Modeling aesthetics to support an ecosystem services approach for natural resource management decision making

摘要

This paper reviews literature on aesthetics and describes the development of vista and landscapernaesthetics models. Spatially explicit variables were chosen to represent physical characteristics of naturalrnlandscapes that are important to aesthetic preferences. A vista aesthetics model evaluates the aestheticsrnof natural landscapes viewed from distances of more than 1000 m, and a landscape aesthetics modelrnevaluates the aesthetic value of wetlands and forests within 1000 m from the viewer. Each of the modelrnvariables is quantified using spatially explicit metrics on a pixel-specific basis within EcoAIM™, arngeographic information system (GIS)–based ecosystem services (ES) decision analysis support tool. Pixelrnvalues are “binned” into ranked categories, and weights are assigned to select variables to representrnstakeholder preferences. The final aesthetic score is the weighted sum of all variables and is assigned ranked values from 1 to 10. Ranked aesthetic values are displayed on maps by patch type and integratedrnwithin EcoAIM. The response of the aesthetic scoring in the models was tested by comparing currentrnconditions in a discrete area of the facility with a Development scenario in the same area. ThernDevelopment scenario consisted of two 6-story buildings and a trail replacing natural areas. The results ofrnthe vista aesthetic model indicate that the viewshed area variable had the greatest effect on the aestheticsrnoverall score. Results from the landscape aesthetics model indicate a 10% increase in overall aestheticsrnvalue, attributed to the increase in landscape diversity. The models are sensitive to the weights assigned torncertain variables by the user, and these weights should be set to reflect regional landscape characteristicsrnas well as stakeholder preferences. This demonstration project shows that natural landscape aestheticsrncan be evaluated as part of a nonmonetary assessment of ES, and a scenario-building exercise providesrnend users with a tradeoff analysis in support of natural resource management decisions.