期刊名称：Journal of Integrative Environmental Sciences
印刷版ISSN：1943-815X
电子版ISSN：1943-8168
出版年度：2014
卷号：11
期号：2
页码：93-108
DOI：10.1080/1943815X.2014.923913
出版社：Taylor & Francis
摘要：Abstract As the world's population increases, settled areas expand, agricultural areas become more intensively managed, and ecosystems become increasingly fragmented as habitat elements are removed to make way for agricultural production. Reversal of fragmentation by enhancing ecosystem connectivity is a key step in halting biodiversity loss in agricultural areas. One way to decrease fragmentation is by maintaining habitat areas on farms and compensating farmers for the loss of the income that could have been earned if these areas were used for agricultural production. The implementation of ecological compensation schemes requires public funds, and governing bodies will only be willing to carry out this task if it is in accordance with the wishes of the public. This study sought to assess the attitudes of the public in Switzerland to ecosystem connectivity measures in rural areas, known as ecological compensation areas, and to measure whether attitudes could be influenced by the provision of ecological information. A revealed preference choice experiment was conducted using manipulated photographs of typical farmland, with various habitat elements added to an ‘empty’ agricultural landscape. Information treatments were given to half the respondents, while a control group received no further information. Approximately, half of the respondents showed no clear preferences for any particular landscapes. The remainder expressed preferences for more complex landscapes with half preferring landscapes containing ecosystem-connecting elements. This result challenges what has previously been considered to be an almost universal preference for complexity in landscapes. Provision of information was found to be not a significant influence on attitudes, although this result may be due to the complexity of the information that was delivered. Those seeking to influence landscape preferences, for example by reaching the disengaged majority, would be well advised to use simple emotional messages rather than complex ecological arguments.
