Sustainable landscape management based on cultural ecosystem services

Assessing, mapping, and quantifying cultural ecosystem services at community level

As human populations continue to grow, there is increasing demand to manage landscapes to increase the provisioning of multiple ecosystem services. However, this is challenging due to the negative (trade-off) and positive (synergistic) relationships that often exists among services. Understanding where and why these relationships occur should facilitate the implementation of better policies and strategies that can effectively manage multiple services simultaneously. However, our current understanding of what drives ecosystem service relationships, and the consequences for managing ecosystem services, remains limited. In this thesis, I address this by demonstrating the importance of understanding the drivers behind ecosystem service provision and the resulting trade-offs and synergies, and then apply this understanding to manage complex landscapes for multiple ecosystem services.In chapter 1, I discuss the conceptual theory behind ecosystem service relationships and how this information could be used to effectively manage multiple ecosystem services. I then outline the steps I undertake in this thesis to demonstrate this. I then conduct a literature review in chapter 2 to determine how the drivers of ecosystem service relationships, and the mechanisms linking these drivers to ecosystem service outcomes, are currently being investigated in assessments of ecosystem service synergies and trade-offs. I find that the majority of assessments of ecosystem service relationships do not explicitly identifying the drivers of these relationships. This is strongly related to the methods used to identify the trade-offs and synergies, with the less commonly used process-based approaches better equipped to explicitly identify the drivers underpinning ecosystem service relationships.I then develop models to identify the drivers underpinning the provisioning of multiple cultural ecosystem services in urban public greenspace, using the urban parks network of Brisbane, Australia, as a case study in chapter 3. Using data derived from a social survey and remotely sensed data, I demonstrate that the use of public parks for four cultural services (opportunities for physical exercise, nature interactions, relaxation and social interactions) are associated with spatial, environmental and facility characteristics of urban parks. However, physical exercise and social interactions are also driven by the socio-demographic characteristics of the people visiting the parks to receive these services. These results suggest that by introducing management actions that target specific variables within urban parks it may be possible to facilitate the provision of multiple cultural ecosystem services simultaneously.I then build upon the findings of chapter 3 to assess the implications of ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies on the management of multiple ecosystem services across the Brisbane parks network in chapters 4 and 5. In chapter 4, I conduct a scenario analysis to identify the trade-offs and synergies among the cultural ecosystem services identified in chapter 3 and carbon storage, and how these relationships vary under different revegetation management strategies commonly implemented in urban parks. I find that the relationships among the ecosystem services depend on the type of revegetation management strategy considered. This indicates that careful consideration of relationships among services could ensure the implementation of strategies that minimise trade-offs among services. In chapter 5 I use this underlying model to identify the optimal spatial allocation of multiple management actions to achieve targeted increases in the provision of carbon storage and the same set of cultural services across the Brisbane park network. I also consider the consequences of considering social equity in ecosystem service access and management and compare socially equitable and inequitable optimal solutions. I find that implementing strategies that consist of multiple management actions achieve greater increases in multiple ecosystem services. Furthermore, I find that accounting for social equity restricts the extent to which ecosystem service can be increased to, while also increasing management costs.Finally, in chapter 6 I synthesise the main findings of the previous chapters, and discuss the contributions of this thesis to the literature and future research directions. Currently, few studies explicitly identify the drivers of ecosystem service relationships, but this thesis demonstrates that considering drivers is vital to managing multiple ecosystem services effectively. Although this can be challenging, explicitly incorporating these drivers into assessments of ecosystem service relationships can ensure more effective management of multiple ecosystem services across landscapes. Ideally, to improve the management of multiple ecosystem services simultaneously, future research should focus on working towards more causally-explicit approaches to identify ecosystem service relationships, and on incorporating social equity into ecosystem service management strategies.

