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      Integrating the aesthetic value of landscapes and biological diversity

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          Abstract

          As a cultural ecosystem service, the aesthetic value of landscapes contributes to human well-being, but studies linking biodiversity and ecosystem services generally do not account for this particular service. Therefore, congruence between the aesthetic perception of landscapes, ecological value and biodiversity remains poorly understood. Here, we describe the conceptual background, current methodologies and future challenges of assessing landscape aesthetics and its relationship with biodiversity. We highlight the methodological gaps between the assessment of landscape aesthetics, ecological diversity and functioning. We discuss the challenges associated with connecting landscape aesthetics with ecological value, and the scaling issues in the assessment of human aesthetics perception. To better integrate aesthetic value and ecological components of biodiversity, we propose to combine the study of aesthetics and the understanding of ecological function at both the species and landscape levels. Given the urgent need to engage society in conservation efforts, this approach, based on the combination of the aesthetic experience and the recognition of ecological functioning by the general public, will help change our culture of nature and promote ecologically oriented conservation policies.

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          Most cited references40

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          Usefulness of the Umbrella Species Concept as a Conservation Tool

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            Biodiversity and the Feel-Good Factor: Understanding Associations between Self-Reported Human Well-being and Species Richness

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              Biodiversity in a complex world: consolidation and progress in functional biodiversity research.

              The global decline of biodiversity caused by human domination of ecosystems worldwide is supposed to alter important process rates and state variables in these ecosystems. However, there is considerable debate on the prevalence and importance of biodiversity effects on ecosystem function (BDEF). Here, we argue that much of the debate stems from two major shortcomings. First, most studies do not directly link the traits leading to increased or decreased function to the traits needed for species coexistence and dominance. We argue that implementing a trait-based approach and broadening the perception of diversity to include trait dissimilarity or trait divergence will result in more realistic predictions on the consequences of altered biodiversity. Second, the empirical and theoretical studies do not reflect the complexity of natural ecosystems, which makes it difficult to transfer the results to natural situations of species loss. We review how different aspects of complexity (trophic structure, multifunctionality, spatial or temporal heterogeneity, and spatial population dynamics) alter our perception of BDEF. We propose future research avenues concisely testing whether acknowledging this complexity will strengthen the observed biodiversity effects. Finally, we propose that a major future task is to disentangle biodiversity effects on ecosystem function from direct changes in function due to human alterations of abiotic constraints.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                (View ORCID Profile)
                Journal
                Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
                Proc. R. Soc. B.
                The Royal Society
                0962-8452
                1471-2954
                September 12 2018
                September 05 2018
                September 12 2018
                : 285
                : 1886
                : 20180971
                Affiliations
                [1 ]MARBEC, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Montpellier, France
                [2 ]ISEM, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, Montpellier, France
                [3 ]Andromède Océanologie, Carnon, France
                Article
                10.1098/rspb.2018.0971
                6158533
                30185647
                2e536a44-82e6-49e7-9bde-f418490e3366
                © 2018

                https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/

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