Landscape preferences in the Alps

Maria BACHER - Landscape preferences in the Alps

Maria BACHERVU Advanced statistics – 21.01.2010


Background…

• Changes in agriculture in the Alpine Region

– Increase of agricultural land use in favorable areas (e.g., easily accesible, easy to cultivate mechanically)

– Decrease of agricultural land use in unfavorable areas (e.g., mountain pastures, steep meadows)

• Reasons:– Missing rentability and competitiveness as a consequence of the free market

economy– Hindered cultivation and production conditions– Missing workforce


… and impacts (1)…


… and impacts (2)


Societal desired landscape in the Alps

Problems

• Landscape development in the Alpine Region stands in the area of conflict between agricultural extensification and intensification.

• These processes change the landscape essentially.

• Not much evidence so far, how society assesses and judges these changes.

• The reasons for possible preferences are still unknown. These reasons are important to know for long-term planning.


Aims

?- To investigate the (conflicting) objectives and expectations of locals and tourists regarding the Alpine landscape development and

- to develop and apply suitable methods to foster consensus building regarding these objectives.


The standardised questionaire – our most important tool


Questionaire - Overview

1. Assessment of photo series to judge possible future landscape scenarios

2. Expectations from landscape in general

3. Ecosystem services

4. Assessment of extensification and intensification of agricultural landuse

5. Agricultural subsidies


Face-to-face Interviews in Tyrol and South Tyrol

- Standardised questionnaire (12 pages)

- Period: Summer 2010

- Target groups :

- Locals

- Tourists

more than 3200 answered questionnaires


1. Descriptive results

2. Factor analysis

3. Factor analysis


Interviews - OverviewFrequency %

Locals Tyrol 400 12,5

Locals Sout Tyrol 639 19,9

Tourists Tyrol 1003 31,2

Tourists South Tyrol 1170 36,4

TOTAL 3212 100

Age classesFrequency %

15-20 102 3,2

21-40 887 27,9

41-60 1529 48,2

60 plus 656 20,7

TOTAL 3212 100Sex (1=female, 2=male)

A

D

CH

I

NED

Others

Tourists - Origin

Living place


1. Descriptive results

Photo series 1: How do you like these pictures?

1= do not like at all, 5= like very much


1 The farmer should get public financial help.

2 The farmer should get public financial help, if the meadow is ecologically valuable and if he mantains certain requirements.

3 The meadow should be abbandoned.

Q8: Immagine a farmer isn‘t able to cultivate a meadow in a profitable way anymore. What should happen to this meadow?


1 2 3 4 5

… a cultural loss.

… a natural consequence of

the economic development.

… bad for tourism.

… is an enrichment for for

the landscape scenery.

Q9: The reforestation and rewilding is…

1 2 3 4 5

… bad for tourism.

… cultural loss.

…enables the supply of regional

products..

…is negative for the landscape

scenery.

… is good for the regional

economy.

Q10: The intensive agricultural land use is…

Applies not al all Applies completely Applies not al all Applies completely


Photo series 4: How do you like these pictures?

1= do not like at all, 5= like very much


TOP 3+ -

3

2

1


Procedure:

1. Estimation of a correlationmatrix

2. Estimation of factor loadings

3. Determination of the number of factors

4. Rotation of the factor loadings to enhance the factorinterpretation

2. Factor analysis - Theory

a b

Example of a varimax-rotation: a) before and b) after the rotation

Factor analysis is a multi-variate statistical process that relates a multitude of variables to common basic dimensions based on their mutual correlative relationships.


Results - Factor analysis

Aim: To describe variability among observed variables in terms of a potentially lower number of unobserved variables called factors.

- Lots to explore

- Finding peace

- Doing things I like to do

- Awakes memories

- Threat

- Insecurity

- Feeling foreign

- Feeling free

- No commitments

- Diversity

- Mystery

- Orientation

- Recreation

- Particularity

- Harmonic unit

- Cultivated better then wild

1 2 3 4 5

Security

Manifested Variability (%): 54,41

Autonomy LegibilityDiscovery Experience


Interpretation of the results – Theoretical excursion

Main statement:

- Those landscapes are prefered, whose structural arrangements were/are ideal for prehistoric man.

- Also modern people prefer this kind of landscapes.

Biological dimension

- Continuous throughout time and culture

Examples:- Savanna theory (Orians 1986)- „Information-Processing“-theory

(Kaplan&Kaplan 1989)

Social dimension

Main statement:

- Prefered landscapes include socially important landscape elements (e.g., depending on place attachment and socio-economic interests)

- More or less constant within different social groups, but variable among social groups and time.

Examples: - Sense of place (z.B. Proshansky 1983) - Familiarity (z.B. Hammit 1981)


How do we assess different landscapes?

The „answer“ of ONE theory

S. & R. Kaplans „Information-Processing“ theory

- Base: survival requirements of the prehistoric man

- Most important competitive advantage compared with other animals: Brain/Mind => Possibility to get and use information about the environment

Ideal landscapes are those, who stimulate information search and processing

Important keywords: Legibility, Complexity, etc.

Factor analysis


Results - Factor analysis

Aim: To describe variability among observed variables in terms of a potentially lower number of unobserved variables called factors.

- Lots to explore

- Finding peace

- Doing things I like to do

- Awakes memories

- Threat

- Insecurity

- Feeling foreign

- Feeling free

- No commitments

- Diversity

- Mystery

- Orientation

- Recreation

- Particularity

- Harmonic unit

- Cultivated better then wild

1 2 3 4 5

Security

Manifested Variability (%): 54,41

Autonomy LegibilityDiscovery Experience


3. Clusteranalysis

• Hierarchical CA

• Method: Ward

• Distance: Euclidean

• N. of objects: 2580


Conclusions

- Security is the central factor regarding landscape assessment

- Reforestation, partial wilderness and traditionally used landscapes are mostly rated

in a positive way

- The intensive agricultural land-use and urbanisation are not considered desiderable,

but they are accepted as a natural consequence of the economic development


THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

Documents

Landscape preferences in the Alps