Characteristics of mobile location big data and their applicability to the valuation of recreational ecosystem services

Abstract

In recent years, studies that use large-scale digital data, so-called big data, have attracted attention in academic fields, and some have been conducted in the field of ecosystem service valuation. Some of the benefits of applying mobile location big data (MLBD) are the ease of obtaining data and the ability to acquire novel data. However, the characteristics of such data and whether these benefits are actually realized should be carefully investigated. Ecosystem service valuation studies that have considered these issues are limited, and MLBD are often applied without sufficient consideration of these factors. By estimating the number of visitors to the Hamanoura rice terraces in Saga, this study assesses the characteristics of MLBD used for recreational ecosystem service (RES) valuation and proposes measures to apply MLBD so that its potential can be fully realized. The study found that MLBD has unique characteristics and proposes some measures to apply MLBD to RES valuation, such as conducting trend analyses and combining it with other data. We conclude that when applying MLBD, it is important to fully understand the characteristics of the data employed.