Ecosystem service research in protected areas: A systematic review of the literature on current practices and future prospects

Protected areas (PAs) are globally important environmental management tools against the effects of human activities, as they support the conservation of marine biodiversity, habitats, ecosystems and the processes within them, as well as resources in a broad sense. However, the application of Ecosystem Services (ESs) research in the environmental management of PAs has not been elucidated and it still has obvious shortcomings. Here, we present the first systematic review of studies that have assessed the application of ES research in PAs, evaluated the beneficial evidence of using ES for PA management, and identified research gaps to be addressed for future work. The majority of the 84 studies examined were conducted in Europe (44.44%) and Asia (30.77%), and they primarily examined cultural and provisioning ESs. Most case studies focused on methodological design and lacked an understanding of the spatial and temporal evolution patterns of ESs and of the interaction between ESs and management decisions in PAs. Future studies of PAs should (1) identify the main ESs provided, (2) improve ESs assessment methods and data acquisition capabilities, and (3) assess how pressures from outside the boundaries of PAs affect their ability to maintain biodiversity and ESs in the long term.