Total Economic Value Of Ecosystem Services Research Articles

Ecosystem Services Value Realization and Ecological Industry Design in Scenic Areas of Karst in South China

Ecosystem services (ESs) value realization and ecological industry (eco-industry) are essential components of regional development. Due to the vulnerability and non-renewability of natural landscape resources in Karst areas, once unreasonable resource development takes place, it is easy to pose threats and causes damage to its ecosystem. This article selects the grain data correction equivalent factor coefficients in Guizhou Province, China, and establishes accounting indicators for Karst scenic areas. It is found that the total economic value of ESs is as follows: Shanmuhe Scenic Area (CNY 5096.3 thousand) > DaXiaoQiKong Scenic Area (CNY 2778.6 thousand) > Huangguoshu Scenic Area (CNY 2130.7 thousand). Among them, the value of regulating services plays a dominant role in the composition of ESs, and the value of forests accounts for the largest proportion. Through web crawlers, tourism data can be acquired, and the Product–Experience–Feedback–Improvement (PEFI) model can be applied to reveal that tourists have a predominantly positive perception of Karst scenic areas. This indicates that karst landscape resources are deeply loved by domestic and foreign tourists, especially mountain, water and forest landscapes. Based on the results of the ES value accounting of the scenic area and the external perception data of tourists towards the scenic area, the eco-industry spatial layout development plan is formulated. According to local conditions, the development, construction, and protection of the scenic area are carried out, jointly promoting the realization of the ecological product value (EPV) of the Karst scenic area, to determine the optimal development direction of the eco-industry, and to promote the coordinated development of ecological resources and assets.

Assessing the Value of Urban Green Infrastructure Ecosystem Services for High-Density Urban Management and Development: Case from the Capital Core Area of Beijing, China

Urban green infrastructure (UGI) includes green and blue open spaces that provide multiple ecosystem services (ES) and the ecological and cultural benefits for people to hedge the urbanization challenges. In this paper, we assessed the total economic value of ES provided by UGI in the capital core area of Beijing by calculating the value of six types of ES related to high-density urban features: (1) climate regulation, (2) carbon sequestration and oxygen production, (3) water control and conservation, (4) air pollution reduction, (5) noise reduction (6) cultural services through the combination of replacement cost, carbon tax, shadow project, afforestation cost, and market price methods. The results showed that UGI generated economic benefits in the surveyed area of about CNY ¥1.56 billion (USD $240 million) per year or CNY ¥91.76 (USD $14) per capita. The largest share of ES came from carbon sequestration and oxygen production, amounting to about 46.32% of the total ES value. Our findings also revealed that the distribution of ES value patterns varied across communities. This study enhanced the understanding of local UGI and had significant policy implications for future urban sustainable management, both in the capital core area of Beijing and in other high-density urban areas.

Estimation of Rural Households’ Willingness to Accept Two PES Programs and Their Service Valuation in the Miyun Reservoir Catchment, China

As the only surface water source for Beijing, the Miyun Reservoir and its catchment (MRC) are a focus for concern about the degradation of ecosystem services (ES) unless appropriate payments for ecosystem services (PES) are in place. This study used the contingent valuation method (CVM) to estimate the costs of two new PES programs, for agriculture and forestry, and to further calculate the economic value of ES in the MRC from the perspective of local rural households’ willingness to accept (WTA). The results of Logit model including WTA and the variables of household and village indicate that the local socio-economic context has complex effects on the WTA of rural households. In particular, the bid amount, location and proportion of off-farm employment would have significant positive effects on the local WTA. In contrast, the insignificance of the PES participation variable suggests that previous PES program experiences may negatively impact subsequent program participation. The mean WTA payments for agriculture and forestry PES programs were estimated as 8531 and 8187 yuan/ha/year, respectively. These results consistently explain the differentiated opportunity costs on both farmland and forestry land. Meanwhile, the differentiated WTA values in Beijing vs. the surrounding Hebei Province follow the interest differences and development gaps between jurisdictions. Finally, the total economic value of ES in the MRC area was estimated at 11.1 billion yuan/year). The rational economic value of ES for the restoration priority areas reaches 515.2 million yuan/year. For the existing budget gap (299 million yuan/year), the study proposed that decision makers increase the water tariff by 0.08 yuan to raise the funds needed. The study also concluded that these results are not only financially and politically feasible but also cost-effective. This study has policy implications for improving the implementation efficiency and providing quantified supports for PES programs in megacity source water area.

