Cultural Ecosystem Services: A Literature Review and Prospects for Future Research

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Cultural ecosystem services constitute a growing field of research that is characterized by an increasing number of publications from various academic disciplines. We conducted a semiquantitative review of publications explicitly dealing with cultural ecosystem services. Our aims were: (1) to provide an overview of the current state of research, (2) to classify the diversity of research approaches by identifying clusters of publications that address cultural ecosystem services in similar ways, and (3) to highlight some important challenges for the future of cultural ecosystem services research. We reviewed 107 publications and extracted 20 attributes describing their type and content, including methods, scales, drivers of change, and trade-offs between services. Using a cluster analysis on a subset of attributes we identified five groups of publications: Group 1, conceptual focus, deals with theoretical issues; Group 2, descriptive reviews, consists mostly of desktop studies; Group 3, localized outcomes, deals with case studies coming from different disciplines; Group 4, social and participatory, deals mainly with assessing preferences and perceptions; and Group 5, economic assessments, provides economic valuations. Emerging themes in cultural ecosystem services research relate to improving methods for cultural ecosystem services valuation, studying cultural ecosystem services in the context of ecosystem service bundles, and more clearly articulating policy implications. Based on our findings, we conclude that: (1) cultural ecosystem services are well placed as a tool to bridge gaps between different academic disciplines and research communities, (2) capitalizing on the societal relevance of cultural ecosystem services could help address real-world problems, and (3) cultural ecosystem services have the potential to foster new conceptual links between alternative logics relating to a variety of social and ecological issues.

The contribution of sense of place to social-ecological systems research: a review and research agenda

“…In particular, it has been used in the realm of cultural ecosystem services, which include intangible values that are difficult to measure (Butler andOluoch-Kosura 2006, Chan et al 2012), partly because of the subjective and place-based variation of cultural ecosystem services (e.g., Daniel et al 2012, Milcu et al 2013. Some of these challenges may be resolved through more systematic engagement with sense of place as an indicator of cultural ecosystem services.…”

Cultural Ecosystem Services: A Critical Assessment

“…58-9). 1 Over the last decade or so, more and more studies have involved the assessment of cultural ecosystem services (Milcu, Hanspach, Abson and Fischer, 2013). Furthermore, the very notion that ecosystems can provide such services has attracted a great deal of attention from conservation biologists, geographers, anthropologists and sociologists.…”

“…Chan, Satterfield and Goldstein, 2012, p. 14;TEEB, 2010, p. 11). In fact, of the eighty-four sources considered in one review of the literature on the topic, twenty-seven 'specifically argued against monetary valuation' of cultural ecosystem services (Milcu et al, 2013).…”

An approach to mapping the potential of cultural agroecosystem services

“…cr.usgs.gov) (Sherrouse et al 2011;Sherrouse & Semmens 2012) and secondly, the regional model RegMOD were applied. The latter was designed based on a review of indicators and methods used to map these services in the literature, and considering the characteristics of the study area and the information available (Maes et al 2011;Crossman et al 2013;Kandziora et al 2103a, b;Milcu et al 2013;Burkhard et al 2014), including the Methodological Framework for Integrated Assessment of Ecosystem Services in thetCzech Republic (Vačkár et al 2013). The adaptation of the SolVES model for use in agroecosystem was performed in two steps.…”