This thesis is based on two observations. First, that conventional buildings cause two major losses that involve non-human nature – the loss of native biodiversity and the loss of non-human nature experience for the buildings’ human inhabitants – and that these losses both contribute to a perceived separation between humans and the rest of nature. Second, that there appears to be a growing interest in connecting buildings with nature but there is little agreement on what it actually means to ‘design with nature’. As such, the purpose of this study is two-fold: (1) to describe the meaning of ‘designing with nature’ in current architectural practice and provide a working definition of nature-based design, and (2) to explore how this can be interpreted to encourage human connectedness with non-human nature, while addressing the two major losses mentioned above. It is thus an attempt to reframe the role of building as one that provides for all inhabitants of a site, both human and non. A framework was developed that captures and summarizes the dominant ways in which design draws on nature. The framework emphasizes the importance of using ecosystems not only as models, but foremost as context. The core concepts of the framework can thus be discussed from the perspective of buildings that act like an ecosystem and that interact with their ecosystem, and are described as: ecological sense of place, regenerative ability, ecosystem health, mutually beneficial relationships, context, appropriate management, functions, ecosystem principles, values, patterns, conditions, and adaptations. Although the concepts presented in the framework are themselves not new, the way in which they are organized does contribute a new perspective on the field of nature-based design. In addition to providing a graphic model that summarizes the essence of an evolving field, the research highlights the role of scale and place in linking building design, native biodiversity, nature experience and connectedness with nature. It thus acts as a backdrop on which to bring a discussion of ecological citizenship into the architectural dialogue.

Los objetivos de la tesis fueron estudiar los factores que pueden explicar la variabilidad existente en la distribución e intensidad de la pesca artesanal en torno a una reserva marina (RM), valorar el efecto de la protección sobre la pesca y analizar y valorar los efectos bio-económicos de configuraciones alternativas de diseño y gestión. Los resultados revelaron que las embarcaciones artesanales calan más artes, de menor longitud, en zonas de elevada diversidad de hábitats. El rendimiento pesquero depende del nivel de protección, la distancia a la RM y la diversidad de artes por unidad de área. La protección está teniendo resultados positivos sobre las poblaciones de peces explotadas y beneficiando a la economía local. El aumento de superficie protegida, distribuido en varias reservas integrales en emplazamientos adecuados, distanciadas unas decenas kilómetros, más que la reducción del esfuerzo, tendría efectos positivos sobre el poblamiento de peces y la economía local. / The aim of the present work is to study the factors that may explain the variability in distribution and intensity of artisanal fishing around a marine reserve, evaluate the reserve effect and analyze and assess the biological and economic effects of alternative configurations of a marine protected area. The results revealed that artisanal vessels used more fishing gears, but shorter, in high habitat diversity areas. The fishing yield depends of protection level, distance to marine reserve and diversity of fishing gears per unit area. The protection measures have had positive results on exploited fish populations and in the local economy. The increase of protected area surface, distributed on several no take zones at appropriate locations, a few kilometers apart, more than the reduction of the fishing effort, would have positive effects on the population of commercial fishes and the local economy.

This thesis is based on two observations. First, that conventional buildings cause two major losses that involve non-human nature – the loss of native biodiversity and the loss of non-human nature experience for the buildings’ human inhabitants – and that these losses both contribute to a perceived separation between humans and the rest of nature. Second, that there appears to be a growing interest in connecting buildings with nature but there is little agreement on what it actually means to ‘design with nature’. As such, the purpose of this study is two-fold: (1) to describe the meaning of ‘designing with nature’ in current architectural practice and provide a working definition of nature-based design, and (2) to explore how this can be interpreted to encourage human connectedness with non-human nature, while addressing the two major losses mentioned above. It is thus an attempt to reframe the role of building as one that provides for all inhabitants of a site, both human and non. A framework was developed that captures and summarizes the dominant ways in which design draws on nature. The framework emphasizes the importance of using ecosystems not only as models, but foremost as context. The core concepts of the framework can thus be discussed from the perspective of buildings that act like an ecosystem and that interact with their ecosystem, and are described as: ecological sense of place, regenerative ability, ecosystem health, mutually beneficial relationships, context, appropriate management, functions, ecosystem principles, values, patterns, conditions, and adaptations. Although the concepts presented in the framework are themselves not new, the way in which they are organized does contribute a new perspective on the field of nature-based design. In addition to providing a graphic model that summarizes the essence of an evolving field, the research highlights the role of scale and place in linking building design, native biodiversity, nature experience and connectedness with nature. It thus acts as a backdrop on which to bring a discussion of ecological citizenship into the architectural dialogue.