Analysis of cultural ecosystem services using text mining of residents’ opinions

Using social media photos to explore the relation between cultural ecosystem services and landscape features across five European sites

Lake related greenspace provides many benefits to residents and visitors, which often get unnoticed. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Project (2005) proposed the valuation of ecosystem services, defined as regulatory, provisional, ecosystem support, providing cultural services from natural resources, free of charge. The challenge here is: How can we use cultural ecosystem services derived from scenic landscapes for Greenspace management and assessment? Cultural ecosystem services received international recognition as part of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Project (2005). Also, ecosystems services encompass regulatory, provisional and ecosystem support. For this article, we are particularly concerned with cultural services, which include recreation, science and education, spiritual/historical as well as aesthetic functions. De Groot (2002) and Farber (2006) provided descriptions of cultural Ecosystem services. De Groot (2002) describes Information functions as comprising of; aesthetic information, recreation, cultural-artistic information and spiritual/historical information. Farber (2005) description of cultural services includes; aesthetic, recreation, science/education, and spiritual/historical functions. This article examines the existing literature with the objective of assessing ecosystem cultural services related to water-based scenic landscape resources and applies it to an Upstate New York lake landscape. Careful accounting of greenspace ecosystem services is presented as applied to lakeshore residents, village residents and town/watershed residents and other lake greenspace users utilizing the US Environmental Protection Agency’s user benefit calculations to yield over 10.6 million dollars of benefits per year (Smardon 2018).

Assessing spatial differences of perceptions of cultural ecosystem services for coastal cultural landscape management: A case study from rural and urban areas in Quanzhou, China.

Mapping and analysing cultural ecosystem services in conflict areas

Lake related greenspace provides many benefits to residents and visitors, which often get unnoticed. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Project (2005) proposed the valuation of ecosystem services, defined as regulatory, provisional, ecosystem support, providing cultural services from natural resources, free of charge. The challenge here is: How can we use cultural ecosystem services derived from scenic landscapes for Greenspace management and assessment? Cultural ecosystem services received international recognition as part of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Project (2005). Also, ecosystems services encompass regulatory, provisional and ecosystem support. For this article, we are particularly concerned with cultural services, which include recreation, science and education, spiritual/historical as well as aesthetic functions. De Groot (2002) and Farber (2006) provided descriptions of cultural Ecosystem services. De Groot (2002) describes Information functions as comprising of; aesthetic information, recreation, cultural-artistic information and spiritual/historical information. Farber (2005) description of cultural services includes; aesthetic, recreation, science/education, and spiritual/historical functions. This article examines the existing literature with the objective of assessing ecosystem cultural services related to water-based scenic landscape resources and applies it to an Upstate New York lake landscape. Careful accounting of greenspace ecosystem services is presented as applied to lakeshore residents, village residents and town/watershed residents and other lake greenspace users utilizing the US Environmental Protection Agency’s user benefit calculations to yield over 10.6 million dollars of benefits per year (Smardon 2018).

Understanding the dynamics and factors affecting cultural ecosystem services during urbanization through spatial pattern analysis and a mixed-methods approach

Background Research suggests that access to urban green spaces (UGS) is crucial to support public and environmental health through ecosystem services (ES) provision. However, Cultural ecosystem services (CES), due to their connections to human emotion, a deep meaning, fulfilment, and motivation, have been less studied. CES provision in UGS are central to well-being, contributing to improving mental and physical health outcomes, as well as enhancing social cohesion. Accordingly, this systematic review aims to contribute to a better understanding of CES provision by UGS. Methods A systematic review was carried out in ScienceDirect (Article type = Research articles, years = 2000–2020), PubMed (Article type = journal article, text availability = Full text, year = 2000–2020) and Google Scholar (year = 2000–2020) databases. The keywords used in the search were: ‘urban green space’ OR ‘parks’ AND ‘cultural ecosystem service’ OR ‘cultural services’. Results The search returned 5417 results. After the screening process, 41 articles were reviewed. CES are mainly studied in Europe in the fields of social sciences and landscape management, linking human well-being, urban landscape management, and planning. The dimensions studied are (i) perception and assessment, (ii) recreation and mental and physical health, (iii) aesthetic appreciation/inspiration for culture, art, and design, (iv) tourism, and (v) spiritual experience and sense of place. Conclusions The study points out to the need for efforts to develop relational approaches to help understand what UGS users feel and experience. In particular, how UGS contribute towards promoting healthier and sustainable cities, and to fostering the well-being of people of all ages.

