Spatial agglomeration of cultural ecosystem services of peri-urban rural landscapes—A cross-site analysis of six megacities in the YREB

The spatial agglomeration of cultural ecosystem services (CES) in the rural landscape increases farmers' income by resource sharing and cost reduction, as well as improve consumers' recreational experiences from one-stop consumption. Relevant studies have explored the CES agglomeration regarding agricultural recreation and rural tourism, while little is known about the CES of peri-urban rural landscape. This study investigates the spatial agglomeration of peri-urban rural CES in six typical megacities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The result reveals three agglomeration patterns of CES of peri-urban rural landscape, namely, “suburban pattern” (Chongqing and Nanjing), “exurban pattern” (Chengdu and Shanghai) and “even pattern” (Changsha and Wuhan). The GeoDetector model indicates that, the agglomeration of CES depends more on demographic and cultural characteristics, especially high-quality scenic spots as well as historical and cultural villages. Landscape characteristic and market accessibility were not found important in shaping the CES agglomeration as other studies found, which may be related to the peri-urban location advantage. Among all the five rural CES types, a higher agglomeration is more related to Agricultural Experience and Leisure Sightseeing, while less to Distinctive Dinning, Traditional Homestay, and Educational Exploration. Moreover, CES agglomeration is more likely to occur where CES types are diverse compared to homogeneous. This study concludes that, the agglomeration pattern of CES in the rural landscape varies along the urban-rural gradient as well as between different CES types. The findings provide evidence for improving the spatial agglomeration of CES in the rural landscape in the peri-urban megacities.