Cool species in tedious landscapes: Ecosystem services and disservices affect nature-based recreation in cultural landscapes

Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) are the non-material benefits that people get from ecosystems; they have been less frequently investigated and incorporated into the decision-making processes in comparison to other ES. Ecosystems may also provide Cultural Ecosystem Disservices (CED), because of the bad feelings or perceptions they trigger. Nature-based recreation is an example of CES strictly linked to biodiversity. This paper is focused on cultural landscapes, which are particularly important for nature-based recreation and CES in general. We evaluated the potential CES and CED provided by bird species, and the habitats they occur in, to birdwatchers in Oltrepò pavese (Lombardy, Italy). We found that the number of observations by birdwatchers at the municipality level was positively affected by the number of target species for birders, as well as by a very negative effect of vineyard proportional cover. The number of target species per municipality was positively affected by shrubland and, marginally, vineyard cover, and negatively by urbanized areas. While the strong positive link between avian values and birdwatching rate (and hence, the CES provided by birds) was expected (confirming the potential use of selected bird species as indicators for CES), the strong negative impact (with associated CED) of vineyards was less obvious. Evidence pointed out that vineyard-dominated landscapes were perceived by birders as poorly suitable for birding. The potential reasons of such a negative perception could be the detrimental effect of extremely high vineyard cover on several species, and/or the decline of some conservation-priority species in the area partly caused by the conversion of semi-natural habitats into vineyards. The mild climate suitable for wine growing is favoured by the rarest species, and the occurrence of suitable marginal features (grassland, shrubland, hedgerows, etc.) is higher in the vineyard belt than in many other areas within the region, enhancing its suitability for several species. Vineyards are key components of cultural landscapes and are associated with high avian values in the area, but their occurrence discourages nature-based recreation resulting in a CED. Implementing biodiversity-friendly management practices and restoring key marginal features could both increase the environmental value of vineyards and improve the perception of vineyard value in nature-based recreationists, potentially triggering the transition from a cultural disservice into a cultural ecosystem service. A positive circularity could be expected, with the higher attractiveness granted by biodiversity-friendly practices stimulating more farmers to adopt them, with positive outcomes for nature conservation.