Nora Fagerholm

• Professor
• Academy Research Fellow / Docent at University of Turku

Consideration of traditional practices of natural resource management in decision‐making is crucial to meet the challenges of the world’s intersecting sustainability crises. However, knowledge of the role that such practices play in developed societies is scant, especially in Europe. This study investigates the persistence of traditional hunting pr...

Public green spaces (PGS) have the capacity to fulfil the needs and interests of diverse groups of urban dwellers and thus contribute to their well-being. However, PGS designers and managers usually lack spatially disaggregated information on how PGS is used, by whom, and for what reasons. This study aims to assess spatial PGS visitation and avoida...

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Biosphere Reserves aim to balance nature and human coexistence, but increasing tourism challenges landscape management. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) stresses the importance of understanding stakeholder values...

Identifying research gaps and priorities is paramount to advance sustainability science and contribute to a sustainable future. This editorial contributes to this effort by contemplating the sustainability science research agenda and aligning it with recent changes in global dynamics. Drawing on consultations with the editorial board members of the...

Petrochemical clusters are forms of industrialization that use compounds and polymers derived directly or indirectly from gas or crude oil for chemical applications. They pose a variety of short- and long-term risks to the environment and the people who live nearby. The aim of this study is to determine whether there is a correlation between the de...

Against the backcloth of particularly fast environmental change in the Arctic, this study juxtaposes local perceptions of environmental change in two communities in the boreal zone of Northern Europe with scientific data. The local knowledge was gathered through an online participatory mapping survey among the two communities and scientific evidenc...

Uncertainty and change are increasingly commonplace as communities respond to impacts of social-ecological change including climate change, and dangerous levels of pollution. Given the extent of these crises, new approaches are needed to support responses. Here we identify challenges and discuss insights that the nexus of Senses of place (SoP) and...

What cultural ecosystem services (CES) do people perceive in their immediate surroundings, and what sensory experiences are linked to these ecosystem services? And how are these CES and experiences expressed in natural language? In this study, we used data generated through a gamified application called Window Expeditions, where people uploaded sho...

Urban green spaces (UGSs) support human health and well-being in diverse ways. In addition to their availability and accessibility, also the quality of UGSs is relevant for understanding human-environment interactions between urban populations and their local UGS. However, data on UGS quality are rarely available with the geographic coverage requir...

Public participation geographic information system (PPGIS) is a facilitated Volunteered Geographic Information approach and data collection method that aims to capture the spatial experiences of individuals. Although we experience the space around us three-dimensionally, altitude, as the third dimension, has been often absent from PPGIS research an...

Maptionnaire is a community engagement platform that aims to bridge the gap between planners or decision-makers and citizens. Maptionnaire Community Engagement Platform is a modular online platform with map-based engagement at its core. The service enables the creation of community engagement activities, systematic and comprehensive data collection...

The human relationship with nature is a topic that has been explored throughout human history. More recently, the idea of connection to nature has merged as an important transdisciplinary field of study. Despite increased scholarly attention to connection to nature, the notion of disconnection from nature remains undertheorized and understudied. In...

Recent empirical research has confirmed the importance of green infrastructure and outdoor recreation to urban people’s well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, only a few studies provide cross-city analyses. We analyse outdoor recreation behaviour across four Nordic cities ranging from metropolitan areas to a middle-sized city. We collect...

Public participation GIS (PPGIS) is a kind of spatial data that is collected through map-based surveys in which participants create map features and express their experiences and opinions associated with various places. PPGIS is widely used in urban and environmental research. PPGIS is often implemented through online surveys and points are the mos...

Virtual reality-based urban audit methods are gaining increasing attention; however, most virtual urban audit studies have focused on panoramic views. The 3D city model-based geovisualizations have remained until now rather unexplored in user studies for urban audits and for communicative urban planning. We explored the feasibility of a 3D geovisua...

In this study, we bring together participatory mapping and analysis of geolocated social media content from the Flickr platform in an assessment of similarities and differences in their utility for landscape value elicitation. We do so in a Pan-European context comparing types of landscape values and their spatial patterns across 19 case sites in 1...

Long-term livestock grazing has shaped landscapes, biodiversity, societies, cultures, and economies in the North Atlantic over time. However, overgrazing has become a major environmental sustainability challenge for this region, covering the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and Scotland. The objective of this study was to elicit narrative...

Participatory mapping is a useful approach to engage the general public and stakeholders to communicate place-based values, behaviour, preferences and observations. The approach informs social-ecological research and land-use planning. In land-use planning, PPGIS is applicable, for example, in initial phases or for assessing project outcomes. This...

Recent years have seen a massive development of geospatial sensing systems informing the use of space. However, rarely do these sensing systems inform transformation towards urban sustainability. Drawing on four global urban case examples, we conceptualize how passive and active sensing systems should be harnessed to secure an inclusive, sustainabl...

Context River landscapes represent hotspots for biodiversity and ecosystem services used and embraced by human agents. Changes in river landscapes are subjectively perceived by people and can be assessed through the lenses of cultural ecosystem services (CES) and sense of place (SOP). Objectives This study aims to assess people–place relationships...

