Mapping and assessing natural soundscape quality: An indicator-based model for landscape planning.

Natural soundscape quality (NSQ) has been recognized as an essential cultural ecosystem service that contributes significantly to human health and well-being. It also stands as an indispensable component of environmental quality, especially for landscape aesthetic quality. However, an assessment tool for NSQ in landscape planning and environmental impact assessments is still absent. Therefore, this paper aims to address this gap by proposing an indicator-based model for assessing and quantifying NSQ in the Geographic Information System. The model characterizes NSQ based on Calmness and Vibrancy, and employs several indicators, sub-indicators, and respective metrics as proxies to quantify and map them spatially. The evaluation criteria of the model correspond to the general public's preferences for soundscape features. The case study results in Springe municipality, Germany, show that the relative values of NSQ are high in green spaces, including forests, grasslands, and shrublands, whereas they are low in open farmlands. The multiple natural sounds yield higher NSQ scores than the individual ones. The same soundscape compositions in forests and in urban parks exhibit higher NSQ scores than in other land cover types. In addition, the shares of relative values show similar distribution patterns among Calmness, Vibrancy, and NSQ according to land cover types and soundscape compositions. The evaluation results align with public values and preferences for soundscape features. Unlike subjectivist approaches, our user-independent methodology is easily transferable and reproducible. The results are comparable and communicable among the assessed areas. These endow the indicator-based model with the potential to be applied at various planning and management scales. The findings can help to incorporate soundscape evaluation into landscape planning and management systems, supporting sustainable landscape development, and providing valuable information for policy-, plan- and decision-making.

Assessment and valuation of recreational ecosystem services of landscapes.

Recreational ecosystem services (RES), understood as the numerous benefits people obtain from landscapes and the natural environment, are a topical area of policy, research and society. This Editorial introduces the current state of RES research, provides an overview of the 21 contributions comprising this Special Issue of Ecosystem Services, and outlines opportunities for further research. This issue's publications employ diverse methods for assessing and valuing RES at different scales in Europe and beyond. The papers present advancements in mapping and valuation, provide evidence for the contributions of biodiversity and landscapes to the generation of RES and human well-being, and shed light on distributional effects across different beneficiaries. Taken together, contributions emphasize that RES may be a prime vehicle for reconnecting people with nature with positive effects on societal well-being. The diversity of approaches currently applied in RES research reflects much creativity and new insights, for example by harnessing georeferenced social media data. Future research should aim towards harmonizing datasets and methods to enhance comparability without compromising the need for context-specific adaptations. Finally, more research is needed on options for integrating RES information in decision making, planning and management in order to enhance actual uptake in public and private decisions.