to different political entities in 1900s and 1930s and also among different ecoregions. Lastly, we verified the effects of the historical borders or landscape units borders on WUI patterns with a discontinuity analysis.ResultsWe found that a substantial part of Poland is WUI, and over 60% of all buildings are in WUI. However, WUI patterns differ considerably across the country, and WUI hotspots are located around the largest metropolitan areas in central and southern part of Poland and in the Carpathians. Furthermore, WUI patterns reflect pre-1945 national borders indicating long-term legacies of past settlement patterns and urban planning approaches. Diversity among ecoregions was much less pronounced than among past political entities.ConclusionsOur work shows that current WUI pattern is to large extent shaped by former political conditions, which is likely true not only in Poland, but also in many parts of Europe and elsewhere where settlement history goes back centuries.

Landscape heterogeneity drives spatial distribution of palm community in a Neotropical rainforest reserve affected by defaunation

Background: Our study presents the first assessment of the relationships between environmental heterogeneity and the palm community at the landscape scale at the northern boundary of tropical rainforest distribution in America.&#x0D; Question: How does landscape-level heterogeneity (edaphic, topographic as well as the density, diversity, and tree biomass) shapes the palm community in a protected reserve affected by defaunation?&#x0D; Study site and date: The study was carried out in Los Tuxtlas Tropical Biology Station, Veracruz, Mexico (2020).&#x0D; Methods: We delineated landscape units (LUs) based on soil and geomorphology to characterize the biophysical mosaic. We built rank-abundance curves to compare the palm richness and their abundance among LUs. Permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) and nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) were applied to detect shifts in the palm community across LUs.&#x0D; Results: Integrating abiotic and biotic components by delimiting LUs allowed us to evaluate the multifactorial effect of environmental heterogeneity on the palm community. The density and composition of the palms changed significantly among the LUs, influenced by soil coarse fragments, elevation, slope inclination, and annual precipitation. Tree richness and density had a significant effect on the palm community only when analyzed in combination with the soil-topography variables.&#x0D; Conclusions: The results reveal that there is high edaphic and topographic heterogeneity that influences palm species distribution at the landscape scale. The environmental heterogeneity approach allows capturing novel abiotic variation to explain the distribution patterns of palm species and their coexistence in highly diverse tropical communities.

Evaluation of the NDVI Index as a Source of Information on Aboveground Phytomass in Steppes

The complexity of phytomass measurements on sample plots hinders the extrapolation of plot-related data to areas comparable to land use or landscape units. Vegetation indices calculated from satellite images are usually considered as indicators of green phytomass and are used for its areal estimates. The study solves the problem of establishing the information content of the normalized difference vegetation index NDVI depending on the fractional structure of living and dead aboveground phytomass, seasonal dynamics of the biological cycle, hydrothermal conditions and landscape position. We used the results of monthly measurements of aboveground phytomass fractions at 13 sites covered by Stipa zalesskii and Stipa lessingiana formations in the Burtinskaya steppe (Orenburgsky nature reserve) from May to September in 2015–2020. For each period, NDVI values were calculated from Landsat satellite images at all sites. Hypotheses about geobotanical, hydrothermal, phenological and landscape factors of NDVI informativity were tested by using the Spearman correlation coefficients, analysis of variance and multiple regression. The discrepancy between the seasonal peaks of NDVI and green phytomass is not consistent with the common opinion of a direct indicator value of NDVI. The total live biomass correlates more clearly with the index in June and July but weaker at the end of the season. NDVI turned out to be sensitive not so much to green phytomass as such, but to the mass and proportion of forbs and the ratio of live and dead phytomass. In late spring and early summer, NDVI is most closely associated with forbs while in July – with grasses. The hypothesis about the possibility of screening green mass with standing dead biomass was confirmed, which leads to a decrease in NDVI despite the absence of a decrease in green phytomass. NDVI may underestimate the real green phytomass if there is a sharp increase in the mass of dead biomass, usually in the second half of summer and early autumn. NDVI more adequately reflects the state of the aboveground phytomass of steppe communities that have not been exposed to fires for a long time, compared to burned communities and fallows.

And climate change

The contribution presents the results of a research project carried out within the main framework of the “Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan” for the Ravenna Municipality, one of the signatories of the “Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy”. The project goal is to provide decision makers and city planners with landscape-oriented strategies capable of improving the territorial resilience vis-a-vis climate change impacts in the next decades. The research focuses on the construction of future alternative scenarios on a 2100 horizon. From their comparison, a short-term vision (2050) open to alternative developments has been designed. The study provides an overall view, on a municipal scale, of the main adaptation actions that can be implemented; then, it tests their potential effectiveness on smaller case-studies illustrating some recurring landscape units of the territory.

A spatial explicit vulnerability assessment for a coastal socio-ecological Natura 2000 site

In line with the global trend, the Ria de Aveiro coastal lagoon is subjected to multiple co-occurring pressures threatening vital benefits flowing from nature to people. The main objective of this research was to assess the status of habitats important for ecosystem services in the Ria de Aveiro by identifying vulnerable areas to anthropogenic threats. The pressures from seven relevant human activities (recreation, services, aquaculture, agriculture, commercial development, unintended impacts from management, and invasive alien species) were analysed based on their spatiotemporal distribution (exposure) and impact over the EUNIS habitats (EUNIS codes A2.2, A2.22 – sand flats and beaches; A2.3 – mud flats; A2.61 – seagrasses; A2.5, A2.53C, A2.535, A2.545, A2.554 – salt marshes; and, X10 – ‘Bocage,’ a landscape of small-hedged fields) in seven distinct landscape units. A prospective scenario, co-developed for the year 2030, was evaluated using a map-based risk assessment tool and brought forward the near-term vulnerability of the seagrass biotope. The highest risks posed to intertidal habitats (mud flats and salt marshes) were driven mainly by environmental management activities that support critical socio-economic sectors. Our methodology evaluated plausible threats to habitats in the near term, established baseline knowledge for the adaptive management process in Ria de Aveiro Natura 2000 site, and showcased how future assessments can inform the operationalization of ecosystem-based management as new information becomes available.