Mapping and assessment of recreational ecosystem services in Germany

authored by

Johannes Hermes

supervised by

Christina von Haaren

Abstract

Human welfare is highly dependent on functioning ecosystems. Human activity is – usually unintentionally – often detrimental to the ecosystems and the services they can provide. By better understanding their current state, impacts, trends and the influence this has on human well-being, we can raise awareness for environmental issues and better incorporate the ecological dimension in political, business and private decisions. Because this is key in supporting the transformation towards sustainability and achieving the UN sustainable development goals, the assessment and valuation of ecosystem services is a much-discussed topic in science, policy and landscape planning. The field of recreational ecosystem services (RES) is particularly underdeveloped in this regard and at the same time the most challenging to address, which prompted this dissertation. RES are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems through direct and in-situ physical and/or intellectual interactions with them. They emerge from living systems or natural abiotic components of the environment that affect the mental or physical state of people by enabling activities that promote health, recuperation or enjoyment. Increasing demand, continuing deterioration and poor substitutability of RES call for improving their consideration in policy, planning and decision-making. Lessons learned from theoretical considerations and practical applications of the RES framework suggest that a comprehensive and integrated mapping and assessment of the different components of RES could facilitate this. That includes assessing the capacity of ecosystems to provide them, their supply, which also requires human input, the demand for such services, and their flow and benefits to people. Such an assessment should build upon the best available knowledge and data, include the relevant interactions between natural and societal characteristics, and apply meaningful indicators that can usefully inform plan- and decision-making and that are suitable for monitoring and scenario analyses. This dissertation aims to improve the consideration of RES in landscape and spatial planning and decision-making by providing comprehensive and integrated RES mapping and assessment methods and results for Germany that fulfil these requirements. It focuses on RES that are relevant for nature-based leisure and weekend recreation in Germany, a country with high RES Demand, a great diversity of landscapes, and good data availability. Accordingly, the dissertation introduces an approach (I.) to map RES Capacity and Supply across Germany, (II.) to assess the respective demand and economic significance of NBR, and (III.) to spatially model the flow of RES (use and benefits) in Germany. The cumulative dissertation compiles four papers and three supplementary publications. Paper I provides an overview of the development, state of knowledge, current trends, and future prospects in RES research. Paper II introduces a user-independent approach to mapping the capacity of ecosystems to provide RES, which is largely determined by the aesthetic quality of landscapes. Paper III assesses the demand for RES by empirically studying their actual use and economic significance. Paper IV leads the way in modelling the flow of RES by integrating RES Capacity and Supply (Paper II) with the RES Demand (Paper III). Supplementary publication S1 describes the developed methods and their results in German and presents an additional indicator for the flow of RES. It also includes some otherwise unpublished results of the national level empirical study that support the assumptions made in the developed models. The same applies for supplementary publications S2 and S3 which present case studies addressing user preferences with regard to RES and the relaions between supply and demand on a regional level. They have slightly different foci and use different methods but also validate the model assumptions. To facilitate the transfer of these scientific results into practical applications, potentials and pitfalls of their integration into the established "drivers, pressures, state, impact, response" model for landscape planning and decision making are analysed. In particular, it is pointed out what information is provided by the different indicators and how they can usefully inform planning and decision making. Potential improvements and further research questions regarding the indicators, as well as their adoption in planning practice are highlighted. Lastly, successful applications of the developed indicators by third parties in different contexts are references that have in part been already published as well. In Summary, a methodological framework and results for Germany have been produced and validated, which can support planning and decision-making as it complies with the requirements outlined above. A modified version can be reproduced in other spatial contexts to inform planning and decision-making on various levels in Germany and beyond. I conclude that adopting the approach in planning and decision-making will lead to a better consideration of RES and therefore be beneficial for individuals, our society, and the ecosystems that support them. This would support the transformation towards sustainability and achieving the UN sustainable development goals.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Environmental Planning

Type

Doctoral thesis

No. of pages

48

Publication date

2024

Publication status

Published

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.15488/17987 (Access: Open)