Exploring multi-scale trade-offs between nature conservation, agricultural profits and landscape quality—A methodology to support discussions on land-use perspectives

Intensively managed agricultural areas in North-Western Europe have been undergoing a shift from solely production oriented use to provision of multiple services and functions. Design and assessment of multifunctional agricultural landscapes could be supported by exploration of trade-offs between financial returns from agriculture, landscape quality, nature conservation and environmental quality. This paper presents the Landscape IMAGES methodology for spatially explicit exploration of options for multifunctional agriculture in landscapes at a scale of a few km2. The framework has been developed to support discussions and inform decision making by local and regional policy makers, land owners and land managers. Other relevant stakeholders could include non-governmental organizations representing nature conservation and environmental protection objectives.