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Successfully managing heavily visited protected riverscapes requires information about visitor preferences for the social, biophysical and infrastructural attributes of river landscapes. This study analyzed the landscape preferences of 520 on-site visitors to the peri-urban Danube Floodplains National Park using an image-based discrete choice experiment. The study explored the effects of various landscape types (water bodies, terrestrial landscapes), recreational infrastructures (trail types, facilities) and trail use conditions (trail user numbers, activities) on respondents’ preferences. The results indicated that natural features, such as floodplain forests in combination with meadows or xeric alluvial biotopes, were preferred, while dense forests and, particularly, open agrarian structures were less preferred. Water bodies with 50% reed cover, few people on the trail, alleys of trees and gravel trails were favored. The outcomes serve as the basis for design recommendations for planned recreational areas surrounding the national park with the aim of absorbing visitors and reducing use pressure on the protected area.

The participation of the local population in the planning and management of biosphere reserves is one of the preconditions for success. While numerous studies underpin its importance, few studies have addressed to what extent participation is desired by local residents and which factors determine the level of participation. A postal survey among local residents (n = 449) explored factors influencing their willingness to participate in the planning and management of the Salzburger Lungau & Kärntner Nockberge Biosphere Reserve in Austria before it was officially recognised by UNESCO. By applying the “Theory of Planned Behaviour”, the study found a high willingness to be involved among the local population, but a considerable variance as to what extent. Regression models showed a strong influence of perceived behavioural control and the social environment, whereas the factors identified in previous studies were less relevant. The results show that the readiness to become active seems to be higher than expected by local bodies and more linked to the design of the participatory process or other barriers. The results support the biosphere reserve management in developing appropriate participatory approaches to maximise satisfaction with participation and management success.

Extensively managed grasslands, particularly in mountain regions, are considered to be one of the most diverse agroecosystems worldwide. Their decline due to land use abandonment affects the diversity of both plants and associated pollinators. Extensive grasslands constitute an important habitat type and food resource for hoverflies (syrphids); however, not much is known about the effects of abandonment on this important pollinator group. In the present study, we investigated how abandonment affects species richness and the composition of syrphids in mountainous meadows. We recorded the richness of vascular plants, vegetation cover, flower cover and the surrounding landscape to examine whether and how syrphids are affected by plant and landscape parameters. We investigated the species richness, abundance and species composition of syrphids by sweep netting and by using observation plots in 18 semidry meadows across two Austrian regions and one Swiss region. For each region, we selected three meadows abandoned for more than 20 years and three annually mown non-fertilized meadows. Abandonment or mowing had no significant effect on the total number of syrphid species or individuals or on the number of aphidophagous and non-aphidophagous species and individuals. However, the total number of species and the number of non-aphidophagous species significantly increased with the increasing number of plant species. The surrounding landscape and other plant parameters showed no association with the assessed syrphid parameters. Although syrphids were unaffected by abandonment, higher syrphid species numbers in response to a higher plant richness in annual mown meadows suggest that the management of mountain meadows is beneficial in preserving syrphid richness.

Public urban green spaces are crucial for citizens’ wellbeing and are an important part of daily life in cities. To maximize their benefits to quality of life a thorough knowledge of citizens’ preferences and preference heterogeneity is crucial in the planning and design of urban green spaces. This study investigated visitors’ perception of typical green spaces, with a focus on vegetation structure and the presence of typical historic city walls, as well as preferences within the context of perceived stress and safety. We conducted this study in the historic city of Padua in north-eastern Italy. In 2017, face-to-face interviews of citizens were held and choice sets, based on modified images of different green space scenarios, were used to test users’ preferences connected to both stress relief and safety perception. The study highlighted that general, stress relief and safety perception related preferences of the respondents depend on different site characteristics. Respondents preferred a complex but not too wild scenario with sparse trees and aesthetically appealing features such as colourful flowers. Historic walls had a negative effect on general preferences. While general preferences were very similar to stress relief preferences, preferences within the context of safety differed for some attributes. It seems that the vegetation structure and the presence of features linked to human recreational uses are important factors in planning and designing urban green spaces. Management and planning should take into consideration what users demand from green spaces as this will influence their suitable design.

