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Land
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Multifunctional landscapes
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Multifunctional landscapes

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 April 2020) | Viewed by 13215

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Dietrich Schmidt-Vogt

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, Freiburg University, Tennenbacherstr. 4, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
Interests: forest-farming interactions; multifunctional landscapes; integrated land use systems; land use change and livelihoods in mountainous areas

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

To deal with complex challenges, such as the impacts of climate change or land use change, complex approaches are required. Management approaches which focus on small spatial units, for example farm plots, or which single out specific functions or ecosystem services, such as productivity or protectivity to the exclusion of others, are no match for these challenges. Landscape approaches, on the other hand, address multiple objectives at the same time across scales. The term ‘multifunctional landscapes’ acknowledges that functional diversity is an inherent or desired quality of such landscapes. Sustainable multifunctional landscapes are managed for the maintenance or restoration of functional diversity, with the aim of maintaining a full range of ecosystem services.

Landscapes are dynamic entities which change according to the influence of environmental, socio-economic, cultural and political factors. While some historic land use practices have been able to maintain or even enhance multifunctionality in landscapes, current trends of land use change lead towards homogenization of landscapes and reduction in ecosystem services. The transformation of formerly diverse cultural landscapes in the mountain regions of tropical Asia into landscapes dominated by single crops, under the influence of markets and development policies, is a case in point.

To counter such trends, Integrated Land Use Systems (ILUS), such as agroforestry systems which combine trees with crops and/or farm animals, are promoted with the aim of attaining multifunctionality on the farm level and within multifunctional mosaic landscapes.

Prof. Dr. Dietrich Schmidt-Vogt
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 8500 KiB  
Article
Perception of Ecosystem Services in Constituting Multi-Functional Landscapes in Slovakia
by Peter Bezák, Peter Mederly, Zita Izakovičová, Milena Moyzeová and Magdaléna Bezáková
Land 2020, 9(6), 195; https://doi.org/10.3390/land9060195 - 12 Jun 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3670
Abstract
Landscape provides many services for human wellbeing through its mosaic of ecosystems. Although different landscape spatial structures limit some access to these services for local residents, their demand for landscape benefits creates a crucial component in landscape planning. Herein, we evaluate the ecosystem [...] Read more.
Landscape provides many services for human wellbeing through its mosaic of ecosystems. Although different landscape spatial structures limit some access to these services for local residents, their demand for landscape benefits creates a crucial component in landscape planning. Herein, we evaluate the ecosystem service supply from landscape structures in four different areas of Slovakia and we identify the public preferences for these services. This evaluation was assisted by expert-based ecosystem services (ES) matrix assessment and feedback from experts and key local stakeholders. The associated land cover assessment revealed that although forests are the most important for ES delivery, followed by extensive agricultural mosaics, cultural services have the highest average supply value. In contrast, the experts and local stakeholders considered that provisioning services were the most important of all ES groups because of products available from arable land. The overall public awareness of benefits provided by nature proved relatively high, and this is a good sign for the development of multi-functional landscapes. The comparison of study sites revealed that even stakeholders living in intensively used land, with its overall low ES supply, assessed ES as very important in general. The general public could therefore be included in environmental planning to promote a more multi-functional landscape. In addition, the analysis herein will communicate gained insights to the local planners and decision-makers and confirm the importance of this ES participatory approach using top-down methodology. This may require the following measures in Slovakia: establishing an interdisciplinary group of experts for regular assessment of strategic landscape planning documents and regulatory instruments, developing key directives which establish well-balanced participatory procedures, improving open local government, and supporting down-scaled implementation of integrated landscape planning in cooperation with local action groups. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multifunctional landscapes)
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12 pages, 243 KiB  
Article
Microhabitats Affect Population Size and Plant Vigor of Three Critically Endangered Endemic Plants in Southern Sinai Mountains, Egypt
by Amal M. Fakhry, Ali El-Keblawy, Hatem A. Shabana, Ibrahim El Gamal and Amir Shalouf
Land 2019, 8(6), 86; https://doi.org/10.3390/land8060086 - 31 May 2019
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3439
Abstract
Endemic species on mountains often have narrow altitudinal ranges and are more threatened at the higher altitudes, especially with climate changes. However, plants could use special microhabitats at the mountain tops as proper places for surviving the climate change (i.e., refugia). We assessed [...] Read more.
Endemic species on mountains often have narrow altitudinal ranges and are more threatened at the higher altitudes, especially with climate changes. However, plants could use special microhabitats at the mountain tops as proper places for surviving the climate change (i.e., refugia). We assessed population attributes of three critically endangered endemic species (Primula boveana Decne ex Duby, Rosa arabica Crep., and Silene leucophylla Boiss.) in two growing seasons (2006/2007 and 2013/2014), differing in the received rainfalls in microhabitats at the high mountains of southern Sinai. Both P. boveana and S. leucophylla had very small population size, but significantly increased in the 2013/2014 growing season which received above average rainfalls. The population of R. arabica is the smallest (around 40 individuals) and did not increase, even after the increase in rainfalls. Whereas P. boveana is present in fewer sites and grew in small number of specific microhabitats, both S. leucophylla and R. arabica were recorded in most studied sites and habitat types. Unlike R. arabica, both P. boveana and S. leucophylla were recorded in caves and steep slopes and on the top of the mountains. This indicates that these sheltered mist microhabitats are the best for future conservation of these species after climate change. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multifunctional landscapes)
20 pages, 682 KiB  
Article
Can Multifunctional Landscapes Become Effective Conservation Strategies? Challenges and Opportunities From a Mexican Case Study
by Julia Ros-Cuéllar, Luciana Porter-Bolland and Martha Bonilla-Moheno
Land 2019, 8(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/land8010006 - 3 Jan 2019
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4778
Abstract
Protected Areas (PA) are the main strategy for nature conservation. However, PA are not always efficient for ecological conservation and social wellbeing. A possible alternative for conservation in human-dominated landscapes are Multifunctional Landscapes (ML), which allow the coexistence of multiple objectives, such as [...] Read more.
Protected Areas (PA) are the main strategy for nature conservation. However, PA are not always efficient for ecological conservation and social wellbeing. A possible alternative for conservation in human-dominated landscapes are Multifunctional Landscapes (ML), which allow the coexistence of multiple objectives, such as nature conservation and resource use. Using the activity system framework, we analyzed whether the ML concept was an operative alternative to PA within an area of interest for conservation in Veracruz, Mexico. Activity systems refer to the set of productive strategies that result from the mobilization of resources and which, within particular environmental governance contexts, shape the landscape. To understand the challenges and opportunities of our case study, we: (1) delimited the landscape according to local conservation interests; and (2) analyzed the role of stakeholders in shaping this landscape. The delimited landscape included areas considered wildlife reservoirs and water provisioning zones. Our results suggested that the existence of local conservation areas (private and communal), combined with shaded-coffee agroforestry practices, made this region an example of ML. Although local conservation initiatives are perceived as more legitimate than top-down approaches, agreements amongst stakeholders are essential to strengthen environmental governance. In specific socio-ecological contexts, ML can be effective strategies for conservation through agroecosystems that maintain a high-quality landscape matrix, allowing nature preservation and delivering economic benefits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multifunctional landscapes)
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