Recreational and Nature-Based Tourism as a Cultural Ecosystem Service. Assessment and Mapping in a Rural-Urban Gradient of Central Spain

Cecilia Arnaiz-Schmitz, Cristina Herrero-Jáuregui and María F. Schmitz
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Cecilia Arnaiz-Schmitz: Department of Civil Engineering, Transport, Territory and Urbanism, Higher Technical School of Engineering of Roads, Channels and Ports, Polytechnic University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Cristina Herrero-Jáuregui: Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
María F. Schmitz: Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 4, 1-19

Abstract: Land management focused from the social-ecological perspective of ecosystem services should consider cultural services in decision-making processes. Nature-based tourism offers a great potential for landscape conservation, local development and the well-being of human populations. However, the subjectivity of recreational ecosystem services has meant a clear impediment to assessing and mapping them. In this study, an integrated numerical spatial method is developed, which quantifies the supply and demand of recreational ecosystem services and allows mapping their spatial correspondence along a rural-urban gradient. The procedure also allows quantifying the influence of the landscape structure and the presence of protected areas on the degree of coupling between supply of recreational ecosystem services and demand for outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism and reveals that protected areas are hotspots of recreational ecosystem services. The results obtained highlight the usefulness of the methodological procedure developed as a tool for sustainable land planning and management from an integrative social-ecological approach.

Keywords: social-ecological systems; recreational ecosystem service hotspots; sustainable land planning and management; landscape structure; protected area effectiveness; supply-demand coupling; nature-based tourists; participatory planning procedures; local population well-being (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:10:y:2021:i:4:p:343-:d:526451

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