Ulrich Walz

Landscape services: the concept and its practical relevance

Recently, in addition to the popular concept of “ecosystem services” (ES), the term “landscape services” (LS) has come into use. We are examining the question of whether a stronger focus on LS would be useful, particularly with regard to case studies carried out in Germany. Important reasons for introducing the term LS include the prominent role of spatial aspects, the reference to landscape elements and the landscape character, and the relevance of LS for landscape planning. We found no strong arguments for replacing the concept of ES by LS; however, we do prefer a situation-related use of both concepts. We propose the following definition: Landscape services are the contributions of landscapes and landscape elements to human well-being.

Historical Landscape Elements: Part of our Cultural Heritage—A Methodological Study from Saxony

There is a wide spectrum of definitions for the terms ‘landscape’, ‘cultural landscape’ and ‘traditional landscape’. Nevertheless, there is a widely accepted consensus that (historical) cultural landscapes and their typical elements are very important for modern human societies, because they supply many functions and services. Due to their importance and their rapid decline, efforts to register and to protect such traditional landscapes and historical landscape elements are increasing. A new multistage methodology for analyzing and evaluating historical landscape elements and whole remains of traditional landscapes developed in the framework of elaborating the Saxon landscape program is presented as well as documentation sheets for historical landscape elements exemplified on the type ‘semi-natural grassland’.

Integrating time and the third spatial dimension in landscape structure analysis

Abstract Over the last decades, landscape metrics have been increasingly used to describe and analyse landscape structure. This article highlights some limitations of standard landscape structure analysis approaches and examines four major developments in this field: ways of integrating the height dimension of surface and vegetation into landscape metrics, the delineation of ‘meaningful’ landscape units comprising the relief, the problem of relating pattern and scale, and the challenges posed by the analysis of the temporal dimension of landscapes. We demonstrate that (1) the integration of height information and gradients into the approach of landscape metrics is both necessary and possible by means of using digital elevation models from remote sensing and novel analysis techniques, (2) the delineation of 3-D landscape units has enormous potential and (3) there are useful methodical extensions for two-dimensional objects in spatiotemporal investigations of landscapes, namely for analysing land use change and for exploring the interrelations between landscape diversity and species diversity.

Development of a GIS-based Risk Assessment Methodology for Flood Pollutants

The article presents the current development of a methodology to assess flood risks due to contaminants with a high spatial resolution. The integrated approach combines methods from flood risk analysis with those from contaminant risk assessment. It focuses on toxicological receptors of urban areas represented by land-use data. For each receptor risks are analyzed considering the hydrodynamic contaminant distribution and the exposure of specific receptors. These risks cover both the recurrence probability of certain flood events with their matter fluxes and the exposure of receptors with dose-response relationships. GIS is used for data management, calculation of algorithms and display of the results in a DSS.

Extraction of small biotopes and ecotones from multi-temporal RapidEye data and a high-resolution normalized digital surface model

The conservation of habitats and habitat complexes in diverse landscapes is increasingly recognized as a crucial factor in sustaining biodiversity and ecosystems. For the successful management of landscapes, habitat monitoring is necessary, but often small biotopes, e.g. scattered trees, copses, tree rows, hedges, and the transition zones between ecosystems, are ignored. This is important as such small biotopes are recognized as keystone elements in landscape structure for habitat networks. Furthermore, the transition zones between different habitats, often called ecotones, are dynamic and play several functional roles in landscape ecology. This article presents an approach for the extraction of small biotopes and ecotones combining object-based and pixel-based image analysis. Both high-resolution digital elevation data from airborne laser scanning and multi-temporal RapidEye remote-sensing data were used to automatically detect landscape elements and landscape patterns. First, multi-temporal RapidEye images were used to classify the main land-use classes using object-based image analysis. In the second step, a high-resolution digital surface model was integrated with the main classes, and small biotopes and ecotones were delineated by means of pixel-based image analysis. Classification accuracy for main land-use classes is above 92%, and a visual assessment using aerial image and onsite investigation show that the identification results for small biotopes well match reality. The results show the effectiveness of the classification strategy developed and the potential for incorporating the detailed surface mapping in heterogeneous vegetated areas.

The third and fourth dimensions of landscape: towards conceptual models of topographically complex landscapes.

Relating spatial patterns to ecological processes is one of the central goals of landscape ecology. The patch-corridor-matrix model and landscape metrics have been the predominant approach to describe the spatial arrangement of discrete elements (“patches”) for the last two decades. However, the widely used approach of using landscape metrics for characterizing categorical map patterns is connected with a number of problems. We aim at stimulating further developments in the field of the analysis of spatio-temporal landscape patterns by providing both a critical review of existing techniques and clarifying their pros and cons as well as demonstrating how to extent common approaches in landscape ecology (e.g. the patch-corridor-matrix model). The extension into the third dimension means adding information on the relief and height of vegetation, while the fourth dimension means the temporal, dynamic aspect of landscapes. The contribution is structured around three main topics: the third dimension of landscapes, the fourth dimension of landscapes, and spatial and temporal scales in landscape analysis. Based on the results of a symposium on this theme at the IALE conference in 2009 in Salzburg and a literature review we emphasize the need to add topographic information into evaluations of landscape structure, the appropriate consideration of scales; and to consider the ambiguity and even contradiction between landscape metrics.

Entwicklung eines Schadstoffausbreitungsmodells zur stoffbezogenen Risikoanalyse und-bewertung extremer Hochwasserereignisse am Beispiel des Landkreises und der Stadt Bitterfeld

(wolf.vontuempling@ufz.de)Das Hochwasser im Einzugsgebiet der Mulde vom August 2002 hat gezeigt, dass neben der zerstorenden Wirkung des Wassers auchGefahrdungen fur Mensch und Umwelt durch die mobilisierten, transportierten und abgelagerten Schadstoffe entstanden sind, beisp ielsweisedurch Schwermetalle, Arsen, PAK und HCH. Das Risikomanagement zukunftiger extremer Hochwasserereignisse erfordert daher neben derquantitativen Hydrologie auch die Schadstoffausbreitung fur dieses Einzugsgebiet zu berucksichtigen.