The presented dissertation entitled „Development and Validation of a Landscape Metrics Based Approach for Standardized Landscape Assessment Considering Spatial Patterns” addresses three main questions: I. Which ecosystem services depend on landscape structure? II. How can landscape metrics be used to achieve a standardized routine for assessing the impact of landscape structure on the hereon dependent ecosystem services? III. How can regional planning benefit from the consideration of landscape structural effects on the provision of ecosystem services? The PhD study was carried out in the context of the Climate Change adaptation project REGKLAM (funding code 01 LR 0802). The work package “Land Use” was conducted at the Institute of Soil Science and Site Ecology of the TU Dresden under the direction of Prof. Dr. Makeschin. The PhD study took place in the framework of a sub-work package of it, which was called “Integrated Land Use Assessment”. The aim of this sub-work package was the evaluation of Climate Change adaptation strategies at the landscape scale in a cross-sectoral manner. The ecosystem services concept was chosen as methodological framework for this purpose. Particular motivation of this PhD study was that landscape structural aspects are often not sufficiently considered in commonly used ecosystem services assessment approaches. A standardized assessment procedure regarding the impact of the composition and configuration of land use/ land cover types is not yet existent in contemporary planning approaches, neither in strategic environmental assessment. In my thesis, I developed in the period from 2010 to 2014 a methodological basis which addresses this challenge. My thesis was realized as cumulative dissertation, which consists of three articles. These articles are published in peer-reviewed, ISI-listed international journals, whereas the third article still is in press. The short introduction in chapter one gives information on the motivation and the structure of the thesis. In chapter two, the research hypothesis is formulated and scope and objectives are explained. Chapter three gives an overview of the history of landscape metrics, the state-of-the-art, and current research in topic. In chapter four, the model region, focus areas, and the methodological basis are described. The fifth chapter summarizes results of the three articles (Frank et al. 2012, 2013, in press). Discussions in chapter six critically reflect the methodology and identify limitations, strengths, and its contribution to regional planning and to decision-making. Furthermore, some suggestions for extending the approach to other ecosystem services, especially regulating services, are made and perspectives towards different research questions are shown. Chapter seven summarizes the main outcomes of the PhD study. The central output of the dissertation is a module of GISCAME, a land use change impact assessment platform for supporting regional planning. The landscape metrics based ecosystem services assessment approach facilitates calculation, combination, and interpretation of a choice of landscape metrics and, hence, the evaluation of the impact of composition and configuration of land use patterns on ecosystem services. I selected eleven focus areas in the planning region “Upper Elbe Valley/Eastern Ore Mountains” to demonstrate the application and validation of the landscape metrics based approach that I propose in my dissertation. With these use cases, I show that the landscape structure significantly influences the provision of the ecosystem services ecological integrity and landscape aesthetics. Within the first use case I could demonstrate that the afforestation planning can be enhanced by including landscape metrics in the planning process. Actual priority areas for afforestation do not contribute to ecological integrity at the regional scale. Landscape fragmentation, habitat connectivity, and landscape diversity must be taken into account in order to identify most efficient priority areas for afforestation in terms of enhancing ecological integrity. The second use case focused on the question, how landscape structure influences scenic beauty. By means of a survey, I performed