Perceived Economic Values of Cultural Ecosystem Services in Green and Blue Spaces of 98 Urban Wetland Parks in Jiangxi, China

Abstract

Cultural ecosystem services (CES) of urban wetland parks (UWPs) can be priced according to monetary values. Urban green and blue spaces (UGS and UBS, respectively) provide stands of nature in UWPs, wherein visitors’ emotions related to the enjoyment of CES values can be assessed through analyzing the facial expressions of visitors. In this study, a total of 98 UWPs were selected as study stands in Jiangxi, where a total of 1749 photographs showing facial expressions were obtained from Sina Weibo for local visitors experiencing UGS and UBS in 2021. The CES of UBS were evaluated at a widely used price of USD 881 ha−1 yr−1, and those of UGS were evaluated at USD 1583 ha−1 yr−1. The averaged CES values were estimated to be USD 941.26 and 39.54 thousand yr−1 for UGS and UBS per UWP in Jiangxi, respectively. The large number of UGS in an UWP had no relationship with the examined facial expressions; however, areas of UBS and, accordingly, the CES values therein, can both be perceived and exposed as positive emotions. CES in UBS only accounted for lower than 5% of that in a UWP, whereas those in UGS together explained over 95%. Overall, people smiled more when perceiving the values of services in UBS of UWPs than when experiencing UGS.