a b s t r a c tMediterranean landscapes reveal extremely adequate conditions for the development of other functions besides production (nature conservation, recreation, life quality, local identity). These functions support the provision of public goods and services increasingly recognized by society. With this goal, the production of knowledge that may support decision is highly needed. In Mediterranean extensively used areas, the analysis of landscape features and related public preferences is complex, as the landscape pattern is highly fuzzy and land cover classes are often mixed. Resulting from multiple research developments, this paper demonstrates how photo-based surveys can be a suitable tool for assessing landscape preferences by specific public groups. Landscape functions addressed are closely linked to land cover patterns, as resulting from land cover systems. Thus using photographs in landscape questionnaires is useful in focusing the discussion on specific aspects, related with the variations in land cover and in their combinations with other specific landscape features. But the photos shown need to be clear and easily perceivable by the respondents. In order to cope with the underlying fuzziness of these landscapes, manipulation of images has been developed as the best solution so that the variations shown to respondents are adequately controlled in the study and landscape features are easily recognized by the respondents. The methodological approach as well as the results of applied approaches, of two studies on the users preferences, applied to a case-study area in Alentejo region, Portugal, are presented. The issues concerned with photo manipulation are a particular focus of discussion.
The Montado is the open savannah-like landscape predominant in southern Portugal. This landscape results from an extensively managed agro-silvo-pastoral system and has for a long time been appreciated for a variety of other uses. Research is needed in relation to the links between the various intensities of use, the resulting landscape patterns and new societal functions. In this study the preferences of user groups representing these functions are surveyed in relation to these diverse landscape patterns. Interviews with land users and also landowners were carried out using photograph preference techniques relating to the management options of the cork oak Montado. The results showed divergences among hunters, mushroom pickers, beekeepers, landowners, Portuguese walkers and foreign walkers. The content analysis of qualitative data revealed preferences relating to landscape characteristics. In particular, walkers were receptive not only to objective features, but particularly perceived the importance of subjective experiences in landscape.
The European Landscape Convention (2000) states that landscape is an important contributor to the quality of life for people everywhere and that landscape is a complex of natural and cultural factors, as they are seen by the observer. Landscape preference, i.e. the degree to which people like a landscape and variations in the same type of landscape pattern, is an emerging field of knowledge, still under development. Moreover, knowing how preferences of rural landscapes differ among stakeholders can help define and support management responses to the changing demands of modern society. There is a need to understand this demand for new uses and activities, such as hunting, leisure, recreation, life quality support, and aesthetic appreciation. In Mediterranean extensive land use systems, such as the Montado, where agricultural production is under threat, but where the demand for amenity functions is increasing, assessing preferences and thus what the public is looking for, is particularly relevant. This papers demonstrates how photo based surveys can be an suitable tool for assessing landscape preferences in Montado landscapes, and also that, in order to cope with the underlying fuzziness of these landscapes, the images need to be edited (manipulated) so that the variations shown to respondents are adequately controlled in the study. The methodological approach as well as the results, of two different studies on the users preferences for Montado landscapes, applied to case-study areas in the region of Alentejo, Portugal, are presented. The issues concerned with photo manipulation are a particular focus of discussion.
The aspiration to establish an effective dialogue between science and society has inspired some ground breaking examples of transdisciplinarity (TD). The core idea of TD is that different academic disciplines work jointly with practitioners to solve common problems. The first step of TD implies a contextualization that requires holistic and systemic thinking. To achieve this contextualization, we applied the Social eEcological Systems (SES) framework with the aim of developing TD to deal with the recorded decline in area and tree density of the montado land-use system located in the Alentejo region, Portugal. The study was based both on a literature review and on the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data collected in a number of research projects on the montado. The results show that the lack of consensus regarding the system boundaries, the diverse range of mental models, and the disconnection between policymaking and system singularities are some of the conditions that can hinder TD efforts. The framework allowed the identification of knowledge gaps that limit the understanding of the problem complexity to be dealt with by a TD research process. There is a need to gain a better understanding of the governance system, and to characterize the different types of agro-silvo-pastoral combinations that can be designated as montado. With this detailed understanding, a tailored TD process can be designed. This work argues for the active use of the SES framework in TD in environmental management. Future research could focus on the framework's utility in developing tools to assess and monitor transdisciplinary research.
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