Abstract:Contribution to human well-being is the core of ecosystem services, and the objective of ecosystem management and regulation. Although considerable focus has been on biophysical and economic values of ecosystem services, limited attention has been focused on their contribution to human well-being. Taking Wolong Natural Reserve as a case study, we explicitly explored the relationships among ecosystem services, human well-being contribution, and local ecosystem service beneficiaries through questionnaires completed by the local community, i.e., the local ecosystem service provider. A total of 24 types of ecosystem services delivered by the local ecosystem were provided to local respondents and their contribution to human well-being was subsequently evaluated. The results showed that 90.79% of respondents recognized the well-being that the local ecosystem provided. Among all ecosystem services, regulating services was considered the most important for personal and social well-being; air purification, hazard prevention, and freshwater provision were considered the most important. Regarding the variation in ecosystem services, it was widely perceived that most regulating and cultural services increased or were stable. However, five ecosystem services, namely, traditional crops, collection, livestock, livestock feed, and soil fertility, were considered to be decreasing. We identified the maintenance of soil fertility as the key ecosystem service among all services because its decrease is fundamental to human well-being. Further, multiple variance analysis and binary logistic regressions manifested significant relationships between the respondents' perceived importance for human well-being and their individual heterogeneous characteristics. Significant factors including gender, age, income, and occupation would affect the respondents' well-being from the ecosystem service. Finally, we analyzed why local ecosystem services benefited local respondents differently and suggested appropriate management measures.