Peter Bezák

Nature as a nuisance? Ecosystem services and disservices to urban lifestyle

The lifestyle of people living in urban areas has profound direct and indirect impacts on biodiversity. However, the role of urban lifestyle as a driving force of biodiversity change is not very well understood. This is partly because there is a gap between a social science approach focusing on lifestyle and a natural science approach focusing on biodiversity. We propose that the concept of ecological services and disservices is useful in connecting these approaches. Ecosystem services produced by urban green areas are the focus of a wide range of environmental studies, but disservices – such as safety issues in dark parks or pollen causing health problems – have gained only sporadic attention in environmental studies focused on urban ecosystems. We review and discuss different urban ecosystem disservices from a Northern European perspective. We conclude by addressing the key limitations and possibilities of the use of the concept of ecological disservices in urban biodiversity studies.

Drivers of change in mountain farming in Slovakia: from socialist collectivisation to the Common Agricultural Policy

The transformations in Slovak agriculture from the 1950s to the present day, considering both the generic (National and EU) and site-specific (local) drivers of landscape change, were analysed in five mountain study areas in the country. An interdisciplinary approach included analysis of population trends, evaluation of land use and landscape change combined with exploration of the perceptions of local stakeholders and results of previous biodiversity studies. The generic processes active from the 1950s to 1970s were critical for all study areas with impacts lasting right up until the present day. Agricultural collectivisation, agricultural intensification and land abandonment had negative effects in all study areas. However, the precise impacts on the landscape were different in the different study areas due to site-specific attributes (e.g. population trends, geographic localisation and local attitudes and opportunities), and these played a decisive role in determining the trajectory of change. Regional contrasts in rural development between these territories have increased in the last two decades, also due to the imperfect preconditions of governmental support. The recent Common Agricultural Policy developments are focused on maintenance of intensive large-scale farming rather than direct enhancement of agro-biodiversity and rural development at the local scale. In this context, local, site-specific attributes can and must form an essential part of rural development plans, to meet the demands for management of the diversity of agricultural mountain landscapes and facilitate the multifunctional role of agriculture.

Sustainable Management Recommendations to Reduce the Loss of Agricultural Biodiversity in the Mountain Regions of NE Slovakia

Abstract With well-preserved nature and a geographical location at the border of the West Carpathian and the East Carpathian biogeographical regions, the Poloniny National Park (NP) ranks among the most valuable areas for biodiversity in Slovakia. The territory is a typical region with mountain agriculture (12% of the study area), where grasslands dominate in an agricultural landscape. Grasslands became the basis of traditional farming many years ago, when extensive agriculture was mainly focused on hay production and grazing, representing the lifestyle of the local people. This kind of sensitive human management contributed to the maintenance of valuable grassland communities and their rich biodiversity. In particular, the mountain poloniny meadows are characterized by large numbers of rare and threatened East Carpathian species. Intensification of agriculture from the 1970s and its decline after the massive political and socioeconomic changes of 1989 have caused substantial damage to species-rich grasslands in the region. Implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is now providing greater financial support to restart agricultural activities in the Poloniny National Park. Nonetheless, there is still concern about maintenance of the biodiversity of mountain grassland communities, where access is limited, and which require specific extensive management. This paper aims to identify the driving forces of agrobiodiversity change and the implications for habitats and species, and to predict possible future trends in the region. Emerging from the assessment of these trends, several recommendations are made regarding appropriate management measures for the maintenance of agrobiodiversity together with sustainable development in Poloniny National Park.

Divergence and conflicts in landscape planning across spatial scales in Slovakia: An opportunity for an ecosystem services-based approach?

ABSTRACT This paper provides a detailed analysis of environment policy implementation in national, regional and local landscape planning in Slovakia. The policy and strategic documents are assessed from the perspective of the ecosystem services (ES) concept which integrates environmental and economic objectives of the landscape planning. This paper builds on three main empirical elements: (1) review of key national policies in respect to landscape planning, (2) review of key local and regional planning, strategic and assessment documents, (3) stakeholder interviews and focus groups. Our results indicate that spatial planning and assessment processes in Slovakia based on legislation and regulations for individual sectors are mainly contradictory in some cases, rather than encompassing integrated (landscape) planning procedures. The ES concept has not been considered in any planning tools across scales. These results were found to be similar with respective EU policies, in which the limited uptake of the ES concept was also observed. Finally, the paper presents recommendations which can enhance spatial planning processes in Slovakia; using an ES-inspired integrated framework for landscape assessment and decision-making. Such improvement of planning and decision-making procedures can be exploited in real-world solutions, and provide long-term benefits for human well-being while still retaining links to ecosystem functions and processes. EDITED BY Sandra Luque

Practical application of spatial ecosystem service models to aid decision support

Highlights • A structured protocol for adapting a spatial ecosystem service model to local contexts is proposed.• Decision context, the final users and uses of maps should drive the way the spatial ecosystem service models are structured.• Simply increasing spatial resolution is not sufficient to increase legitimacy and the ultimate utility of maps.• The type and level of stakeholders’ involvement is a determinant of spatial model usefulness.

