Recreation potential assessment at large spatial scales: a method based in the ecosystem services approach and landscape metrics

The authors present a method to evaluate outdoor recreation potential using landscape metrics and campsite density, arguing that this approach addresses the challenges of stakeholder perception and spatial scale in ecosystem services (ES) mapping. Applying the method across 15 ecoregions in Argentina, the study found that the influence of landscape determinants varies by region, limiting their generalisation capacity. Specifically, crop area did not negatively impact recreation potential as expected, and forest cover only showed a positive effect in the Pampas ecoregion. The analysis also indicates that unrealised benefits of recreation generally increase with higher population and road density.

• The study found that landscape determinants of outdoor recreation potential vary across different ecoregions, which indicates that their capacity for generalisation is limited.
• Contrary to the researchers' expectations, crop area did not have a negative effect on recreation potential in any of the 15 ecoregions analysed, and in three instances, the correlations were positive.
• Forest cover only had a positive effect on recreation potential in the Pampas ecoregion, an area originally dominated by grasslands where current forests are exotic tree plantations.
• The results indicate a general trend where unrealised benefits of outdoor recreation increase in correlation with population density and road density.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2025). Recreation potential assessment at large spatial scales: a method based in the ecosystem services approach and landscape metrics. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/recreation-potential-assessment-at-large-spatial-scales-a-method-based-in-the-ecosystem-services-approach-and-landscape-metrics/

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Recreation potential assessment at large spatial scales: a method based in the ecosystem services approach and landscape metrics. 2025. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/recreation-potential-assessment-at-large-spatial-scales-a-method-based-in-the-ecosystem-services-approach-and-landscape-metrics/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Recreation potential assessment at large spatial scales: a method based in the ecosystem services approach and landscape metrics |date=17 January 2025 |url=https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/recreation-potential-assessment-at-large-spatial-scales-a-method-based-in-the-ecosystem-services-approach-and-landscape-metrics/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2025recreation, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Recreation potential assessment at large spatial scales: a method based in the ecosystem services approach and landscape metrics}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/recreation-potential-assessment-at-large-spatial-scales-a-method-based-in-the-ecosystem-services-approach-and-landscape-metrics/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }