The impacts of cultural ecosystem services and place attachment on urban residents' environmentally responsible behavior: Banyan tree spaces in Guangzhou

In the context of ecological city construction, residents' environmentally responsible behavior plays a crucial role in enhancing urban environmental quality and fostering a harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. As an important component of the urban ecosystem, urban greening serves as an essential focus for understanding and promoting residents' environmentally responsible behavior. This study investigates the impacts of cultural ecosystem services (CES) and place attachment on residents' environmentally responsible behavior, with banyan tree spaces in Guangzhou serving as the case study. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze survey data collected from 1226 questionnaires in 59 banyan tree spaces. The results indicate that: (1) Environmentally responsible behavior is positively associated with the social relations and recreational services dimensions of cultural ecosystem services. (2) The social relations and recreational services dimensions of cultural ecosystem services positively affect place attachment. (3) Place attachment mediates the relationship between cultural ecosystem services and environmentally responsible behavior-cultural ecosystem services influence residents' environmentally responsible behavior through two pathways: social relations-place attachment-environmentally responsible behavior and recreational services-place attachment-environmentally responsible behavior. Overall, our research highlights that focusing on the non-material cultural services provided by urban greening and deepening the understanding of residents' place attachment are essential for optimizing environmentally responsible behavior. Such insights not only provide theoretical guidance for urban ecological construction but also offer practical references for policy formulation and implementation, thereby contributing to sustainable urban development. Therefore, future governments should enhance planning and policy guidance to effectively alleviate conflicts between urban renewal and tree protection. By scientifically and rationally designing green spaces, it will be possible to ensure that ancient and noteworthy trees are fully preserved during urban renewal processes, thereby collectively fostering a more livable and sustainable urban environment.