Macroecological processes drive spiritual ecosystem services obtained from giant trees

Giant trees that have acquired their own unique identities are often named by local people and can inspire a sense of awe and become objects of faith. Although these giant trees provide various kinds of spiritual ecosystem services that benefit the spiritual well-being of human society, the drivers of these services remain unclear. Using structural equation modelling with 38,994 records of giant trees of 237 species across Japan, this study shows that macroecological processes such as annual precipitation and temperature may drive spiritual ecosystem services obtained from giant trees directly and indirectly via tree properties such as size and age.