Evaluating Spatial Distribution of Cultural Ecosystem Services (CESs) Based on Rural Landscape Characteristics

Abstract

Cultural ecosystem service (CES) assessment is essential for comprehensively understanding and evaluating ecosystem services. Optimizing the spatial zoning of CESs can provide more targeted information for ecosystem management. By identifying the typical landscape characteristics of different CESs, rural landscape value can be more effectively recognized. This study constructed a set of rural landscape characteristics indicators, identified the typical characteristics of different CESs based on public preferences, mapped their spatial distributions using the Maxent model, and applied K-means clustering analysis to optimize the spatial zoning in rural Huzhou. The results show that the four CESs categories are associated with different rural landscape characteristics. The spatial distributions of the CESs showed substantial overlap and were mainly concentrated in southern Anji County, around the Moganshan Scenic Area, and along the shoreline of Lake Taihu. Five types of rural landscapes were identified based on spatial distribution of the CESs. This study provides a reference for identifying the landscape value of CESs in rural areas and supports the incorporation of CES assessment into rural landscape management decision-making.