People perception of landscape change effects on ecosystem services in small Mediterranean islands: A combination of subjective and objective assessments

Humans constantly modify their environment to better fit their needs. These changes are even more important in small Mediterranean islands, where the flow and type of ecosystem services (ES) is constrained by insularity and heavily exploited by economic activities. We evaluated the dynamics of ES from 1954 to 2007 linked to the changes of the landscape of the Vulcano Island (southern Italy) and related such transformation to the perception of the local communities. We estimated the changes in the total economic value of ES and we coupled this objective assessment with a survey among inhabitants to measure the perception of driving forces and ES. The results show that agriculture was replaced by tourism, which simultaneously has profoundly affected the landscape and brought economic benefits to local population. Despite the urban-sprawl related to tourism development there is an increase of the flow of ES over time because of the conversion of some land-cover classes into others that provide a greater amount of ES. Local communities are aware of landscape and ES dynamics, but they do not perceive tourism as a driving force, which affects the natural attractiveness and cultural identity of their island. This approach integrates a commonly accepted objective technique to assign value to ES, with a subjective assessment taking into account how local people value the flow of ES. Effective strategies for ES management and governance need to address and incorporate local population expectations so to empower local stakeholders in the achievement of higher level of quality of life.

Value of Ecosystem Services in Conventional and Organic Rice Paddies: A Case Study in Wannian, Jiangxi, China

Abstract In the current study, the ecosystem services (ES) of conventional and organic rice paddies in Wannian, Jiangxi Province, China are investigated. First, the ES at the field level under organic and conventional paddies were investigated. Total economic value of ES in organic rice paddies was 30093.08 yuan RMB/ha per year and that of conventional rice paddies was 22 793.31 yuan RMB/ha per year. The total indirect value of ES was 14 813.7 yuan RMB/ha per year in organic rice paddies and 12 424.56 yuan RMB/ha per year in conventional ones. There were significant differences between organic and conventional rice paddies for the economic values. Then, this economic information was used to extrapolate and to calculate the total and indirect value of ES from rice paddies in Wangnian. The total and indirect economic values of ES from conventional rice paddies in Wannian were 6791 million and 3702 million yuan RMB per year respectively, and the total and indirect economic values of ES from organic rice padd...

The future of farming: The value of ecosystem services in conventional and organic arable land. An experimental approach

In the current work, a novel, experimental ‘bottom-up’ approach is used to quantify the economic value of ecosystem services (ES) associated with highly modified arable landscapes in Canterbury, New Zealand. First, the role of land management practices in the maintenance and enhancement of ES in agricultural land was investigated by quantifying the economic value of ES at the field level under organic and conventional arable systems. This quantification was based on an experimental approach in contrast with earlier value transfer methods. Total economic value of ES in organic fields ranged from US $1610 to US $19,420 ha − 1 yr − 1 and that of conventional fields from US $1270 to US $14,570 ha − 1 yr − 1 . The non-market value of ES in organic fields ranged from US $460 to US $5240 ha − 1 yr − 1 . The range of non-market values of ES in conventional fields was US $50 — 1240 ha − 1 yr − 1 . There were significant differences between organic and conventional fields for the economic values of some ES. Next, this economic information was used to extrapolate and to calculate the total and non-market value of ES in Canterbury arable land. The total annual economic and non-market values of ES for the conventional arable area in Canterbury (125,000 ha) were US $332 million and US $71 million, respectively. If half the arable area under conventional farming shifted to organic practices, the total economic value of ES would be US $192 million and US $166 million annually for organic and conventional arable area, respectively. In this case, the non-market value of ES for the organic area was US $65 million and that of conventional area was US $35 million annually. This study demonstrated that arable farming provides a range of ES which can be measured using field experiments based on ecological principles by incorporating a ‘bottom-up’ approach. The work also showed that conventional New Zealand arable farming practices can severely reduce the financial contribution of some of these services in agriculture whereas organic agricultural practices enhance their economic value.

Ecosystem services: an ecophysiological examination

This review aims to discuss ecosystem services, provide illustrative case studies at catchment and local scales and present future research needs. This review discusses the following: (1) Ecosystem services (ES) are those goods and services that are provided by or are attributes of ecosystems that benefit humans. Examples of ES include the timber derived from a forest, the prevention of soil and coastal erosion by vegetation and the amelioration of dryland salinity through prevention of rises in the water table by trees. The provision of ES globally is in decline because of a lack of awareness of the total economic value of ES in the public, policy and political fora. (2) Providing a scientific understanding of the relationships among ecosystem structure, function and provision of ES, plus determining actual economic value of ES, are the central challenges to environmental scientists (including triple-bottom-line economists). (3) Some ES are widely dispersed throughout many different ecosystems. Carbon accumulation in trees and the contribution of biodiversity to ES provision are two examples of highly dispersed attributes common to many ecosystems. In contrast, other ES are best considered within the context of a single defined ecosystem (although they may occur in other ecosystems too). Mangroves as ‘nursery’ sites for juvenile fish is one example. (4) Examples of catchment-scale and local-scale provision of ES are discussed, along with future research issues for the nexus between ES and environmental sciences.