a comparison between the landscape metrics based approach and landscape perception of 153 respondents. This test underpinned my assumption that a landscape metrics based routine allows conclusions on the value of landscape aesthetics. The third use case gives practical advice in the current planning challenge about how to enhance water erosion protection planning in the context of Climate Change. Here, I demonstrated that not only land use change in preferential water erosion paths, but especially the change of management strategies combined with an improvement of landscape structure have the capacity to reduce water erosion potential by 92 %. The results show that it is of great importance to consider landscape structural aspects in current and future regional planning questions because additional, relevant planning information becomes tangible. The comparison of the presented method with other landscape metrics based approaches for ecosystem services assessment shows that the interpretation of the landscape metric values in the GISCAME platform module goes one step further towards usability for planning support: its transparency, spatial transferability, and flexibility are the main strengths of the approach. However, there is a clear need to involve the impact of landscape structure aspects also regarding other ecosystem services. / Die vorgelegte Dissertation mit dem Titel „Entwicklung und Validierung eines auf Landschaftsstrukturmaßen basierten Ansatzes zur standardisierten Landschaftsbewertung unter Berücksichtigung räumlicher Muster“ behandelt die drei Hauptfragen I. Welche Ökosystemdienstleistungen hängen von der Landschaftsstruktur ab? II. Wie können Landschaftsstrukturmaße genutzt werden, um ein standardisiertes Bewertungsverfahren dieser abhängigen Ökosystemdienstleistungen zu ermöglichen? III. Wie kann die Regionalplanung von der Berücksichtigung der Effekte von Landschaftsstruktur auf die Bereitstellung von Ökosystemdienstleistungen profitieren? Die Promotions-Studie wurde im Rahmen des Klimawandel-Anpassungs-Projektes REGKLAM (Förderkennzeichen 01 LR 0802) durchgeführt. Das Arbeitspaket „Landnutzung“ wurde am Institut für Bodenkunde und Standortslehre der TU Dresden unter Leitung von Prof. Dr. Makeschin bearbeitet. Die Promotions-Studie erfolgte im Rahmen des Teil-Arbeitstaktes „Integrierte Landnutzungsbewertung“. Ziel dieses Teil-Arbeitspaketes war die Bewertung von Klimawandel-Anpassungs-Strategien auf Landschaftsebene in Sektor-übergreifender Weise. Zu diesem Zweck wurde das Ökosystemdienstleistungskonzept als methodischer Rahmen gewählt. Der spezielle Anlass dieser Promotion-Studie war, dass landschaftsstrukturelle Aspekte in gebräuchlichen Ökosystemdienstleistungs-Bewertungsansätzen oft ungenügend berücksichtigt sind. Ein standardisiertes Bewertungsverfahren des Einflusses von Zusammensetzung und Anordnung von Landnutzungs-/Landbedeckungstypen existiert weder in aktuellen Planungsansätzen noch in Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfungen. In meiner Dissertation entwickelte ich im Zeitraum von 2010 bis 2014 eine methodische Grundlage, welche diese Herausforderung angeht. Meine Promotion wurde als kumulative Dissertation, welche aus drei Artikeln besteht, umgesetzt. Diese Artikel wurden in begutachteten, ISI-gelisteten, internationalen Journalen veröffentlicht, wobei sich das dritte aktuell im Druck befindet. Die kurze Einleitung im ersten Kapitel informiert über die Beweggründe und die Struktur der Dissertation. Im zweiten Kapitel ist die Forschungshypothese formuliert sowie Geltungsbereich und Zeile erläutert. Kapitel drei gibt einen Überblick über die Geschichte der Landschaftsstrukturmaße, den aktuellen Forschungsstand und aktuelle Forschungsfelder. Im vierten Kapitel sind die Modellregion, die Fallstudien-Gebiete, sowie methodische Grundlagen beschrieben. Das fünfte Kapitel fasst die Ergebnisse der drei Artikel (Frank et al. 2012, 2013, im Druck) zusammen. Diskussionen in Kapitel sechs reflektieren die Methodik kritisch und identifizieren ihre Grenzen und Stärken sowie den Beitrag der Ergebnisse zu Regionalplanung und Entscheidungsfindung. Darüber hinaus werden einige Empfehlungen zur Erweiterung des Ansatzes für weitere