The Importance of Cultural Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity for Landscape Visitors in the Biosphere Reserve Swabian Alb (Germany)

Sarah Marie Müller, Jasmin Peisker, Claudia Bieling, Kathrin Linnemann, Konrad Reidl and Klaus Schmieder
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Sarah Marie Müller: Institute of Landscape and Plant Ecology (320a), University of Hohenheim, August-von-Hartmann-Str. 3, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
Jasmin Peisker: Institute of Landscape and Plant Ecology (320a), University of Hohenheim, August-von-Hartmann-Str. 3, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
Claudia Bieling: Institute of Social Sciences in Agriculture, Societal Transition and Agriculture (430b), University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
Kathrin Linnemann: Institute for Landscape and Environment, Nürtingen-Geislingen University, P.O. Box 1349, 72603 Nürtingen, Germany
Konrad Reidl: Institute for Landscape and Environment, Nürtingen-Geislingen University, P.O. Box 1349, 72603 Nürtingen, Germany
Klaus Schmieder: Institute of Landscape and Plant Ecology (320a), University of Hohenheim, August-von-Hartmann-Str. 3, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 9, 1-23

Abstract: Agricultural landscapes play an important role in providing different ecosystem services. However, the current trend of land use intensification in Central Europe involves the risk of trade-offs between them. Since cultural ecosystem services (CES) are less tangible, they are often underrepresented in landscape management decisions. To highlight this subject we evaluated CES in agro-ecosystems in the biosphere reserve Swabian Alb (Southwestern Germany). We conducted a survey among visitors to investigate their usage of the landscape, their perception as well as valuation of CES, and interrelations with biodiversity. The results show the presence of various types of usage related to cultural services, the most prominent being recreation and landscape aesthetics. People declared a high affinity to nature and biodiversity awareness. A participatory mapping task revealed their appreciation of biodiverse and ecologically relevant places such as protected species-rich grasslands, traditional orchards and hedgerows. Several socio-demographic differences emerged, e.g., between age classes and local/non-local visitors. We conclude that our exemplary methodical approach was successful in capturing the CES and their link to biodiversity in the investigated biosphere reserve, while identifying priority fields of action concerning the integration of CES into management and planning of cultural landscapes, ultimately serving as guides for local decision-makers.

Keywords: cultural values; biological diversity; evaluation methods; participatory mapping; protected areas; landscape planning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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