Aesthetic value characterization of landscapes in coastal zones

Landscapes are essential for society, tourism industries and local communities. The development of tools capable to assess their environmental and socioeconomic importance are fundamental to preserve their aesthetic integrity, especially in coastal areas facing strong anthropogenic pressure. Online photo databases enable users to localize their images via GPS coordinates and share their photo albums with other users, constituting a powerful tool for (1) spatiotemporal investigation of visitor loads in recreational areas, (2) visitor flow definition and (3) aesthetic value characterization of natural and artificial landscape attributes undergone by visitors through shared images in the database. The research presents a framework for aesthetic value characterization in coastal zones using geotags from a webbased photosharing service named Panoramio as data source. A GIS tool for visitor hot spot detection in Lithuanian coastal areas was developed. At selected visitor hot spots, an expert based image content analysis was applied and indicators for the aesthetic value characterization were developed. In total over 63 visitor hot spots were detected along Lithuania´s mainland coast and the northern tip of the Curonian Spit. Around 73% of all hot spots cover landscapes in proximity of water bodies. Aesthetic values assessment in hot spots are determined by the variety of anthropogenic and natural landscape attributes in the coastal zone. We conclude that the application of webbased photosharing services and the modeling for aesthetic value characterization can serve for tourism activity planning such as scenic pathways identification, landscape attribute based trip advisory, assessment tool for landscapes changes due to intensive tourism activity and invasive construction projects.