The role of landscape ecological knowledge in landscape planning – the landscape planner’s perspective

Landscape planning aims to align economic and social demands on landscapes with ecological sustainability. In return, landscape ecology aims to see landscape ecological knowledge applied by practitioners to ensure ecologically sustainable land use. To which extent is landscape ecological knowledge perceived to be applied in current landscape planning? To help enlighten this question, landscape planners from three European countries were invited to participate in an online survey sharing their knowledge, experiences and opinions. Results revealed a substantial interest of spatial planners in sustainable landscape planning, influenced primarily by policies and awareness of the public. This study documents that there is considerable awareness among landscape planners of the need to consider landscape ecological knowledge in spatial planning. However, the application of landscape ecology in spatial planning is perceived as more problematic. Several respondents noticed a discrepancy between the theoretical application and the actual implementation of landscape ecological 

principles. We discuss the need of a well-defined terminology, the role of a binding legislation, and required sources of information about landscape ecology. In order to advance further in the application of landscape ecology in spatial planning we suggest a closer collaboration between spatial planners and landscape ecologists: On the one hand information about landscape ecology has to be easily accessible and comprehensible for spatial planners, on the other hand landscape ecologists should be more involved in spatial planning processes.