Hecken und ihre Ökosystemleistungen Einführung und Anwendung des Bewertungssystems Heck.in.

In rural landscapes, hedgerows and windbreaks play a critical role in providing various ecosystem services. The functionality of these landscape elements depends on their structural characteristics and their placement in the landscape. Heck.in is a practically applicable evaluation system for hedgerows and windbreaks in cultural landscapes, based on scientific findings. It allows the quantification of ecosystem services. For this purpose, correlations between structural and site indicators with the provision of ecosystem services are described based on scientific findings and are summarized in a quantitative assessment scheme. By using Heck.in, an assessment of hedgerows can easily be carried out by both experts and non-specialists. The result is presented in the form of a graph and quantitative values covering 13 different ecosystem services. This allows identification of outstanding services as well as weak points in individual hedgerows, assessment of the impact of maintenance measures on functionality, and the making of comparisons. The scoring system was successfully tested in a regional study and proved to be practicable and differentiating. Future applications of Heck.in could be in planning processes, scientific studies, and educational campaigns for people of different ages and interest groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]