Evaluation and mapping of cultural ecosystem service for cultural landscape corridor planning by PPGIS of residents: a case of Silk Road

Cultural landscape corridors connect segregated landscape patches and points, linking the sites and areas with historical, cultural, natural and recreational values, promoting cultural communication and diversity between people from religions, providing access for public transportation and recreational activity, improving residential environmental and social wellbeing(Chetkiewicz et al., 2006; Pasini, 2013; Shishmanova, 2015). It provides multiple ecosystem services that benefit human and presents various human activities.
Thus, engaging the knowledge and value of local residents is important for the further landscape scenario planning and decision making of cultural landscape corridors.
Unfortunately, as a systematical function, cultural ecosystem services have been rarely considered neither in assessments resulting in ecosystem management for landscape planning process, despite some isolated cases of cultural ecosystem services( heritage conservation etc.) are considered (Meini et al., 2014).
In this paper, we perform a spatially mapping and evaluation of cultural ecosystem services through PPGIS by residents who are living in an area along a part of cultural route of Silk Road in Western China. The case study is used to explore future options and public involvement on a cultural landscape corridor plan along the cultural route. The study includes several workshops with stakeholders and representatives from planning and administration along the cultural route. Interviews and group discussions are carried out with the stakeholders. And public participatory (PPGIS) provides a participatory approach for local residents to investigate spatial cognition for ecosystem services evaluation and landscape decision-making process(Brown and Reed, 2009). The outcome is based on a mapping practice and survey with 80 stakeholders in 3 towns along the cultural route by PPGIS.
The results highlight the diversity of cultural ecosystem service which is closely related to their local daily life in the local multifunctional area. Cultural tourism value and aesthetic values of landscape and landmarks are those receive most attentions among cultural ecosystem services mentioned in surveys. The study emphasized the particular pattern of perception and cognition of local residents grouped in different background, resulting the hotspots pattern of various cultural ecosystem services which is closely related to local landscape characteristics through correlation analysis.
This paper illustrates that evaluation and mapping of cultural ecosystem service should become a vital process inspiring cultural landscape corridor planning, management, and conservation, impacting scenario planning and strategy making for local landscape conservation and sustainable development.