Beyond Infrastructure: A Scoping Review of Cultural Ecosystem Services of Canals

Canals, as linear cultural landscapes, have profoundly influenced social structures, ecological patterns, economic activities, and human well-being. Canal-related ecosystem services (ES), particularly cultural ecosystem services (CES), have received increasing scholarly attention, but evidence specific to canal landscapes remains fragmented and has not been systematically synthesised across different contexts. Therefore, this scoping review synthesises the existing evidence to clarify the range of canal-related ES, particularly CES, and stakeholder representation across different contexts. Following PRISMA-ScR, we searched the Web of Science Core Collection on 27 September 2024 using the topic query TS = ((canal* OR waterway*) AND landscape*). After screening, 86 peer-reviewed English-language studies were included, spanning 2000–2024. We charted and synthesised the evidence using descriptive statistics and framework-based coding guided by a CES typology. The synthesis identified 15 CES types, including two emergent themes, and revealed variation in CES valence, associated cultural disservices, and stakeholder representation. This review identifies imbalances in attention to non-material values and stakeholder representation across canal-related CES research and offers an integrated synthesis to inform future canal conservation, landscape planning, and environmental management.