Cultural ecosystem services and decision-making: How researchers describe the applications of their work

Abstract

Cultural ecosystem services (CES) are some of the most difficult ecosystem services (ES) to characterize and connect to specific ecosystem processes. Given their connections to human emotion, deep meaning, fulfilment and motivation, they are also crucial for human well-being. Scholars have published hundreds of peer-reviewed articles addressing CES in myriad ways. In this systematic review, we analyse 232 peer-reviewed articles on CES and examine how these studies discuss the interaction between CES research and decision-making. We describe the primary ways that scholars have addressed the relationship between CES and decision-making, and we characterize each study with respect to how thoroughly its authors attend to the possible applications of their results. We find that 27% of papers discuss connections to decision-making in general terms, 28% discuss specific connections to decision-making, and the remainder mention decision-making links briefly or not at all. We also discuss patterns based on the particular CES studied (e.g. recreation, identity); methods used; change through time; and geographical location of authors and of study sites. We end with reflections on the current state of the interface between CES (and related concepts for approaching the non-material values associated with ecosystems) and decision-making, and we discuss future steps to increase connections between CES and decision-making. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.