Grasslands as a sustainable tourism resource in Germany: environmental knowledge effects on resource conservation preferences

摘要

Resulting from centuries of traditional animal husbandry, extensive grasslands belong to the most important natural tourism resources in Central Europe adding to the amenity values of many landscapes. Facing agricultural market pressures, they are endangered by agricultural intensification as well as by abandonment. Both developments threaten grassland values for tourists and recreationists. However, many non-experts regard extensive grasslands as 'natural' and ignore the essential contribution of animal husbandry to their conservation. Against this background, we conducted choice experiments with respondents from two semi-rural suburbs of Gottingen City and from two Harz mountain villages (n = 336). Respondents either use the grassland landscape for recreation and/or operate tourism businesses. We document substantial preferences for vistas facilitated by local grasslands and for grassland species diversity. Residents with higher scores of an index of grassland knowledge prefer higher numbers of sheep and cattle for grassland conservation.