The main objective of the present study is to examine whether decompositional evaluation methods are suitable tools for land use planning. To achieve this objective five aims are pursued, namely: (a) to characterise the evaluation problems inherent in land use planning; (b) to derive requisites to evaluation methods in the context of land use planning; (c) to figure out and compare methodological principles of existing evaluation methods; (d) to apply decompositional evaluation methods in projects (case studies) of land use planning; (e) to discuss, in the light of the results obtained under (a) to (d), to what extent decompositional evaluation methods are suitable tools for land use planning. Basically, evaluation methods of land use planning can be grouped into compositional and decompositional methods. Roughly speaking the difference is that in the case of compositional evaluation methods individual evaluation criteria are weighted separately whereas decompositional methods are characterized by a simultaneous evaluation of all criteria through global judgements on specified planning options. A critical comparison of the relevant evaluation methods shows that decompositional methods (Adaptive Conjoint-Analysis and Discrete Choice Experiments) are in many respects superior to compositional ones (Linear-additive model of Multi-Criteria Analysis and Outranking Methods). A major advantage lies in the fact that the decision making situation is more realistic. Compositional evaluation methods tend to be more appropriate for experts because they require the transformation of complex systems of indicators into scores. In contrast, decompositional methods seem to be more adequate for evaluations by a larger group of persons, because in this method the evaluation criteria are integrated into the evaluation process in a non-distorting way (with no transformation of different value dimensions into standardised scores). Based on the critical comparison of the evaluation procedures some hypotheses were formulated which were verified on the basis of two case studies ("Nature Conservation Planning in Bioshpere Reserves" and "Arrangement of Schemes for Contractual Nature Conservation"). All in all, decompositional evaluation methods can make a valuable contribution to decision making in land use planning. Most of the hypotheses formulated here concerning the suitability of these methods for the purposes of land use planning could be confirmed in a positive way. |