Are river landscapes outstanding in providing cultural ecosystem services? An indicator-based exploration in Germany

摘要: Abstract River ecosystems are widely considered to be of high value for nature conservation. This judgment has been validated biodiversity and regulating ecosystem services. However, little is known about the role landscape aesthetic quality (LAQ) river landscapes compared other landscapes. The objective this paper assess (RLAQ), with an indicator-based approach, investigate whether deserve special protection because their attractiveness. We compare RLAQ explore specific indicators by using GIS descriptive statistics. results demonstrate that courses adjacent recent floodplains achieve higher LAQ scores than Germany, whereas historical riparian zones rated lower in is, mainly, due large modification zones. Areas mostly characterized rare land cover types and, particularly, relief diversity. In contrast, low found agglomerations intensively cultivated important contribution multifunctional development as it supports public acceptance renaturation measures.