Evaluation of urban wetland landscapes based on a comprehensive model — a comparative study of three urban wetlands in Hangzhou, China

Abstract

Urban wetlands constitute an integral part of urban ecosystems. Unsurprisingly, wetland landscapes affect the frequency with which urban residents visit wetland areas. Objectively evaluating the beauty of landscapes and exploring the factors that influence their perceived beauty can inform urban wetland landscape design. This study selects three wetlands located in the core, fringe, and suburban areas of Hangzhou, respectively: Xixi wetland, Tongjian Lake wetland, and Qingshan Lake wetland. To explore the impact of ecological design techniques on the scenic beauty of wetlands, the selected wetlands were used to conduct field investigations. In addition, the wetland landscapes were submitted to public evaluations using scenic beauty estimation (SBE). At the same time, the factors affecting the beauty of the wetland landscape were quantified using the semantic differential (SD) method, and the impact paths of ecological design and plant diversity on scenic beauty were analyzed through the structural equation model (SEM). The results indicated that plant richness, cultural expression, color harmony, and coordination of landscape elements have both a significant and positive impact on the scenic beauty of urban wetlands. By way of contrast, habitat diversity had a significant yet negative impact. Across the three urban wetlands, ecological design techniques were found to significantly improve plant diversity and scenic beauty. This study demonstrated that the application of well-thought-out ecological design methods was conducive to the integration of environmental protection, landscape aesthetics, and the sustainable utilization of urban wetlands in the rapid urbanization process, providing a reference for urban wetland landscape conservation, planning, and design.