Integrating perceptions of ecosystem services in adaptive management of country parks: A case study in peri-urban Shanghai, China

As a type of peri-urban green space with natural environments and countryside features, country parks provide numerous ecosystem services (ES) for human beings. In China, the multifunctional characteristics and diverse social groups related to the country park construction in the context of urbanization indicate that these ES need to be managed in the social dimension through adaptive decision-making. However, little work has focused on the perceptions of ES for country park management. In this study, we developed a three-step research framework aiming to integrate ES perceptions in adaptive country park management. We carried out face-to-face photo-elicitation questionnaire surveys (n = 229) in a country park pilot in Shanghai to analyze the perceptions of ES by park users. Multiple analytical methods, including statistical analyses, importance-performance analysis, and ES indexes, were applied to reveal the linkages among perceived ES, users’ characteristics, and specific landscape features. Our results showed that water and air quality maintenance, aesthetic, habitat, and physical and mental health, were perceived as the most important, highest performance, and highest priority ES. Users’ education level and their self-reported knowledge about the country park were the two most important variables that explained perceived ES. Perceptions of user groups differed along the distance of the place of residence from the study area, with locals assigning high priorities to provisioning ES and cognitive cultural ES and more distant visitors assigning high priority to education. Semi-natural landscape features, such as lakes and rivers, marsh, swamp forest, and lotus ponds, were perceived as providing the most ES. We further communicated and discussed the results with managers and experts, and provided insights for the next stage of management. We argue that adaptive management should be woven toward environmental justice by understanding the diverse perspectives and views of users on ES.