Ökosystemdienstleistungen, insbesondere regulierende Leistungen, getroffen und Perspektiven zur Anwendung für andere Forschungsfragen werden aufgezeigt. Kapitel sieben fasst schließlich die wichtigsten Ergebnisse der Promotions-Studie zusammen. Das zentrale Ergebnis der Dissertation ist eine Erweiterung des Entscheidungsunterstützungs-Werkzeuges GISCAME. Der auf Landschaftsstrukturmaßen basierende Ökosystemdienstleistungs-Bewertungsansatz ermöglicht die Berechnung, Kombination und Interpretation einer Auswahl von Landschaftsstrukturmaßen und somit die Bewertung des Einflusses von Zusammensetzung und Anordnung von Landnutzungsmustern auf Ökosystemdienstleistungen. Ich wählte elf Fokusgebiete in der Planungsregion „Oberes Elbtal/Osterzgebirge“ aus um die Anwendung und Validierung des auf Landschaftsstrukturmaßen basierenden Ansatzes, den ich in der Dissertation vorschlage, zu demonstrieren. Mittels dieser Anwendungsfälle zeige ich, dass die Landschaftsstruktur die Bereitstellung der Ökosystemdienstleistungen ökologische Integrität und Landschaftsästhetik erheblich beeinflusst. Im ersten Anwendungsfall konnte ich zeigen, dass die Aufforstungsplanung durch die Einbeziehung von Landschaftsstrukturmaßen in den Planungsprozess verbessert werden kann. Vorranggebiete für Waldmehrung in ihrer derzeitigen Form tragen nicht zur ökologischen Integrität auf der regionalen Ebene bei. Landschaftszerschneidung, Biotopverbund und Landschaftsdiversität müssen vermehrt beachtet werden, um Vorranggebiete für Waldmehrung für eine Verbesserung der ökologischen Intaktheit effizienter anzuordnen. Der zweite Anwendungsfall richtete sich auf die Frage, wie Landschaftsstruktur die Landschaftsästhetik beeinflusst. Mithilfe einer Befragung verglich ich den auf Landschaftsstrukurmaßen basierenden Ansatz mit der Landschaftswahrnehmung von 153 Befragten. Dieser Test untermauerte meine Annahme, dass das auf Landschaftsstrukurmaßen basierende Vorgehen Rückschlüsse auf den ästhetischen Wert einer Landschaft zulässt. Der dritte Anwendungsfall gibt praktische Hinweise bezüglich der aktuellen Planungs-Herausforderung, wie Erosionsschutzplanung im Kontext des Klimawandels verbesset werden kann. In diesem Fall konnte ich zeigen, dass nicht nur Landnutzungsänderungen in präferenziellen Abflussbahnen, sondern insbesondere eine Änderung der Bodenbearbeitungsstrategie in Kombination mit verbesserter Landschaftsstruktur das Potential hat, die potentielle Wassererosion um 92 % zu reduzieren. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass es von großer Bedeutung ist, landschaftsstrukturelle Aspekte in aktuellen und zukünftigen Planungsfragen zu berücksichtigen, da somit zusätzliche, maßgebliche Informationen greifbar werden. Der Vergleich der vorliegenden Methodik mit anderen Ansätzen, die Landschaftsstrukturmaße nutzen um Ökosystemdienstleistungen zu bewerten, zeigt, dass die automatisierte Interpretation der Landschaftsstrukturmaße mittels des neuen Moduls in GISCAME einen Schritt in Richtung Nützlichkeit für Planungsunterstützung geht: Transparenz, räumliche Übertragbarkeit und Flexibilität sind weitere Stärken des Ansatzes. Jedoch gibt es eindeutig den Bedarf den Einfluss von Landschaftsstruktur auf weitere Ökosystemdienstleistungen einzubeziehen.

The affect on leaf area index (LAI) and net ecosystem production (NEP) of the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) (MPB) outbreak in British Columbia affecting lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) forests was examined from 1999 to 2008. The process-based carbon (C) cycle model – Boreal Ecosystem Productivity Simulator (BEPS) with remotely sensed LAI inputs was used to produce annual NEP maps, which were validated using field measurements. The annual NEP ranged from 2.43 to -8.03 MtC between 1999 and 2008, with sink to source conversion in 2000. The inter-annual variability for both LAI and NEP displayed initial decreases followed by a steadily increasing trend from 2006 to 2008 with NEP returning to near C neutrality in 2008 (-1.84 MtC). The resistance of LAI and NEP to MPB attack was attributed to ecosystem resilience in the form of secondary overstory growth and increased production of non-attacked host trees.

