Devising a method to remotely model and map the distribution of natural landscapes in Europe with the greatest recreational amenity value (cultural services)
Devising a method to remotely model and map the distribution of natural landscapes in Europe with the greatest recreational amenity value (cultural services)
With a growing emphasis on the societal benefits gained through recreation outdoors, a method is needed to identify which spaces are most valuable for providing those benefits. Social media platforms offer a wealth of useful information on where people prefer to enjoy the outdoors. We combined geotagged images from Flickr with several environmental metrics in a Maxent model to calculate the probability of a photograph being taken (the potential supply of recreational amenity). We then built a set of population density kernels to express the potential demand of recreational amenity. Linear regression was used to compare supply and demand layers to visitation records from 540 recreation sites across Europe. The result was a map estimating the number of visitors/km2/year. Our analysis showed that natural areas near population centres deliver more recreational benefit than attractive sites in remote locations. The former should therefore be prioritised by planners and policymakers seeking to protect or improve recreational amenity.
aesthetic value, cultural service, green health, natural capital, recreation, social media
1-13
Long, Peter R.
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Nogué, Sandra
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Benz, David
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Willis, Kathy
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2021
Long, Peter R.
a990e773-8894-4588-8f5c-e383992078e8
Nogué, Sandra
5b464cff-a158-481f-8b7f-647c93d7a034
Benz, David
e4ac1bca-116f-42ca-97c9-8c89dbd93d4a
Willis, Kathy
5a442cde-a2dc-4046-be36-c00017fd47db
Long, Peter R., Nogué, Sandra, Benz, David and Willis, Kathy
(2021)
Devising a method to remotely model and map the distribution of natural landscapes in Europe with the greatest recreational amenity value (cultural services).
Frontiers of Biogeography, 13 (1), , [e47737].
(doi:10.21425/F5FBG47737).
Abstract
With a growing emphasis on the societal benefits gained through recreation outdoors, a method is needed to identify which spaces are most valuable for providing those benefits. Social media platforms offer a wealth of useful information on where people prefer to enjoy the outdoors. We combined geotagged images from Flickr with several environmental metrics in a Maxent model to calculate the probability of a photograph being taken (the potential supply of recreational amenity). We then built a set of population density kernels to express the potential demand of recreational amenity. Linear regression was used to compare supply and demand layers to visitation records from 540 recreation sites across Europe. The result was a map estimating the number of visitors/km2/year. Our analysis showed that natural areas near population centres deliver more recreational benefit than attractive sites in remote locations. The former should therefore be prioritised by planners and policymakers seeking to protect or improve recreational amenity.
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Devising a method to remotely model
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 9 November 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 10 November 2020
Published date: 2021
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
We thank the support of the European Commission, Directorate-General Environment grant LIFE12 ENV/ UK/000473, the VISTA programme from the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (Project number 6158), and NERC NPIF Award NE/R011885/1. We also thank the Oxford Long-term Ecology Laboratory for stimulating discussion.
Publisher Copyright:
© the authors, CC-BY 4.0 license
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Keywords:
aesthetic value, cultural service, green health, natural capital, recreation, social media
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 445301
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/445301
ISSN: 1948-6596
PURE UUID: 4a54b2a9-c16d-4aa8-ac54-f43d335beee2
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Date deposited: 02 Dec 2020 17:30
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 03:33
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Author:
Peter R. Long
Author:
David Benz
Author:
Kathy Willis
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