Assessing and Mapping Recreation Value As an Ecosystem Service in Central Part of Esfahan Province, Iran

Cultural ecosystem services, despite the conceptual and methodological difficulties linked to their evaluation, have received much attention in the scientific literature. We applied a participatory GIS approach for mapping and assessing recreational value for cultural ecosystem services in the central part of Esfahan Province, Iran. Firstly, the objectives of the study were determined, which included a variety of recreational activities. Then, criteria were defined based on these objectives, including slope, land-use types, distances from human infrastructure, and distances from natural and cultural attractions. In the next step, the criteria were standardized and weighted, applying the fuzzy procedure and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP), respectively. After that, the criteria were combined, and eventually, the map of each activity was prepared. Finally, recreational activity maps were used to assign the recreational value of the study area. This was done using a multi-criteria evaluation method. The results showed around 197 km2 of the study area has a high value for recreation, and about 524 km2 has the lowest recreational value, while the highest recreational value was related to walking. The suggested approach can be applied to support landscape planning, recognize areas most demanded by the community, and spatially determine the quantity of recreational value to corroborate political plans.