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Context Local scale assessments of ecosystem/landscape services in Africa are insufficient and lack relevance in landscape management. Also, few studies have explored the potential benefits of PGIS/PPGIS approaches for landscape management and stewardship among the participating stakeholders. Objectives Our aim is (1) to establish an understanding of the realization of landscape services at the local scale across three multifunctional rural landscapes in Tanzania through PGIS/PPGIS approaches and (2) to create an understanding of these approaches' potential to support participatory spatial planning. Methods Semi-structured surveys (n = 313) including participatory mapping of provisioning and cultural landscape services were organised to characterise their spatial patterns. The survey results were shared with the communities (n = 97) in workshops where services were ranked and the participants interviewed about their map-reading capacity, personal learning experiences, and their ability to use maps to express opinions. Results The most abundant landscape services are sites for social gatherings and cultivation. The spatial patterns of provisioning services are realizations of human benefits from the patterns of the biophysical landscape. Overall, cultural landscape services show clustering and small spatial extent (except aesthetics). The PGIS/PPGIS approach allows for local-level, spatially specific discussions between stakeholders. The visual power of maps and satellite images is particularly emphasised. Conclusion In the data-scarce context common in the Global South, the participatory mapping of landscape services has the potential to advance understanding of the benefits that the landscape has for the local communities and how this information, when mapped spatially, can be integrated with locallevel planning practices.

Spatially explicit, evidence-based and regionally contextualized data on biophysical landscape characteristics is an essential basis for regionally sustainable landscape management schemes. In many regions of the Global South, the availability of such information is poor, especially at the subnational level, and the spatial management is often based on generic and outdated information, leading to severe threats for land sustainability. We have developed a biophysical regionalization of the Southern Highlands area of Tanzania. The map is based on open-source global datasets depicting climate, soil, topography and vegetation. Through replicable statistical and geospatial analyses, we have identified 7 regions and 18 subsections with biophysically similar and spatially distinctive environmental conditions. The regions provide spatially contextualized support for understanding and managing the landscapes of the Southern Highlands. The applications for such data sets are numerous, from screening suitability areas for e.g. afforestation schemes to evaluating the distinctiveness and vulnerability of landscapes to degradation.

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The purpose of this field study was to identify and characterize land use systems at varied spatial hierarchies, and to differentiate soil properties along varied landscape positions. Key data about existing land use systems and soil properties were systematically collected in 12 sites. Topographic profiles across catchment and geomorphic units were identified to show the relation typical of a mountain ecosystem. We found statistically significant differences (p < .05) in soil properties along altitudinal gradients in 52% of the samples and also in land use and land cover distribution characteristics along the slope gradients. The most dominant soils were sandy loam on the hillslopes and clay loams at the footslopes; and most of the cultivated fields were located on slopes ranging from 0 to 17%. The livestock production system was based on a small constructed unit with a capacity to enable feed resources. Soil conservation practices that were evident among the study sites included the use of mulching, hedgerows, intercropping, fallowing, and minimum tillage. Deep empirical knowledge of this system will further advance our understanding on how a fragile ecosystem responds to both natural and human-caused change, and its associated impact on the surrounding environment.