Understanding Cultural Ecosystem Services of Wetlandscapes: Insights from Central Italy

Wetlandscapes are fundamental social-ecological systems that provide a wide range of provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting ecosystem services. While the ecosystem services of provisioning and regulation of hydrological and biological functions have been the main focus of scientific investigation, wetlandscape cultural ecosystem services (WCES) are comparatively underexplored, despite their central role in shaping human–wetland(scapes) relationships, collective memory, and long-term conservation commitment. Understanding how wetlandscapes are perceived and valued by local communities is essential to reveal the societal foundations of stewardship and sustainable socio-ecological relations.

This contribution presents a participatory approach to the assessment of WCES developed within the wetlandscape composed of the Padule di Fucecchio, the largest inland wetland in Italy, and Lake Sibolla, one of the southernmost peatlands in the world, both located in Tuscany, involving stakeholders from the municipality, recreational centers, farms, the private sector, etc.

We develop a framework to elicit a shared, community-based vision of the wetlandscape, integrating place-based values, narratives, and relational dimensions with more conventional eco-hydrological representations. We find that although hydrologically and ecologically connected, these wetlands are characterized by complex histories, functions, and cultural meanings. They demonstrate how connectivity and integration can support both ecological and social benefits, providing a unique opportunity to explore how diverse social perceptions and values coexist within a single wetlandscape. This approach allows us  to expand the conceptual boundaries of wetlandscapes beyond purely biophysical definitions, framing them as dynamic socio-ecological systems shaped by reciprocal interactions between water, ecosystems, and society with implications for wetland management and conservation.

Acknowledgements

The project DOWES has received funding from The Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (Sweden), the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (France), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (United Kingdom), Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca (Italy), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas (FAPEAM/Brazil), Secretaria de Estado de Desenvolvimento Econômico, Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (SEDECTI/Brazil) and the Amazonas State Government (Brazil)— call N. 026/2023 WATER4ALL 2023, and the European Union’s Horizon Europe Programme under the 2023 Joint Transnational Call of the European Partnership Water4All (Grant Agreement n°101060874).