Objectives and Structure of the Book

Abstract

The objective of this book is to provide an introduction and overview of relevant concepts, methods and techniques for landscape planning with ecosystem services in Europe. It presents a new, ecosystem services-informed, approach to landscape planning that constitutes both a framework and toolbox for students and practitioners to address the environmental and landscape challenges of the twenty-first century. The book is structured into six parts which broadly follow the well-known Driving forces, Pressures, State, Impacts and Responses (DPSIR) framework for describing human-environment relationships. Part I introduces key theories, concepts, and methodological foundations for landscape planning and ecosystem services. Drivers and pressures instigating landscape change in Europe are discussed in Part II. Part III outlines methods for assessing states and impacts of various components of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Approaches for deriving response measures are the focus on Part IV. Part V addresses communication in landscape planning, while Part VI provides international perspectives and an outlook on the future prospects of landscape planning. This chapter also outlines the types of questions addressed in the book and discusses an example of how it might be used in landscape planning practice.