Visitor perceptions and motivations as drivers of cultural ecosystem services in urban forests : A case study from Helsinki, Finland
Wang, Yuan (University of Helsinki. Department of Environmental Sciences)
Vierikko, Kati Hannele (Finnish Environment Institute (Helsinki, Finlàndia))
Langemeyer, Johannes (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Lehtimäki, Jenni (Finnish Environment Institute (Helsinki, Finlàndia))
Johan Kotze, D. (University of Helsinki. Department of Environmental Sciences)
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Ciències de la Computació

Date:	2026
Abstract:	Cultural Ecosystem Services are gaining increasing attention as motivators for nature conservation and environmental stewardship. However, most assessments focus on tangible, easily measured aspects such as recreation, while more intangible CES-like inspiration, spirituality, or sense of place-and their underlying drivers remain poorly understood. This study examined an array of biophysical and social factors as determinants for CES along a gradient of tangibility. We used a semi-natural ecosystem-urban forest-as a case to study this question. We surveyed urban forest visitors (n = 241) in the city of Helsinki, Finland to assess CES. We compared the performance of ecosystem features, landscape features, and forest visitors' demographics, nature-orientation, perception on ecosystem features, and visiting motivation in explaining interlinkages between CES of different tangibility. Visitor perceptions of ecosystem features and nature-orientation emerged as key explanatory factors of intangible CES, while visiting motivations were more strongly associated with tangible CES such as physical health and recreation. These findings underscore the need to integrate individual human-nature relationships-including sensitivities, preferences, and habitual engagements-into CES assessment. Practically, we suggest that activating both short-term demands and long-term affinities towards nature may enhance the diverse benefits urban nature can provide.
Grants:	European Commission 101139598 European Commission 101116435
Note:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2024-001506-M
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	CES modelling ; Motivation ; Multiple CES ; Perception ; Satisfaction ; Urban forests ; SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
Published in:	Ecosystem services, Vol. 78 (April 2026) , art. 101817, ISSN 2212-0416

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2026.101817

11 p, 3.6 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles