Do both habitat and species diversity provide cultural ecosystem services? A trial using geo-tagged photos

Takeshi Osawa,Jun Nishihiro,Takaaki Nishida,Yusuke Ueno

doi:10.3897/natureconservation.38.36166

Abstract

Conservation for both biodiversity and ecosystem services are an important issue worldwide. However, knowledge of their relationship remains limited. As habitat structure is strongly related to regional biodiversity, we studied cultural ecosystem services by using habitat structure as a proxy for biodiversity. Specifically, we used human preference, assessed by using photos with location information (i.e. geo-tagged digital pictures) as an index of a cultural ecosystem service. We conducted nature walks in semi-natural environments for cognitively-impaired students from a local special school and studied the photos they took during the walks. We analysed the habitat preferences inferred from the photo locations and the composition of the photos—whether they were close-up, scenic or landscape views. The results showed that levels of human preference and biodiversity, indicated by habitat structure, had a positive relationship. During spring to autumn, when levels of biological activity are higher, people tended to show more preference in close-up views (i.e. the subject of the photo was the species itself). In winter, they tended to be interested in scenic views that were not strongly influenced by species diversity. Additionally, photos taken in areas with threatened species almost always included close-up views, although not of the threatened species themselves. Areas with high species diversity therefore appeared to be more appealing to the participants. These results suggest that habitat diversity could not only contribute to biodiversity, but also provide cultural ecosystem services. Habitat conservation for semi-natural environments could be synergised for both biodiversity conservation and general human well-being.

Highlights

Ecosystem services which provide benefits to people from ecosystems are important to human societies and to economies (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005; Mace et al 2012)
Approaches that could integrate such diverse motivations should be a central theme in practical conservation planning. In this context, illustrating the key role of biodiversity as a provider of general human well-being through ecosystem services is a good solution to mainstream the concept of biodiversity conservation
Our results suggest that each habitat could contribute its own species groups, so human interests and species diversity could be matched

Summary

Introduction

Ecosystem services which provide benefits to people from ecosystems are important to human societies and to economies (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005; Mace et al 2012). Setting conservation goals amongst such varied stakeholders is difficult because of their diverse motivations and/or preferences (Martin-López et al 2012; Van Berkel and Verburg 2014; Garrido et al 2017). This difficulty acts as a barrier to promoting biodiversity conservation activities by society as a whole, that is, activities that internalise the social–ecological systems. Approaches that could integrate such diverse motivations should be a central theme in practical conservation planning In this context, illustrating the key role of biodiversity as a provider of general human well-being through ecosystem services is a good solution to mainstream the concept of biodiversity conservation. An understanding of the relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem services remains limited (Cardinale et al 2012; Balvanera et al 2014; Boerema et al 2017; Schwarz et al 2017)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion