Spatial patterns of cultural ecosystem services and their associated landscape factors in a coastal wetland park: A case study of Minjiang River estuary Wetland Park, China

Cultural ecosystem services (CES) are an important link between ecological conservation and human well-being. However, their identification and quantification are often constrained by insufficient attention to local cultural contexts and limited understanding of associated landscape factors, which restricts the development of targeted site management strategies. Using the Fujian Changle Minjiang River Estuary National Wetland Park as a case study, this study integrated social media texts, on-site questionnaire data, and field-measured landscape data to develop a localized CES assessment framework and to identify the spatial distribution and associated landscape factors of CES. Evaluation indicators were derived through text mining and semantic mapping, and factor analysis was used to identify CES dimensions. Kernel density estimation, correlation analysis, one-way ANOVA, and stepwise regression were then applied for integrated analysis. The results showed that: Bi et al. (2024) ( Bi et al., 2024 ) CES in the study area comprised five dimensions, namely physical and mental restoration, sense of identity, capacity enhancement, connection to nature and inspiration, and spiritual significance; Busch et al. (2024) ( Busch et al., 2024 ) waterbody type and bird activity were significantly associated with differences in the overall CES score, whereas resting facilities showed significant associations only with specific dimensions; and ( Calcagni et al., 2022 ( Calcagni et al., 2022 )) waterbody type, spatial type, and shaded area jointly explained 36.0% of the variance in total CES scores; and ( Cao et al., 2022 ( Cao et al., 2022 )) sea water scene, spatial type, and shaded area formed the main direct statistical associations with CES perception. These findings indicate that CES in the Minjiang River Estuary Wetland Park arise from the combined influences of ecological elements, spatial organization, and local cultural practices. This study provides case-based evidence for understanding the perception and spatial variation of CES in the Minjiang River Estuary Wetland Park, and offers references for cultural resource conservation, public space optimization, and refined management in similar coastal wetland parks.