Traditional agricultural landscapes in Slovakia: why should we preserve them?

Abstract Faced with the disappearance and ongoing abandonment of traditional agricultural landscapes (TAL) in Europe, our primary aim is to provide scientific evidence of the importance of TAL in terms of biodiversity, cultural and social values, and to stimulate action for their preservation in the Slovakian context. Surveys at both the national and local levels have acknowledged that TAL are generally associated with a relatively high species richness of plants and animals, including the presence of rare and threatened species. They have a high cultural-historical value due to the preserved small-scale structure and the presence of typical agrarian landforms and small architectural elements. A questionnaire survey showed that a major constraint for local inhabitants in maintaining TAL arises from insufficient governmental support. We argue that governmental financial instruments should recognise the concept of TAL in the context of measures concerning High Nature Value farmland.

Landscape Capacity for Ecosystem Services Provision Based on Expert Knowledge and Public Perception (Case Study from the Northwest Slovakia)

Abstract Landscape represents appropriate spatial dimension for a study of ecosystems, especially due to ability to translate scientific knowledge into proper guidance for land use practice and enhancing the inclusion of local stakeholders in decision-making procedures. We tested social preferences method to reach initial and raw overview of the ecosystem services (ES) distribution and their values in the study areas. Perception of experts and local residents about capacities of relevant CORINE land cover (CLC) types to provide various ES was linked with Geographic Information System databases. We quantified the results on the basis of the mean values for each CLC type and the ES groups and these were interpreted also in spatial context. The expectation about perceptible capacities of forest to provide goods and services was fulfilled by responses of the experts, as was the expected difficulty to assess capacities of transitional woodland shrub or complex cultivation patterns. However, additional land cover types in question are meadows and pastures or discon-tinuous urban fabric. Mostly middle ranking values prevail in responses of local residents and uncertainty in the background is much greater comparing to the experts. On the other hand, rural people may better recognise diversified fow of services due to their everyday close connection to more ES. Large variation in the scores of some valued CLC classes in responses of the local residents and also experts seems resulting from lack of knowledge in the background and differences in viewpoint and appreciation. We understand the gaps in evaluating ES by the experts and resident population as good experience and key challenge for the further steps and fine-tuning of the research methods.

Bukovské vrchy in the Slovak Carpathian Mountains — landscape changes and trends

In recent times, the decline in agriculture has become a reality in mountainous parts of Europe (Garcia-Ruiz et al. 1996; Rabbinge and van Diepen 2000). Marginal location and unfavourable natural conditions for agriculture (harsh climatic conditions, less productive soils) are generally acknowledged as being the driving forces of such decline, resulting in changes in landscape structure, land use and landscape functions (Olsson et al. 2000; Jobin et al. 2003). This paper focuses on these processes in the NE region of Slovakia, in the Bukovske vrchy Mts. We discuss the region’s most important landscape functions, their development over the last 50 years, and the conflicts that arise between stakeholders with different interests in the future development of the area. Possible scenarios and future perspectives for land-use and landscape change in the study area are also outlined.

Critical Scales for Long-Term Socio-ecological Biodiversity Research

One challenge in the implementation of Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research (LTSER) is the consideration of relevant spatial and temporal scales. Mismatches between the scale(s) on which biodiversity is monitored and analysed, the scale(s) on which biodiversity is managed, and the scale(s) on which conservation policies are implemented have been identified as major obstacles towards halting or reducing biodiversity loss. Based on a meta-analysis of 18 biodiversity studies and a literature review, we discuss here a set of methods suitable to bridge the various scales of socio-ecological systems. For LTSER, multifunctionality of landscapes provides an inevitable link between natural and social sciences. Upscaling approaches from small-scale domains of classical long-term biodiversity research to the broad landscape scale include landscape metrics and spatial modelling. Multidisciplinary, integrated models are tools not only for linking disciplines but also for bridging scales. Models that are capable of analysing societal impacts on landscapes are particularly suitable for interdisciplinary biodiversity research. The involvement of stakeholders should be an integral part of these methods in order to minimise conflicts over local and regional management interventions implementing broad-scale policies. Participatory approaches allow the linkages between the specific scale domains of biodiversity, its management and policies.

Role of rural identity in traditional agricultural landscape maintenance: the story of a post-communist country

ABSTRACT The traditional agricultural landscape (TAL) in Slovakia comprises mosaics of small-scale arable fields and permanent agricultural cultivations with balks (mounds, heaps, or terraces). Traditional farming management has been significantly influenced by agricultural collectivization, by the change from centrally planned to market economy after 1989, and the 2004 Slovakia accession to the EU. Detailed results of a questionnaire survey inspired the main objective of this paper; analysis and comparison of local residents’ attitudes to the TAL, its management and the various socioecological factors in three different TAL study areas. Identified differences and commonalities between the opinions of different groups of respondents on TAL management contribute to fine-tuning recent agricultural and rural policies and local management plans. Rural identity expressed in the knowledge and perception of local land users is crucial in TAL maintenance and sustainable rural development.