Local Biodiversity Supports Cultural Ecosystem Services in the Pantanal

• Published in: Wetlands (Wilmington, N.C.) N.C.), 2022-10, Vol.42 (7), p.69, Article 69
• Main Authors: Almeida-Gomes, Mauricio, de Oliveira Roque, Fabio, Garcia, Letícia Couto, Ganci, Carolina Cunha, Pacheco, Eduardo Oliveira, Sano, Nayara Yoshie, de Almeida, Ana Claudia, Bolzan, Fábio, Schirpke, Uta
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accommodation; Biodiversity; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Coastal Sciences; Cultural heritage; Cultural values; Ecology; Economic activity; Economic conditions; Ecosystem services; Ecosystem Services of Wetlands; Ecosystems; Ecotourism; Environmental economics; Environmental Management; Fish; Flowers & plants; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Hydrogeology; Hydrology; Information services; Landscape Ecology; Life Sciences; Names; Reptiles & amphibians; Screening; Species; Sustainable development; Tourism; Tourists; Trends; Vertebrates; Websites; Wetlands; Wildlife conservation
• ISSN: 0277-5212; 1943-6246
• DOI: 10.1007/s13157-022-01579-x

The role of local biodiversity to cultural ecosystem services (CES) has been increasingly recognized. Yet, it is still unclear how local species can represent multiple CES in the same area for different people. We comprehensively evaluated the role of local biodiversity to the provision of multiple CES in the Pantanal, the largest continuous wetland in the world. First, we assessed the use of names of local species by screening and mapping tourist accommodations and rural properties names. Second, we evaluated the tourist demand for species by screening tourist accommodation websites. Finally, we assessed differences between demand and supply using two questionnaires. While mammals and birds were more common in the names of tourist accommodations, plants were more frequent in the names of rural properties. We did not record a significant correlation between the number of records on tourist accommodation websites and the mean research interest from Google Trends (considering all species, terrestrial vertebrates, or fish). Finally, we found a mismatch between demand and supply for terrestrial vertebrates, while we found a significant and positive correlation between demand and supply for fish. Our findings emphasize the importance of Pantanal biodiversity for different CES, such as tourism and recreation, which may support biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. The use of species names varied according to the economic activity (tourism or agriculture), a novel finding for the Pantanal. Future studies should focus on the role of local biodiversity for others CES, such as spiritual and inspirational values, as well as indigenous culture. Resumo. O papel da biodiversidade local para os serviços ecossistêmicos culturais (SEC) tem sido cada vez mais reconhecido. No entanto, ainda não está claro como as espécies locais podem representar vários SEC na mesma área para diferentes pessoas. Neste estudo, avaliamos de forma abrangente o papel da biodiversidade local para o fornecimento de múltiplos SEC no Pantanal, a maior área úmida contínua do mundo. Primeiramente, avaliamos o uso de nomes de espécies locais por meio da triagem e mapeamento de nomes de acomodações turísticas e propriedades rurais. Em segundo lugar, avaliamos a demanda turística por espécies por meio da checagem de sites de acomodações turísticas. Finalmente, avaliamos as diferenças entre demanda e oferta usando dois questionários. Enquanto os mamíferos e as aves foram mais comuns nos n