Systems, habitats or places: evaluating the potential role of landscape character assessment in operationalising the ecosystem approach

Rachel Morrison, Adam Barker and John Handley

Landscape Research, 2018, vol. 43, issue 7, 1000-1012

Abstract: A key challenge for research and practice is to understand how the ecosystem approach can be rolled out in spatial planning, management and decision-making. Any framework used to apply the ecosystem approach needs to not only be environmentally coherent but also socially meaningful. Drawing on semi-structured interviews and case studies, this paper examines the potential role of one place-based approach, landscape character assessment, as a medium to ensure socio-ecological relevance in operationalising the ecosystem approach. Our findings show that although place-based approaches have value as frameworks for distilling the ecosystem approach into a manageable form, their ecological relevance is a subject of debate. However, the potential relationship between landscape character, function and ecosystem services presented a powerful pathway for operationalising the ecosystem approach. The ecosystem approach may, in turn, complement landscape character assessment by providing a framework for exploring the functional dimension of landscape condition.

Date: 2018
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/01426397.2017.1415314 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:clarxx:v:43:y:2018:i:7:p:1000-1012

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/clar20

DOI: 10.1080/01426397.2017.1415314

Access Statistics for this article

Landscape Research is currently edited by Dr Anna Jorgensen

More articles in Landscape Research from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().