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Guest blog post by Hristina Prodanova, Stoyan Nedkov, and Yordan Yordanov

In a recent study, geography researchers from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences have demonstrated that the old landscape maps typically produced during mid-late 20^th century in the former USSR and Eastern Europe can actually provide valuable information for modern nature conservation purposes. “Our study in Nature Conservation evidences that traditionally theoretical landscape works can support practical tasks like nature conservation through ecosystem services mapping and assessment,” says the lead author Dr. Hristina Prodanova.

In this study, the authors developed and applied an approach that enabled them to transform the paper-copy information from old landscape maps to GIS data that is appropriate for assessing ecosystem services (ES) at a landscape scale. The assessment of ES conservation potential using the national scale landscape mapping allows them to analyze the spatial relationships between the landscapes with high conservation value and the existing nature protection network in Bulgaria as a case study country.

The conceptual scheme of the study demonstrates how the results of the ES potential provided by the natural heritage (NH) at a national level can be combined with the landscape units from the traditional landscape classification schemes to produce various spatial and statistical metrics.  Thus, they can reveal how the national system of protected areas coincides with the areas of high ES conservation value.

Scientists from different countries have different perceptions of landscape, its definitions, mapping, and classification system. National landscape mappings use different sources of information and criteria for landscape units’ delineation and classification, for example data, on national boundaries and current land use in Germany and landscape character area in the United Kingdom. In Bulgaria, landscape works are predominantly based on the geosystem concept, which defines the landscape as “a specific geographical area forming a system of natural components (rock, soil, air, water, vegetation, and animals), which is changing in time under both natural factors and human activities.

The authors of the study say that landscape research from Eastern European countries, and Bulgaria in particular, has generally hardly been communicated with the international audience, and the lack of publications in English language on theoretical aspects of landscape mapping proves it. Their study contributes to filling this gap, while building a bridge between landscape research from the  Eastern and Western world to solve modern research questions.

“I am very glad that we succeeded in proving our hypothesis that the old-fashioned landscape maps may have a practical application in modern research. I remember very well that, during my Master studies ten years ago, it was very challenging for me to understand  the purpose of creating those kinds of multi-level landscape maps, while elderly university lecturers were still teaching about them,” says Dr. Hristina Prodanova, the lead author of the study. “Later on in my practice, as an already experienced researcher in the ecosystem services field, I took the opportunity to test the hypothesis with my colleagues.”

“The integration of the traditional landscape approach with modern concepts such as ecosystem services has long been one of the main research problems in my work and I am happy that this problem has finally found its solution in this study with my younger colleagues” says Prof. Stoyan Nedkov, who was also part of the study.

The results of the ES potential assessment at the landscape scale and the consequent analyses of the nature protection network enabled the authors to draw four main conclusions:

• The landscapes with high conservation potential at the national level in the country are relatively well preserved by the existing nature protection network.
• The character of this protection varies between the four landscape types with high conservation value, which is predefined by their size and location.
• The Natura 2000 network is the only nature protection option for many landscape types, which appears a good option for areas with a mixture of highly cultivated areas and small natural habitats.
• The landscapes with lower ES conservation potential are less presented in the protected areas, but in some cases, the lower ES potential does not fully correspond to low protection.

The latter is a sign of the need for further improvement of the methodology, especially in its ES assessment part.

The author team consists of geographers specializing in landscape ecology, ecosystem services and GIS—Assist. Prof. Hristina Prodanova, Prof. Stoyan Nedkov, and PhD student Yordan Yordanov. All of them are affiliated with the National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (NIGGG-BAS).

The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is the longest-lasting institution in Bulgaria, celebrating its 155th anniversary in 2024. It is a direct successor of the Bulgarian Learned Society that was established in 1869 in Braila, Romania with the main purpose to disseminate knowledge among Bulgarians. More information about the history of BAS can be found here.

Research article:

Prodanova H, Nedkov S, Yordanov Y (2024) The old good landscape maps: New interpretations enabling ecosystem services assessment of conservation potential at a national scale. Nature Conservation 56: 223-242. https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.56.132537

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