Participatory mapping (PM) solutions have become common in many sectors of society to enhance engagement of the local communities in planning processes. Especially in data scarce regions, like Africa, PM that captures local knowledge in spatially explicit form is an important tool for integrating previously non-existent spatial knowledge in to coll...

The Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) Directive was ratified (2014/89/EU) along the Strategy of the European Union (EU) on the Blue Economy to contribute to the effective management of maritime activities and resources and incorporate the principal elements of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) (2002/413/EC) into planning at the land-sea inter...

Water, energy, and food are a key approach for addressing urban sustainability. The demand for those basic living resources will increase in the coming decades, jeopardising urban sustainability, especially in peripheral urban areas. This makes necessary to apply methods to improve social participation to better assess the availability of urban nex...

Urban green infrastructure provides a range of experiences for people and various health benefits that support human well-being. To increase urban resilience, exceptional situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, are important to learn from. This study aims to understand how the residents in Turku, a middle-sized city in Finland, perceived their o...

Rural Europe encompasses a variety of landscapes with differing levels of forest, agriculture, and agroforestry that can deliver multiple ecosystem services (ES). Whilst provisioning and regulating ES associated with individual land covers are comparatively well studied, less is known about the associated cultural ES. Only seldom are provisioning,...

Global challenges ranging from climate change and ecological regime shifts to refugee crises and post-national territorial claims are rapidly moving ecosystem thresholds and altering the social fabric of societies worldwide. This book addresses the vital question of how to navigate the contested forces of stability and change in a world shaped by m...

This study aims to identify and evaluate the spatial distribution of Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) benefits perceived by people in both urban and rural areas. A public participation GIS (PPGIS) approach was applied with local people who responded to an online survey and mapped their important places related to CES benefits in the Kokemäenjoki a...

Technological development towards increased visual quality and accessibility has made photorealistic 3D geo-visualizations an interesting tool for communication in urban planning. Particularly the ability to support perception is important in assessing 3D geovisualizations' effectiveness for communication. We applied both the concept of sense of pr...

The scale, pace, and intensity of human activity on the planet demands radical departures from the status quo to remain within planetary boundaries and achieve sustainability. The steering arms of society including embedded financial, legal, political, and governance systems must be radically realigned and recognize the connectivity among social, e...

Today, various methods are applied to analyze the data collected through participatory mapping, including public participation GIS (PPGIS), participatory GIS (PGIS), and collecting volunteered geographic information (VGI). However, these methods lack an organized framework to describe and guide their systematic applications. Majority of the publish...

Rigorous sustainability science includes addressing pressing real-world problems, weaving multiple knowledge systems, and striving for transformative change. However, these key attributes of sustainability science often conflict with university structures and established academic work practices, for instance with regard to frequent long-distance tr...

Current sustainability challenges demand approaches that acknowledge a plurality of human–nature interactions and worldviews, for which biocultural approaches are considered appropriate and timely. This systematic review analyses the application of biocultural approaches to sustainability in scientific journal articles published between 1990 and 20...

This commentary honours the seminal and foundational contributions of Professor Gregory G. (Greg) Brown to the fields of public participation geographic information systems (PPGIS), natural resource management and spatial planning. We synthesise his work into four theses that underpinned his three decades of research: 1) The mapping of place values...

Securing reliable flows of landscape services is a vital prerequisite for sustaining well-being, especially in the rural Global South, where livelihoods of local communities are dependent on the surrounding village landscapes. To support sustainable landscape development strategies, increased understanding is needed on how landscape services are as...

Multifunctional landscapes provide critical benefits and are essential for human well‐being. The relationship between multifunctional landscapes and well‐being has mostly been studied using ecosystem services as a linkage. However, there is a challenge of concretizing what human well‐being exactly is and how it can be measured, particularly in rela...

Despite the large number of participatory mapping and participatory geographical information system (PGIS) applications developed since the 1990s, few studies have utilized participatory mapping in formal planning processes. Evidence is needed regarding their practical applicability in rural land use planning in the Global South and their effective...

Context Around 30% of European agricultural landscapes are classified as high nature value (HNV) farmlands. Current policies emphasize the multifunctionality of these landscapes, but little is known about the positive and negative associations of multiple ecosystem services within HNV farmland. Objectives This study aims to identify perceived ecos...

Context Local scale assessments of ecosystem/landscape services in Africa are insufficient and lack relevance in landscape management. Also, few studies have explored the potential benefits of PGIS/PPGIS approaches for landscape management and stewardship among the participating stakeholders. Objectives Our aim is (1) to establish an understanding...

Rural development policies in many Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries promote sustainable landscape management with the intention of providing multiple ecosystem services (ES). Yet, it remains unclear which ES benefits are perceived in different landscapes and by different people. We present an assessment...

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO’s) Biosphere Reserves aim to be flagships of sustainable landscapes. Many of them are important locations for tourism and leisure activities. We explored the perceptions of short-term visitors and summer residents on ecosystem services (ESs) tied to characteristic habita...

The European Union (EU) Horizon 2020 Coordination and Support Action ESMERALDA aimed at developing guidance and a flexible methodology for Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) to support the EU member states in the implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy’s Target 2 Action 5. ESMERALDA’s key tasks included network cr...