The affect on leaf area index (LAI) and net ecosystem production (NEP) of the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) (MPB) outbreak in British Columbia affecting lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) forests was examined from 1999 to 2008. The process-based carbon (C) cycle model – Boreal Ecosystem Productivity Simulator (BEPS) with remotely sensed LAI inputs was used to produce annual NEP maps, which were validated using field measurements. The annual NEP ranged from 2.43 to -8.03 MtC between 1999 and 2008, with sink to source conversion in 2000. The inter-annual variability for both LAI and NEP displayed initial decreases followed by a steadily increasing trend from 2006 to 2008 with NEP returning to near C neutrality in 2008 (-1.84 MtC). The resistance of LAI and NEP to MPB attack was attributed to ecosystem resilience in the form of secondary overstory growth and increased production of non-attacked host trees.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2008. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-117). Also available on the World Wide Web.

A perspectiva de elaborar planejamentos em áreas de floresta a partir da concepção de serviços ecossistêmicos, principalmente serviços hídricos, expandiu-se em muito pouco tempo, principalmente porque essa estratégia evidencia, claramente, como a perda desse sistema natural por atividades antrópicas pode causar perdas irreparáveis ao próprio bem-estar humano. Trabalhar planejamento ambiental sob esse enfoque exige a adoção de uma forte base teórica sobre serviços hídricos; um modelo que permita comparar paisagens em diferentes condições de uso e conservação de floresta; e clareza sobre o tipo de valoração empregado na identificação dos limites de perdas de floresta, de forma a não comprometer a oferta necessária desses serviços. Este estudo defende que no Cerrado do estado de São Paulo, em seus remanescentes caracterizados como sistemas florestados em áreas savânicas, é possível reconhecer a dependência direta entre quantidades de floresta, de usos humanos e de serviços hídricos em microbacias hidrográficas e, em meio disso, valorar a oferta desses serviços e comparar paisagens. Para fortalecer esse argumento foram selecionadas 10 unidades territoriais no estado de São Paulo com diferentes percentuais de cobertura florestal e campo antrópico. Em cada unidade foram obtidos dados de 13 parâmetros físico-químico-biológicos, que foram hierarquizados pelo algoritmo Random Forest de forma a aferir suas relações com a quantidade de floresta e formular índices de sete serviços ecossistêmicos hídricos. Os parâmetros que se mostraram mais adequados para monitoramento dos serviços hídricos frente aos ganhos de floresta, com grande peso hierárquico na formulação dos índices, foram oxigênio dissolvido, amônio e fósforo total. Os índices obtidos permitiram apontar que para a manutenção de 50% do potencial total dos sete serviços hídricos em paisagens com campos antrópicos são necessários pelo menos 20% de cobertura florestal, mas os melhores ganhos potenciais de serviços ocorreram a partir de 70% / The prospect of elaborating environmental planning in forest areas from the ecosystem services concept, especially water-related ecosystem services, has expanded greatly in a very short time, mainly because this strategy clearly demonstrate how the loss of this natural system by anthropic activities can cause irreparable losses to human well-being. Working with environmental planning under this approach requires the adoption of a strong theoretical basis on water-related ecosystem services; a model that allows to compare landscapes under different conditions of human use and forest conservation; and insight about the type of valuation used to recognize forest loss thresholds that must not be crossed, in order to do not compromise the necessary supply of these services. This study argues that in São Paulo state Cerrado (brazilian savanna), in its remnants characterized as forest systems in savanna areas, it is possible to recognize the direct dependence between forest quantities, human uses and water-related ecosystem services in catchments and, thereby, value the supply of these services and compare landscapes. To strengthen this argument, 10 territorial units were selected in São Paulo state with different percentages of forest and anthropic grasslands. In each unit, data were obtained from 13 physical-chemical-biological parameters, which were hierarchized by Random Forest algorithm in order to assess their relationships with forest quantity and formulate indexes of seven water-related ecosystem services. The most adequate parameters to monitor water-related ecosystem services in the face of forest gains with great hierarchical weight in the index formulation were dissolved oxygen, ammonia and total phosphorus. The obtained indexes allowed indicating that for the maintenance of 50% of the total potential of the seven water-related ecosystem services in landscapes with anthropic grasslands, more than 20% of forest cover is required, but the best potential gains of water-related ecosystem services occurred from 70% of forest cover

