Valuation of ecosystem services of coastal wetlands in Qinhuangdao, China

Abstract

Coastal wetlands in Qinhuangdao play a vital role in the regional ecological environment. The value of the ecosystem services of the coastal wetland was evaluated in terms of provision services, regulation services, culture services and supporting services by particular methods. Results indicated that coastal wetland area in Qinhuangdao was about 39,918.00 hm2 and annual value of ecosystem services in 2015 was around 174.32 × 108 yuan (yuan: Chinese Currency, 6.5 yuan = 1 USD as of 2015) (about $2.68 billion). The value of provision services, regulation services, culture services and supporting services accounted for 12.3%, 3.3%, 55.0% and 29.4% of the total value, respectively. Recreation value of culture services had the highest proportion (54.4%), which indicated that recreation service was the crucial role of the coastal wetland in Qinhuangdao. Coastal wetland ecosystem of Qinhuangdao provides tremendous value through ecological products and purposes every year and conservation should be enhanced. Meanwhile, cultural connotation construction, such as the creation of a locally characteristic culture, should be specially enhanced to fully unearth its recreation value.