ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

Mapping recreation and aesthetic value of ecosystems in the Bilbao Metropolitan Greenbelt (northern Spain) to support landscape planning.

Izaskun Casado-Arzuagaa,c,*, Miren Onaindiaa, Iosu Madariagaa,b, Peter H. Verburgc.

a Plant Biology and Ecology Department – University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU. Campus de Leioa, Barrio Sarriena s/n, 48940 Leioa, Bizkaia, Spain.

b Environment Department – County Council of Bizkaia. Alameda Rekalde, 30, Planta 4, 48009 Bilbao, Bizkaia, Spain.

c Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1087, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Supporting information.

Three supplementary tables providing additional details on methods:

Table S1. Weighting of the different variables considered to map the recreation provision service.

Table S2. Weighting of the different variables considered to map the aesthetic quality service.

Table S3. Perceived value of different landscape units of the Basque population (CPSS 2005).

Table S1. Weighting of the different variables considered to map the recreation provision service.

VARIABLE / WEIGHT / DESCRIPTION
Recreation potential
Naturalness / 0-7 / Reclassification of the land use/cover map based on Loidi et al (2007). The values of the resulting map were smoothed considering a 100 m radius around each pixel
Natural protected areas / 0-1 / Location of the Sites of Community Importance
Coastal influence / 0-2 / A 1000 m buffer from the coastline was defined and valued differently depending on pixels’ location in beaches with excellent bathing water quality (2) or in coastal influence areas (1)
Recreation opportunity
Routes of geological interest / 0-1 / Only the routes with informative value were considered
Cycling paths / 0-2 / A 10 m buffer from the cycling paths was also considered
Climbing sites / 0-1 / A 100 m buffer from the climbing sites was also considered
Recreational areas / 0-5 / Location of the metropolitan parks (PTP 2006) and other recreational areas
Density of mountain summits / 0-2-4 / Mountain summits density in a radius of 1 km. The value for the areas with one mountain summit (2) and the areas with more than one (4) were different

Table S2. Weighting of the different variables considered to map the aesthetic quality service.

VARIABLE / WEIGHT / DESCRIPTION
Perceived value of different landscape units / 1-5 / Perceived value of different landscape units of the Basque population (CPSS 2005; Table S3). Values were smoothed considering a 100 m radius around each pixel
Diversity of landscapes / 0-1 / Variety of landscape types in a 200 meter radius:
1 = > 7 landscape types (CPSS 2005)
Relief / 0-1 / Difference between the z value (altitude) in each pixel and the mean z value in a 200 meter radius:1 = > 31 metres (CPSS 2005)

Table S3. Perceived value of different landscape units of the Basque population (CPSS 2005).

LANDSCAPE UNITS / PERCEIVED VALUE
  1. Coastal cliffs
/ 5
  1. Beaches and dunes
/ 4
  1. Coastal urban areas
/ 3
  1. Rivers and riversides
/ 5
  1. Water bodies and estuaries
/ 5
  1. Rough summits
/ 5
  1. Mountain meadows
/ 4
  1. Native deciduous forests
/ 5
  1. Native evergreen forests
/ 5
  1. Forest plantations
/ 2
  1. Dense scrubland
/ 3
  1. Bare scrubland
/ 3
  1. Meadows and vegetable gardens
/ 3
  1. Woody cultivation (wine, etc.)
/ 3
  1. Forest/pastureland mosaic
/ 4
  1. Farmhouses in the countryside
/ 4
  1. Rural settlements integrated in the landscape
/ 4
  1. Urban and industrial areas
/ 1

References

CPSS (2005) Catálogo Abierto de Paisajes Singulares y Sobresalientes de la CAPV - Anteproyecto - Tomo I. Principios generales para la elaboración del Catálogo. Dirección de Biodiversidad y Participación Ambiental. Dpto. de Medio Ambiente y Ordenación del Territorio, Gobierno Vasco.

Loidi J, Ortega M, Orrantia O (2007) Vegetation Science and the implementation of the Habitat Directive in Spain: up-to-now experiences and further development to provide tools for management. Fitosociologia 44(2)suppl.1:9-16.

PTP (2006) Plan Territorial Parcial del Bilbao Metropolitano. Departamento de Transportes y Urbanismo. Diputación Foral de Bizkaia.