Cultural Ecosystem Services in an Urban Forest: Insights from Instagram Data on Tijuca National Park, Brazil

The appreciation of natural areas has become an increasingly relevant. In regions such as the Atlantic Forest biome, which is home to more than 70% of the Brazilian population, protected areas play a fundamental role in providing Ecosystem Services (ES), including those in the cultural category (CES). However, since these values ​are shaped by subjective and relational aspects, their measurement is challenging and requires alternative methods. In this context, social media offers an alternative way to observe how people relate to nature through their own narratives, preferences and visual expressions.

This research investigates how Instagram users perceive and express the cultural values ​​associated with Tijuca National Park, one of the largest urban forests in the world, located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We analyzed about 56,000 public posts tagged #parquenacionaldatijuca", where a sample was selected and processed using the Google Cloud Vision tool, which identifies different elements present in images. This process produced over two thousand labels, later organized into categories of landscapes and human activities.

The results show that, although 79% of the images include people, something expected on a platform shaped by self-representation, it is the landscape elements that stand out the most. Even with people in the frame, nature dominates the scene, suggesting that aesthetic attributes play a central role in visitors’ representations of the park.

The spatial distributions and profiles of the users who published the images were also analyzed. They showed a concentration of images at tourist sites such as Corcovado, Pedra da Gávea, and Pedra Bonita, shared more frequently by tour guides, influencers, and professional photographers. Posts often highlight recreational and wellness activities, which emphasize the relational dimension of cultural ecosystem services, especially identity, pleasure and emotional connections to the park.

By identifying the indicators of cultural ecosystem services and the areas where their perception is most pronounced, this research shows how social media can support more inclusive management of protected natural areas, especially those located in urban contexts. The results also indicate that, beyond reflecting people’s preferences for landscapes and values, these digital platforms can intensify the relationship between people and nature.