Designing a protected area forest management plan is a challenging task given the difficulties in balancing conservation and utilization values in a sustainable manner. Köprülü Canyon National Park (NP) was selected as the target of a study of visitor perceptions and expectations as it provides many goods and services, including historical and natural resources, and is the most visited national park in Turkey. Different demographic characteristics like gender, age or nationality, visitor characteristics such as visit frequency, seasonal preferences or transportation methods, and expectations, such as the objective of the visit, regional preference and deficiencies in recreational facilities were investigated. We found that the most important park characteristic is its suitability for rafting, which 71.1% respondents reported as their preferred activity. Four forest values, including aesthetics, recreation, water conservation and nature conservation across 2 735 ha (7.6% of the total area), were determined according to the visitors’ perceptions.

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There is a growing need for fine-scale data on habitat distribution for large areas to comprehensively detect changes in biodiversity patterns, ecosystem service provision and sustainable landscape development against global change. We present a map of 19 habitat classes at a resolution of 25 m for Austria, Germany (Baden-Wurttemberg, Bavaria), Liechtenstein, Italy (South Tyrol) and Switzerland. Fine-scale data from various sources in the public domain (e. g. habitat mapping campaigns, Open Street Map, CORINE land cover 2006 (CLC2006), Joint Research Centre forest mapping, GIO-Land high resolution layers) were harmonized and supplemented by remote mapping and modelling techniques. Spatio-thematic accuracy checks with independent data sources have been conducted and the habitat classes further compared to the CLC2006 classification scheme. As a first map application we provide habitat class-specific proportions for national parks and biosphere reserves located within the mapping area in relation to their surroundings and further discuss additional fields of applications. The map will be freely available for non-commercial scientific use.

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In order to illustrate the state and development of forest wilderness in Kalkalpen National Park and thus also the effectiveness of national parks, we analysed various inventory data to assess the four different aspects of wilderness: naturalness, undisturbedness, undevelopedness and scale. Naturalness is proven by an analysis of hemeroby. The average hemeroby value of the park’s forest is 7.2 on a scale form 1 (artificial) to 9 (natural). High density of the white-backed woodpecker population (up to 2.9 territories per 100 ha) and the occurrence of endangered relic beetles confirm high naturalness. Undisturbedness is proven by an increase in hemeroby development (+0.19) and by the forest age from a historical viewpoint (> 50% of the forest area is older than 160 years). An evaluation of forest road density measures the quality of undevelopedness. The park’s 16 800 ha of forest constitute an area large and sufficient enough for ensuring functioning natural processes. Adding all these factors together, a rather high state of forest wilderness can be ascertained, which confirms the effectiveness of the national park management.

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The availability of suitable spawning habitats for gravel-spawning fish is an important indicator for Alpine river reaches regarding hydro- and morphodynamic components of fluvial ecosystems. This paper presents advances in habitat modelling techniques of suitable spawning habitat conditions for brown trout (Salmo trutta) by applying multivariate fuzzy-logical habitat modelling in combination with a three-dimensional numerical sediment-transport model. The fuzzy-logical approach considers multiple particle size classes to evaluate the suitability of sediment characteristics (sediment spawning index, SSI). It is then combined with hydraulic characteristics to compute spawning habitat suitability (HSIspawn). The study site is part of the River Spoel in the Swiss National Park in the Central Alps of Switzerland. The modelling approach was applied to two spawning seasons (2009 and 2010) and provides information about the spatial distribution of suitable spawning habitats. The simulated results indicate a good model performance when comparing the simulation results with observed spawning redds. The predictability of the modelling approach allows further investigations into new management scenarios to improve the hydro- and morphodynamic situation in the River Spoel and to increase the availability of suitable spawning habitats for brown trout.

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When you are defining the vulnerability of mountain ecosystems it is vital to identify production systems that may collapse because of climate change or land degradation. This study explores these challenges by analysing the effect of a range of external pressures on the vulnerability of agricultural systems in the upper basin of the Rancheria River (Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Biosphere Reserve [BR], Colombia). Models of dynamic system approaches were made to understand how communities became vulnerable to global change. We evaluated the change in external pressures, such as the ability of different agro-ecosystems to tolerate climate variability, the ability of rural communities to adapt to climate variability based on their access to resources, and the institutions and policies to deal with the crisis of socio-political governance. Existing ecological and participatory research findings were reassessed along with data gathered from farming activities. We followed an iterative process explaining how external drivers led to changes in agro-ecosystem resilience, access to resources and the ability of institutions to buffer the system. Causal loop diagrams and statistical dynamic system models were used to express key quantitative relationships. Future scenarios were created to determine areas of concern most sensitive to change. Certainly the more land management knowledge and practices are shared between private and community land managers the more win-win benefits will be available to reduce system vulnerability, increase income and build social capital.

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The quantification and economic valuation of ecosystem services is vital to ascertain the social and economic benefits of establishing and managing protected areas. In Central Europe a wide range of studies has emphasized the significant contribution of protected areas to the conservation of biodiversity. This paper provides further evidence on the significance of (non-market) ecosystem services in Muránska Planina National Park (NP), Slovakia, which can be valued at about EUR 10 million per year. However, the ecosystem services of the park provided in terms of forestry, agriculture and tourism are smaller than in other Slovak NPs. In particular, recreation benefits are smaller because of a lower number of tourists (30 000 per year) and a lower average length of stay (2.29 days). The study nevertheless underlines the important ecosystem services that Muránska Planina NP provides for the regional and national economy, and how it contributes significantly to human well-being.

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The Tusheti Protected Landscape (IUCN category V), together with the two other IUCN categories (Strict Nature Reserve – IUCN category I – and National Park – IUCN Category II), is a part of the Tusheti Protected Areas. The Tusheti Protected Landscape covers 31 518 ha, of which 10% is forest. Tusheti Protected Landscape is unique within the protected areas of Georgia in that it is managed by the local selfgovernment, Akhmeta municipality. Tusheti Protected Areas were designated by the central government of Georgia in 2003.

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The unique location of Wienerwald Biosphere Reserve on the edge of the large city of Vienna provides easy access for the urban population and makes for complex challenges, such as high visitor pressure and habitat fragmentation. The Wienerwald area is a popular local recreation space, where the population of the city and its environs pursues a variety of leisure activities, such as mountain biking, horse riding, jogging and climbing. Various decrees and bans regulate the pursuit of these sports as well as other activities like forestry in the three zones (core zone, buffer zone, development zone) of the biosphere reserve (BR). This leads almost automatically to conflicts between individual user groups, as well as between visitors and land owners, and between all of them and the protected area management. This is why the Wienerwald BR management has engaged in an exemplary participation process with land owners, interest groups and major actors in the region to create an information booklet. It explains the raison d’ètre and the aims of the BR, the characteristics of the three zones and the related bans, decrees and permitted forms of use. The text presents the necessary rules of behaviour for all involved in easily comprehensible form to promote harmonious coexistence in the BR.

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When one approaches Riding Mountain from the east and north, this segment of the Manitoba Escarpment rises steeply from the flat plain of the former glacial lake Agassiz to form the Second Prairie Level. To the south and west, though, Riding Mountain gently blends into the adjacent morainic landscapes. For the native Anishinabe, Wagiiwing (Riding Mountain) represented a “vision of a mountainous landscape that holds everything the many creatures depend upon for survival and sanctuary” (Parks Canada 2007: 5). Early European colonists and contemporary local residents have always considered this section of the Manitoba Escarpment a mountain with a distinct individuality and specific geomorphological and ecological features.

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