Coastal systems provide many cultural ecosystem services (CES) to humans. Fewer studies have focused solely on CES, while those comparing CES across countries are even rarer. In the case of shellfish, considerable ecosystem services focus has been placed on nutrient remediation, with relatively little on the cultural services provided, despite strong historical, cultural, social and economic links between shellfish and coastal communities. The ecosystem services provided by the common cockle, Cerastoderma edule, have recently been described, yet the cultural benefits from cockles remain mostly unknown. Here, we documented the CES provided by C. edule in five maritime countries along the Atlantic coast of western Europe, classifying evidenced examples of services into an a priori framework. The high‐level classes, adapted from the Millennium Assessment and the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services, were: inspirational, sense of place, spiritual & religious, aesthetic, recreation & ecotourism, cultural heritage and educational. A further 19 sub‐classes were defined. We followed a narrative approach to draw out commonalities and differences among countries using a semi‐quantitative analysis. Examples of CES provided by cockles were found for all classes in most countries. Cockles supply important and diverse cultural benefits to humans across Atlantic Europe, making it an ideal model species to study CES in coastal areas. Most examples were in cultural heritage, highlighting the importance of this class in comparison with classes which typically receive more attention in the literature like recreation or aesthetics. We also found that the cultural associations with cockles differed among countries, including between neighbouring countries that share a strong maritime heritage. The extent to which cultural associations were linked with the present or past also differed among countries, with stronger association with the present in southern countries and with the past in the north. Understanding the wider benefits of cockles could deepen the recognition of this important coastal resource, and contribute to promoting sustainable management practices, through greater engagement with local communities. This study is an important step towards better integration of CES in coastal environments and could be used as a framework to study the CES of other species or ecosystems. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Assessment and prioritization of cultural ecosystem services in the Sahara-Sahelian region.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the demand for cultural ecosystem services in urban forests based on user perception and experience value by using Naver blog posts and LDA topic modeling. Bukhansan National Park was used to analyze and review the feasibility of spatial assessments. Based on the results of topic modeling from blog posts, a review process was conducted considering the relevance of Bukhansan National Park’s cultural services and its suitability as a spatial assessment case, and finally, an index for the spatial assessment of urban forest’s cultural service was derived. Specifically, 21 topics derived through topic analysis were interpreted, and 13 topics related to cultural ecosystem services were derived based on the MA(Millennium Ecosystem Assessment)’s classification system for ecosystem services. 72.7% of all documents reviewed had data deemed useful for this study. The contents of the topic fell into one of the seven types of cultural services related to "mountainous recreation activities" (23.7%), "indirect use value linked to tourism and convenience facilities" (12.4%), "inspirational activities" (11.2%), "seasonal recreation activities" (6.2%), "natural appreciation and static recreation activities" (3.7%). Next, for the 13 cultural service topics derived from data gathered about Bukhansan National Park, the possibility of spatial assessment of the characteristics of cultural ecosystem services provided by urban forests was reviewed, and a total of 8 cultural service indicators were derived. The MA’s cultural service classification system for ecosystem services, which was widely used in previous studies, has limitations in that it does not reflect the actual user demand of urban forests, but it is meaningful in that it categorizes cultural service indicators suitable for domestic circumstances. In addition, the study is significant as it presented a methodology to interpret and derive the demand for cultural services using a large amount of user awareness and experience data.

Urban parks are the primary green infrastructure for urban residents to pursue psychological restoration, promote health, relax and connect with nature. The various cultural ecosystem services (CES) provided by urban parks directly impact people’s health and well-being. Understanding the correlation between CES provided by urban parks and the different characteristics of specific groups can promote public willingness to engage with the nature and their health and well-being, and the effective information provided by CES can be used to protect and improve specific or traditional areas of parks. This study focuses on two urban parks (People’s Park and Xiliu Lake Park) located in the central urban area of Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China. A questionnaire survey and participatory mapping methods were employed to explore the priority for 10 types of CES among both local residents and visitors, aiming to reveal the public demand for CES in urban parks and provide a basis for the landscape design or renovation of urban parks. The results show that (1) the main purposes for the public visiting the parks are mental relaxation, scenery appreciation, and leisure and fitness. (2) The public has a rich perception of various types of CES in the urban parks, especially in terms of entertainment and aesthetic value. (3) The impact of education level on cultural services was substantial. (4) The trade-offs and synergies of CES of urban parks are complex and diverse. (5) The public’s perception of urban park CES and spatial value tend to be similar, with a wide distribution. Therefore, to maintain urban sustainable development, urban managers and landscape designers should consider different perspectives on CES provided by urban park stakeholders and enhance their CES through landscape design and renovation practices in urban parks, thereby improving the health and well-being of the public.

The effects of urban greenspace characteristics and socio-demographics vary among cultural ecosystem services