Assessing the Ecosystem Service Value of Small-Scale Landscapes in Rural Tourism Destinations in the Yangtze River Delta

Xiaowen Jin, Sijie Lu, Yue Ji, Yuanzhao Qin and Guangming He ()
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Xiaowen Jin: College of Art & Design, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210003, China
Sijie Lu: College of Art & Design, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210003, China
Yue Ji: College of Art & Design, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210003, China
Yuanzhao Qin: College of Art & Design, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210003, China
Guangming He: Innovation Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-26

Abstract: The exploration of the ecosystem service value of rural tourism destinations and their driving factors is regarded as an important approach for promoting the high-quality development of rural tourism and achieving rural revitalization. At present, both industry and academia lack quantitative analyses and integrated optimization approaches for small-scale landscape elements within the context of rural tourism destinations. An examination of rural ecosystem service values from a small-scale perspective can assist rural areas in precisely enhancing ecological functions, advancing rural landscape construction, and fostering high-quality rural development. Six sample sites within rural tourism areas in the Yangtze River Delta region were selected, and the functional value method, willingness-to-pay method, and binary logistic regression model were comprehensively applied to assess ecosystem service values and their influencing factors. The results indicate that: (1) Significant differences exist in ecosystem service values across small-scale rural landscapes, primarily attributable to variations in cultural service values, which constitute the dominant component of the overall value. (2) Cultural service values are manifested in tourists’ willingness to pay, which is closely associated with the configuration types of rural small-scale landscapes. (3) Tourists’ willingness to pay is primarily influenced by their cognition of cultural services and by psychological perception factors. According to the regression results, perceived importance of cultural service protection, concerns regarding damage, levels of tourist satisfaction, and willingness to revisit exert significant negative effects on willingness to pay. (4) High-demand tourism motives exhibit only a weak correlation with willingness to pay. (5) Low-demand motivations significantly suppress willingness to pay. The conclusions serve as a reference for the quantification of small-scale rural landscape values and the examination of mechanisms underlying their multiple influencing factors, as well as for the optimization of rural landscape planning, design, and sustainable management practices.

Keywords: ecosystem service value; value assessment; cultural services value; rural landscape; small-scale landscape; Yangtze River Delta region (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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