Small islands are characterised by geographic isolation, strong place attachment, and vulnerabilities to social, economic, and ecological changes. They are often subject to development activities that raise concerns about impacts on multiple land- and seascape values. This study elicits a range of land- and seascape values, development preferences,...

Academics have frequently used and endorsed the Public Participation Geographic Information System (PPGIS) approach for national park management. However, it is only minimally used by public agencies such as national park organisations. This study explores the potential that managers of Finnish national parks see in the PPGIS approach in the contex...

Recreational ecosystem services (RES), understood as the numerous benefits people obtain from landscapes and the natural environment, are a topical area of policy, research and society. This Editorial introduces the current state of RES research, provides an overview of the 21 contributions comprising this Special Issue of Ecosystem Services, and o...

Wood-pastures are complex social-ecological systems (SES), which are the product of long-term interaction between society and its surrounding landscape. Traditionally characterized by multifunctional low-intensity management that enhanced a wide range of ecosystem services (ES), current farm management has shifted toward more intensive farm models....

Key Words: agricultural landscape ecosystem services silvopastoralism sustainability wood-pasture Rangelands in Europe are imprinted by livestock production and embedded in mosaic landscapes of grasslands, croplands, woodlands, and settlements. They developed as social-ecological systems: People managed rangelands in order to maintain or enhance th...

This report provides an overview of the main social methods for mapping and assessment of ecosystem services. It addresses the challenge of improving the applicability of these methods with specific examples, particularly with respect to the MAES process and the ESMERALDA case studies. In this context, the term “mapping” is used to mean the descrip...

Context Human–nature interactions are reflected in the values people assign to landscapes. These values shape our understanding and actions as landscape cocreators, and need to be taken into account to achieve an integrated management of the landscape that involves civil society. Objectives The aim of this research was to increase the current knowl...

Cultural ecosystem services, such as aesthetic and recreational enjoyment, as well as sense of place and local identity, play an outstanding role in the contribution of landscapes to human well-being. Online data shared on social networks, particularly geo-tagged photos, are becoming an increasingly attractive source of information about cultural e...

Over the past decades, landscapes worldwide have experienced changes (e.g., urbanization, agricultural intensification, expansion of renewable energy uses) at magnitudes that put their sustainability at risk. The understanding of the drivers of these landscape changes remains challenging, partly because landscape research is spread across many doma...

Visitors’ assessments of the negative impact of tourism, on physical and social environment, vary based on the location where the evaluation occurs. Research that focuses on identifying visitors’ norms within outdoor recreation settings has not been able to link the geographical location with the corresponding evaluation of unacceptable levels of i...

We develop a landscape stewardship classification which distinguishes between farmers’ understanding of landscape stewardship, their landscape values and land management actions. Forty semi-structured interviews were conducted with small-holder (< 5 acres), medium-holders (5-100 acres) and large-holders (> 100 acres) in South West Devon, UK. Themat...

We develop a landscape stewardship classification which distinguishes between farmers’ understanding of landscape stewardship, their landscape values, and land management actions. Forty semistructured interviews were conducted with small-holder (< 5 acres), medium-holders (5–100 acres), and largeholders (> 100 acres) in South-West Devon, UK. Themat...

In order to identify sustainable management solutions for small-scale farmer agroecosystems, a better understanding of these dynamic forest–farmland systems, existing farming and forestry strategies, and farmer perspectives is important. We examined the relationship between agricultural land use patterns and farmers’ practices and identified existi...

In order to identify sustainable management solutions for small-scale farmer agroecosystems, a better understanding of these dynamic forest–farmland systems, existing farming and forestry strategies, and farmer perspectives is important. We examined the relationship between agricultural land use patterns and farmers’ practices and identified existi...

Forest transitions cannot be separated from the overall changes in land uses and land cover patterns. On a local scale, these changes relate closely to values and preferences which people set on different land use strategies. We have analysed the dynamics of forested land cover over the last 50 years in Zanzibar, Tanzania, in relation to farmers’ m...

In many developing countries, political documentation acknowledges the crucial elements of participation and spatiality for effective land use planning. However, operative approaches to spatial data inclusion and representation in participatory land management are often lacking. In this paper, we apply and develop an integrated landscape characteri...

Recent land cover change estimates show overall decline of tropical forests at the regional and global scales caused by multiple social, cultural and economic factors. There is an overall concern on the prevailing land use practices, such as shifting cultivation and extraction of forest materials as agents of forests losses, but also new, emerging...

Independent mobility in a local environment is crucial for a child's development and physical activity, contributing to overall health and well-being. This methodological article describes a study capturing children's daily mobility in two residential areas in Turku, southwestern Finland, by combining the methods of GPS tracking, mobility diaries,...

2009). Participatory mapping and geographi-cal patterns of the social landscape values of rural communities in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Fennia 187: 1, pp. 43–60. Helsinki. ISSN 0015-0010. People attach commonly approved social values subjectively to landscape. These values vary spatially and can be studied in geographical context. In sus-tainable manage...