Abstract:With continuous development of societies, the demand for ecosystem services has continued to increase in recent years. The assessments of ecosystem services have become research hotspots. Among them, cultural ecosystem services are often neglected and are difficult to measure and evaluate because of their invisibility. In this study, the Guanzhong-Tianshui Economic Region was selected as the research area. The SolVES model was used to generate five value index maps, and the sum of these value index maps was used to assess the cultural ecosystem services in this region. Based on the geographic information system (GIS) tool, the Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES) model was developed to incorporate quantified and spatially explicit measures of social values into ecosystem service assessment. SolVES 3.0 continues to extend the functionality of SolVES, which was designed to assess, map, and quantify the social values of ecosystem services. SolVES 3.0 provides an improved public-domain tool for decision makers and researchers to evaluate ecosystem services and to facilitate discussions among diverse stakeholders regarding the tradeoffs among ecosystem services in a variety of physical and social contexts ranging from forest and rangeland to coastal and marine ecosystems. The input data of the model are divided into two parts. One part is social survey data based on questionnaires, and the other part is environmental index data. The results showed that the aesthetic value was higher in the Qinling Mountains and urban parks. The recreation value was higher in cities and the northern part of the Qinling Mountains with more recreational opportunities and convenient transportation. The cultural and historical values were concentrated in urban areas with profound historical and cultural connotations. The spiritual value was higher in forest parks, which are closer to the city and mountains. Application of the SolVES model in large scale areas has been effective. It provides a scientific basis for the government's ecological construction and planning. After benefiting from the value of cultural ecosystem services, the government can plan for rational allocation of resources and determination of priority protected areas at the temporal and spatial scales. At the same time, it can overcome limitations at all levels and correctly handle the relationship between social economic development and the protection of the ecological environment, to achieve a coordinated and unified development of the economy, society, and ecology. Finally, the study also discussed the sensitivity of the model to large scale application. These findings can contribute to the improvement of ecosystem services assessment and the improvement and localization of the SolVES model.