Planning Rural Landscapes

Appealing to a broad audience, this book bridges different issues, from landscape to ecosystems, planning to implementation, and policies to local community willingness. This book outlines a methodology for defining green infrastructure (GI) in rural landscapes, showing how it underpins ecosystem services (ES) and aligns with various European Union (EU) directives. There are presented examples in Portuguese rural landscapes alongside international initiatives from several countries. Building on the concept of landscape as an open, autopoietic system with distinct resilience thresholds, the book demonstrates how GI serves as a versatile framework to support ES, implement nature-based solutions and the more recent Nature-Futures-Framework scenarios. Through real-world studies, the authors illustrate its flexibility and applicability across different scales and environments while respecting each location's unique characteristics. Written for planners, designers, policymakers, and academic institutions, this book offers a valuable resource for supporting sustainable land management, public policy formulation, planning, and innovative design practices, fostering informed debate on these topics and advancing eco-conscious initiatives for a sustainable future.

Natália Cunha, PhD in Landscape Architecture (ISA/ University of Lisbon) and MSc in Geographic Information Systems ( GIS) (IST Técnico/ University of Lisbon), she has been a researcher at LEAF - Instituto Superior de Agronomia since 2001. From 2004 to 2013, she worked as a teaching assistant at both ISA and IST and has published in peer-reviewed journals. She specialises in GIS-based landscape planning methodologies, contributing to several R&D projects related to green plans, ecological networks, GI land morphology, and flood risk mapping. Her postdoctoral research (CEEC/FCT, 2019-2024) focuses on integrating natural value protection into spatial planning. Recently, she co-coordinated LEAF/ISA project LandGi-nexus (2021- 2023). Manuela Magalhães, PhD in Landscape Architecture (ISA/ University of Lisbon). She founded and coordinated the Research Centre for Landscape Architecture (CEAP) in 2001. She was Deputy to the Secretary of State for the Environment and Head of the Landscape Planning Studies Division. As Professor at the School of Agronomy and Instituto Superior Técnico (UL), she has coordinated several Green Municipal Plans and research projects, including the National Ecological Network and the Potential Landscape Plan of Portugal. A founding member and General Secretary of the Portuguese Landscape Architect Association (APAP). In 2022, she was awarded the Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles-Environment and Landscape career prize.

List of figures List of tables List of contributors Introduction SECTION I. A COMMON GROUND FOR GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN LANDSCAPE PLANNING 1 Concept of Structure - evolution, modalities, problems Adriana Veríssimo Serrão 2. Landscape System - concepts and a methodology for planning landscapes FIG Manuela Magalhães, Natália Cunha 3. Reconnecting Networks - A methodological approach to Green Infrastructure design at landscape level FIG Natália Cunha, Manuela Magalhães 4. From planning to practice - Restoration and conservation actions for GI implementation Luísa Franco, Natália Cunha, Manuela Magalhães 5. The management logics of private landowners and their implication for landscape transformation Luísa Franco, Manuela Magalhães, Fernando Oliveira Batista 6. Dynamic landscapes: Insights into Geology and Geomorphology diversity Maria Manuela Abreu, Selma Pena SECTION II. LINKING GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES IN RURAL LANDSCAPE 7. Unlocking Nature's Benefits: Ecosystem services in rural landscape planning Selma Pena, Pedro Xavier, Natália Cunha, Ana Müller 8. EUNIS Habitat Classification - Implementation at the national level for mainland Portugal Pedro Xavier, Silvia Ribeiro, Jorge Capelo, Selma Pena, Natália Cunha 9. A comprehensive analysis of water conservation ecosystem services at the river basin level Selma Pena, Manuela Abreu, Natália Cunha 10. Soil conservation ecosystem services at regional scale Selma Pena, Manuela Abreu, Nuno Cortez 11. Biodiversity ecosystem services: a case study on Habitat maintenance for flora species with conservation status in Portugal Pedro Xavier, Sílvia Ribeiro, Dalila Espirito-Santo, Selma Pena, Natália Cunha SECTION III. APPLICATIONS ACROSS SCALES AND COUNTRIES 12. Monsanto Urban Forest Landscape Plan: Integrating Nature-Based Solutions into Lisbon's Metropolitan Green Infrastructure Ana Müller, Manuela Magalhães, Natália Cunha, Selma Pena, Luísa Franco 13. Noticing the Landscape: dwelling, abandoning, entangling Francisca Lima, Annie Gallagher, Melisa Miranda Correa, Tiago Torres-Campos 14. Eco Account and State-wide Biotope Network Plan (SW Germany) Christian Küpfer 15. Agroecosystems as Green Infrastructure. Case Study in Milan (Italy) Francesca Neonato 16. Boughzoul (Algeria), a new « sustainable » town waiting for users Fares Trodi, Karima Bencherif-Trodi 17. Green Infrastructure in Spain Pedro Calaza, Paloma Cariñanos 18. Landscape transformation across scales: From municipal to local experience Ana Müller, Manuela Magalhães, Natália Cunha 19. Planning towards a sustainable and fire resilient landscape on Commons Lands Inês Adagói, Pedro Xavier, Selma Pena Index