Assessment of rural landscape scenario visualization using visual indicators of ecological significance

It is important to determine the scenario for the identification and summarization of variation patterns, approaches and key elements of future landscape. Landscapes can be simulated by increasing and decreasing some key elements in the classical trial and error method. However, few studies used ecological visual indicators in the simulation of rural landscape development scenarios. Thus in this study, 5 visual landscape indicators of ecological significance (complexity, nature, openness, coherence and imaging) were used to assess rural visual landscape scenarios at village level. These indicators were analyzed in scenario visualization by both expert judgment and objective analysis in GIS. Using both subjective and objective criteria, 4 landscape scenarios were designed — real traditional, ecological protection, agriculture production and leisure tourism. The 4 scenarios were assessed by 46 local peoples, 46 nearby stakeholders and 37 undergraduates/graduates majored in landscape. In the case study, some relations came out certain. Most of the participants had less interest in agriculture production landscape. The participants living close to local locations had more interest in leisure tourism landscape and less interest in ecological protection landscape. The choices were sometimes different between aesthetic judgment toward scenarios only and rational thinking. The background of individuals was a key factor for the differences in subjective judgment towards landscape. The study, based on ecological significance, explored the factors of rural landscape preferences of different stakeholders using visual indication to build a reference for future conditions of rural landscape visualization. In this study, the scenario visualization based on visual indicators with ecological significance was used to effectively determine the changes in rural landscapes. 1) The evaluation process was both objective and subjective because of the visual standard was developed by the difference between landscape supply from objective field mapping and landscape demand from subjective requirements of different stakeholders. However, this was not an absolute value compared with the reference value. 2) 5 visual indicators of ecological significance were used in the evaluation of both landscape supply and demand. 3) The relationship between subjective and objective in terms of visual indicators of ecological significance was a scientifically reasonable basis for visualization of rural landscape scenarios. It was more directly related to management of rural landscape resources in government decision-making departments.