Assessment of indirect use values of forest biodiversity in Yaoluoping national nature reserve, Anhui province

Abstract

Direct use values of forest ecosystem have been recognized apparently due to its easy and convenient assessment, while indirect use values are usually neglected because they are not easy to be recognized by the public. For a nature reserve with forest ecosystem, the most important economic values are the indirect use values, which provide human beings and other living things with beneficial services through ecological processes and functions. In this case study, a quantifying framework to estimate the annual indirect use values of forest ecosystem has been established in Yaoluoping National Nature Reserve based on alternative cost method and opportunity cost method. The ecological functions assessed in the study relate to six aspects: soil protection, water conservation, CO2 fixation, nutrient cycling, pollutant decomposition and disease and pest control. These ecological functions provide an economic value of 86.1×106 yuan (RMB) per year (US$10.37×106), which is 25 times higher than the opportunity cost for regular timber production. This study can contribute to the monetary assessment of indirect use values of forest biodiversity and to the conservation and sustainable use of nature reserves.