Questões ambientais e sócio-econômicas nem sempre coexistem de forma conciliada, o que pode opor a conservação da biodiversidade, a regulação climática, a produção e qua¬li¬da¬de da água, com outros fatores como a produção de energia, alimentos e fibras, e a geração de empregos. No Brasil, o código florestal prescreve as Áreas de Preservação Permanente como forma de garantir a manutenção dos Serviços Ambientais (SA), e os projetos de Pagamento de Serviços Ambientais (PSA) estão surgindo como forma de recompensar os provedores de SA, como o Projeto Conservador das Águas, a primeira experiência municipal brasileira, em andamento no Município de Extrema, MG. Apesar dos esforços, ainda são escassos os estudos que quantifiquem os benefícios econômicos dos serviços ambientais, fundamental para que estes sejam incluídos nas tomadas de decisões. O objetivo do trabalho foi quantificar e valorar os Serviços Ambientais hidrológicos da recuperação da vegetação, na sub-bacia do Ribeirão das Posses, em Extrema, através da modelagem ambiental. Utilizando o modelo InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs) foram simuladas a vazão e o fluxo de sedimentos em um cenário anterior e posterior ao Projeto Conservador das Águas, um cenário sem práticas de conservação (Antropizado), e em cenários que priorizassem o reflorestamento ao longo das margens dos rios (reflorestamento ripário) ou nas encostas (reflorestamento das áreas íngremes). Os Serviços Ambientais foram estimados a partir do custo evitado da redução do tratamento de água e dragagem (custos off-site) e na erosão (custos on-site), em função da diferença entre os cenários, e foram comparados com o Pagamento por Serviços Ambientais e o custo de oportunidade, equivalente aos rendimentos da pecuária extensiva. Verificou-se que as estradas geraram 29% da perda de solos na sub-bacia, e as barraginhas, uma das práticas conservacionistas adotadas pelo projeto, diminuíram em 4% os sedimentos na foz da sub-bacia, e o reflorestamento de espécies nativas em 5%. Juntas, as duas práticas contribuíram para 9% de redução. A redução do fluxo de sedimentos do Pós-Projeto em relação ao cenário Antropizado foi de 40%. O reflorestamento ripário foi mais eficiente na redução de fluxo de sedimentos do que o reflorestamento das áreas íngremes e gerou maior redução nos custos de tratamento de água e de dragagem. Enquanto um reflorestamento ripário de apenas 5 m reduziu em 23% o fluxo de sedimentos, um reflorestamento nas áreas íngremes com a mesma área de floresta (áreas com declividade acima de 60%) reduziu o fluxo de sedimentos em 2%. Para um reflorestamento ripário de 30 m, o mesmo foi reduzido em 50%. Por outro lado, o reflorestamento das áreas íngremes foi mais eficiente na redução da perda de solos, e portanto, obteve maior redução dos custos on-site, pela redução dos prejuízos causados pela erosão. Os resultados mostram a importância de projetos como o Conservador das Águas, não só na melhoria das condições ambientais, mas principalmente na conservação de florestas nativas. Os pequenos agricultores são uns dos principais beneficiários devido à melhoria das condições sociais e ambientais, embora não sejam os únicos, uma vez que os benefícios vão além dos limites da sub-bacia, e acreditamos que os esforços para a preservação devem ser com¬par¬ti¬lha-dos pelos beneficiários indiretos, que no caso da sub-bacia do Ribeirão das Posses, seriam os usuários da água do Sistema Cantareira. A nossa sugestão para esta contribuição é de pelo menos 28% do Pagamento por Serviços Ambientais por área preservada. / Environmental and socioeconomic issues not always coexist in a reconciled manner, which may oppose biodiversity conservation, climate regulation, water quality and production, to other factors such as energy production, food and fiber, and job creation. In Brazil, the Forest Code prescribes the Permanent Preservation Areas in order to guarantee the maintenance of Environmental Services (ES), and the Payment for Environmental Services project (PES) are emerging as a way to reward the providers of ES, as Conservador das Águas project, the first Brazilian municipal initiative, underway in Extrema Municipality. Despite the efforts, there are few studies that quantify the economic benefits of ecosystem services essential for them to be part of decision-making