Cognitive functioning and academic performance of pupils depend on regular breaks from classroom work. However, it is unclear which settings during such breaks provide the best environment to restore cognitive performance and promote wellbeing of adolescent pupils. Therefore, we investigated the effects of staying in different urban green spaces during breaks. Sixty-four pupils (16&ndash, 18 years old) participated in a cross-over experiment. They were placed into one of three settings (small park, larger park, forest) for one hour during a lunch break. Wellbeing was assessed four times (Nitsch scale), and a cognitive test (d2-R Test of Attention) was applied in the classrooms before and after the break. Wellbeing was almost always highest after the stay in the green spaces. However, a sustained effect was only found for the forest. Concentration performance values of the d2-R test were significantly higher after the pupils&rsquo, stay in green spaces for all sites. The highest increase of performance was found for the larger park type. In conclusion, this pilot study showed that study breaks in green spaces improved wellbeing and cognitive performance of adolescents. It also found that larger green spaces, either parks or forests, have stronger positive impacts on wellbeing and cognitive performance than small parks.

Context Abandonment of extensively managed meadows is an ongoing global challenge in recent decades, particularly in mountain regions, and directly affects plant diversity. However, the extent to which plant diversity further affects associated insect pollinators or herbivores is little investigated. Objectives We focused on the effects of abandonment of mountain meadows on species richness and assemblages of bumblebees, bugs and grasshoppers. Specifically, we investigated the influence of vegetation cover, flower cover, plant richness and surrounding landscape on the three insect groups. Methods Species richness, abundance and species assemblages of bumblebees, bugs and grasshoppers were surveyed in one Swiss and two Austrian regions: three meadows which had been abandoned for 1560 years, and three extensively managed meadows (mown once a year, no use of fertilizers). We surveyed bumblebees and bugs by sweep net, and grasshoppers using the time-effective soundscape approach. Results Bumblebee species richness and abundance were significantly higher in managed meadows, whereas bug and grasshopper richness and abundance showed no differences between both management types. Managed and abandoned meadows harboured significantly different species assemblages of bugs and grasshoppers, but not of bumblebees. Increasing flower cover and plant richness increased bumblebee richness, but correlated negatively with richness of bugs. Surrounding open landscape positively affected bugs. Caelifera positively correlated with surrounding forest cover and negatively with vegetation cover. Vegetation cover positively affected Ensifera. Conclusions Abandoned and extensively managed meadows are important habitat types for the conservation of the three insect groups, thus suggesting the maintenance of both habitat types within mountain landscapes. (VLID)2786607

Urban green infrastructure provides a number of cultural ecosystem services that are greatly appreciated by the public. In order to benefit from these services, actual contact with the respective ecosystem is often required. Furthermore, the type of services offered depend on the physical characteristics of the ecosystem. We conducted a review of publications dealing with demand or social factors such as user needs, preferences and values as well as spatially explicit supply or physical factors such as amount of green space, (bio)diversity, recreational infrastructure, etc. and linking demand and supply factors together. The aim was to provide an overview of this highly interdisciplinary research, to describe how these linkages are being made and to identify which factors significantly influence dependent variables such as levels of use, activities or health and well-being benefits. Commonly used methods were the combination of questionnaires with either on-site visual recording of elements or GIS data. Links between social and physical data were usually established either by using statistical tools or by overlaying different thematic maps. Compared to the large number of variables assessed in most studies, the significant effects in the end were relatively few, not consistent across the studies and largely dependent on the context they were seen in. Studies focused on aesthetic and recreational services, while spiritual, educational and inspirational services were not considered when creating links to spatially explicit ecological structures. We conclude that an improvement and harmonization of methodologies, cross-country studies and an expansion of this line of research to a wider range of services and more user groups could help clarify relationships and thereby increase applicability for urban management and planning. Urban green infrastructure provides a number of cultural ecosystem services that are greatly appreciated by the public. In order to benefit from these services, actual contact with the respective ecosystem is often required. Furthermore, the type of services offered depend on the physical characteristics of the ecosystem. We conducted a review of publications dealing with demand or social factors such as user needs, preferences and values as well as spatially explicit supply or physical factors such as amount of green space, (bio)diversity, recreational infrastructure, etc. and linking demand and supply factors together. The aim was to provide an overview of this highly interdisciplinary research, to describe how these linkages are being made and to identify which factors significantly influence dependent variables such as levels of use, activities or health and well-being benefits. Commonly used methods were the combination of questionnaires with either on-site visual recording of elements or GIS data. Links between social and physical data were usually established either by using statistical tools or by overlaying different thematic maps. Compared to the large number of variables assessed in most studies, the significant effects in the end were relatively few, not consistent across the studies and largely dependent on the context they were seen in. Studies focused on aesthetic and recreational services, while spiritual, educational and inspirational services were not considered when creating links to spatially explicit ecological structures. We conclude that an improvement and harmonization of methodologies, cross-country studies and an expansion of this line of research to a wider range of services and more user groups could help clarify relationships and thereby increase applicability for urban management and planning