process. The objective of this work was to quantify and assess the hydrological Environmental Services in the recovery of vegetation in Posses subbasin in Extrema, through environmental modeling. Using InVEST model (Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs) we simulated sediment and streamflow in a scenario before Conservador das Águas project (Pre-Project), after (Post-Project), another with no soil conservation practices (Anthropized), and others which prioritize reforestation of riparian areas (riparian reforestation) or in slopes (reforestation of steep areas). The Environmental Services were estimated based on the avoided cost of reducing water treatment and dredging (off-site costs) and erosion (on-site costs), as functions of the difference between scenarios, and they were compared to the Payment for Environmental Services and the opportunity cost, equivalent to the extensive livestock income. It was found that the roads contributed to 29% of the total soil loss in the subbasin, and barraginhas, one of the conservation practices adopted by the project, decreased sediment flow in the river mouth by 4%, and reforestation of native species by 5%. Together, the two practices contributed to a reduction in 9%. The reduction of sediments flow in Post-Project scenario in relation to Anthropized was of 40%. Riparian reforestation was more efficient in the reduction of sediment flow than the reforestation of steep areas, what caused greater reduction in the costs of water treatment and dredging. While a 5 m riparian reforestation reduced sediment flow by 23%, reforestation in steep areas with the same area of forest (areas with slope above 60%) reduced sediment flow by 2%. For a 30 m of riparian strip of reforestation, it was reduced by 50%. On the other hand, reforestation of steep areas was more efficient in reducing soil loss, and so it presented greater reduction in on-site costs by reducing the losses caused by erosion. Results showed the importance of projects such as the Conservador das Águas, not only in the improvement of environmental conditions, but mainly in the conservation of native forests. The main beneficiaries of these projects are small farmers by improving social and environmental conditions, but the benefits go beyond the subbasin boundaries, and we believe that efforts to preserve must be shared by indirect beneficiaries, which in the case of Posses subbasin are the users of water from the Cantareira System. Our suggestion for this contribution is at least 28% of Payment for Environmental Services by preserved area.

This thesis is based on two observations. First, that conventional buildings cause two major losses that involve non-human nature – the loss of native biodiversity and the loss of non-human nature experience for the buildings’ human inhabitants – and that these losses both contribute to a perceived separation between humans and the rest of nature. Second, that there appears to be a growing interest in connecting buildings with nature but there is little agreement on what it actually means to ‘design with nature’. As such, the purpose of this study is two-fold: (1) to describe the meaning of ‘designing with nature’ in current architectural practice and provide a working definition of nature-based design, and (2) to explore how this can be interpreted to encourage human connectedness with non-human nature, while addressing the two major losses mentioned above. It is thus an attempt to reframe the role of building as one that provides for all inhabitants of a site, both human and non. A framework was developed that captures and summarizes the dominant ways in which design draws on nature. The framework emphasizes the importance of using ecosystems not only as models, but foremost as context. The core concepts of the framework can thus be discussed from the perspective of buildings that act like an ecosystem and that interact with their ecosystem, and are described as: ecological sense of place, regenerative ability, ecosystem health, mutually beneficial relationships, context, appropriate management, functions, ecosystem principles, values, patterns, conditions, and adaptations. Although the concepts presented in the framework are themselves not new, the way in which they are organized does contribute a new perspective on the field of nature-based design. In addition to providing a graphic model that summarizes the essence of an evolving field, the research highlights the role of scale and place in linking building design, native biodiversity, nature experience and connectedness with nature. It thus acts as a backdrop on which to bring a discussion of ecological citizenship into the architectural dialogue. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate