Ecosystem service is an emerging concept that grows to be a hot research area in ecology.Spatially explicit ecosystem service values are important for ecosystem service management.However,it is difficult to quantify e...Ecosystem service is an emerging concept that grows to be a hot research area in ecology.Spatially explicit ecosystem service values are important for ecosystem service management.However,it is difficult to quantify ecosystem services.Remote sensing provides images covering Earth surface,which by nature are spatially explicit.Thus,remote sensing can be useful for quantitative assessment of ecosystem services.This paper reviews spatially explicit ecosystem service studies conducted in ecology and remote sensing in order to find out how remote sensing can be used for ecosystem service assessment.Several important areas considered include land cover,biodiversity,and carbon,water and soil related ecosystem services.We found that remote sensing can be used for ecosystem service assessment in three different ways:direct monitoring,indirect monitoring,and combined use with ecosystem models.Some plant and water related ecosystem services can be directly monitored by remote sensing.Most commonly,remote sensing can provide surrogate information on plant and soil characteristics in an ecosystem.For ecosystem process related ecosystem services,remote sensing can help measure spatially explicit parameters.We conclude that acquiring good in-situ measurements and selecting appropriate remote sensor data in terms of resolution are critical for accurate assessment of ecosystem services.展开更多
Ecosystem valuation can serve as a basis of scientific support for decision-making. So far, the most popular methods for ecosystem valuation are ecosystem service valuation （ESV）, which is based on the utility of ec...Ecosystem valuation can serve as a basis of scientific support for decision-making. So far, the most popular methods for ecosystem valuation are ecosystem service valuation （ESV）, which is based on the utility of ecosystem to human beings rather than on the objective value of the ecosystem. After more than 10 years＇ application, it has been found that all losses of ESV were about 10% of the benefits of human activities. In this paper, the ecosystem intrinsic value （EIV） is defined. EIV is an objective value that emerges from the existence, structures, functions and processes of ecosystem, but independent with man, man＇s will and preferences. The valuating approach and methods used for EIV were developed by using energy approach and the methods of emergy analysis and eco-exergy analysis. The EIV calculated by emergy from the substance, energy and information of ecosystem and by eco-exergy from the structure and function of ecosystem represents the existent value and the externally working capacity of ecosystem, respectively. The approach and methods of EIV evaluation were applied to Xiamen Bay, China. The results showed that the marine EIV in Xiamen Bay was 209 billion RMB, including 116 billion RMB of emergy and 92.4 billion RMB of eco-exergy in 2010, nearly 30 times of ESV and 8.5 times of the GDP of Xiamen marine industry in 2010. The EIV in unit area of Xiarnen Bay is more than 10 times higher than the average global ESV in estuaries. It implied a potential undervaluation to ecosystem value by ESV calculation, which may mislead decisions-making processes.展开更多
Ecosystem services valuation seeks to increase the social relevance of ecosystem characteristics, the underlying biological mechanisms that support services, by making the contribution of ecosystems to human well-bein...Ecosystem services valuation seeks to increase the social relevance of ecosystem characteristics, the underlying biological mechanisms that support services, by making the contribution of ecosystems to human well-being explicit. Economic valuation can help management by clarifying the full range of benefits and costs of proposed management actions. In the past two decades, economic valuation of wetland ecosystem services has become one of the most significant scientific priorities for wetland protection. In this paper, we provide an overview of ecosystem services, and summarize the main interdisciplinary approaches to measure and value wetland ecosystem services. We identified four main methodological gaps preventing progress on wetland valuation of ecosystem services in China, which are: 1) confusion on terminology like intermediate and final ecosystem services, 2) lack of ecological production functions to link ecosystem characteristics to final ecosystem services, 3) static valuation making it difficult to evaluate the trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services, and 4) lack of clear guidance on relating ecological compensation programs to conservation targets. Overcoming these gaps is important to inform wetland compensation mechanisms and conservation policies. We propose future research on wetland ecosystem services in China should be focused on: 1) defining final ecosystem services based on beneficiary preferences and underlying biophysical mechanisms, 2) establishing wetland monitoring programs at specific sites to collect data on final ecosystem service indicators and ecosystem characteristic metrics to create ecological production functions for economic valuation and rescaling techniques, and 3) incorporating wetland ecosystem service values into decision-making processes to inform wetland management.展开更多
Payments for ecosystem service （PES） schemes have spread all over developing countries in the last 20 years or so. PES schemes often have high opportunity costs in terms of foregone uses of goods and services offere...Payments for ecosystem service （PES） schemes have spread all over developing countries in the last 20 years or so. PES schemes often have high opportunity costs in terms of foregone uses of goods and services offered by the environment. It is within this scope that economic evaluation of environmental goods and services plays a role. In this paper we surveyed articles and studies that report application of economic environmental valuation procedures in PES schemes. Special attention was paid to data collection and analysis, to theoretical robustness of its procedures and to the aggregation of estimated value. We also scrutinize how these estimates had been incorporated into PES schemes, in particularly in the assessment phase of these schemes. Empirical data from Brazil and other Latin American countries were used, particularly those in the Amazon Basis. Our results reveal a frequent overestimation of the values of ecosystem services calculated through the use of economic valuation methods. Values have been estimated by production function methods （opportunity cost, preventive expenditures, recovering cost or dose-response methods）. As a consequence, estimated values reflect much more willingness to accept compensation by supplier and rarely willingness to pay by consumer of these ecosystem services. Besides this distance between supply and demand, application of valuation methods did not account for problems such as uncertainty, risks, and lack of information. All these limitations have led to wrong decision-making.展开更多
基金Under the auspices of National Basic Research Priorities Program of China (No 2009CB421104)National Natural Science Foundation of China (No 40801070)+1 种基金Knowledge Innovation Programs of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No KZCX2-YW-421)the CAS/SAFEA International Partnership Program for Creative Research Teams of 'Ecosystem Processes and Services'
文摘Ecosystem service is an emerging concept that grows to be a hot research area in ecology.Spatially explicit ecosystem service values are important for ecosystem service management.However,it is difficult to quantify ecosystem services.Remote sensing provides images covering Earth surface,which by nature are spatially explicit.Thus,remote sensing can be useful for quantitative assessment of ecosystem services.This paper reviews spatially explicit ecosystem service studies conducted in ecology and remote sensing in order to find out how remote sensing can be used for ecosystem service assessment.Several important areas considered include land cover,biodiversity,and carbon,water and soil related ecosystem services.We found that remote sensing can be used for ecosystem service assessment in three different ways:direct monitoring,indirect monitoring,and combined use with ecosystem models.Some plant and water related ecosystem services can be directly monitored by remote sensing.Most commonly,remote sensing can provide surrogate information on plant and soil characteristics in an ecosystem.For ecosystem process related ecosystem services,remote sensing can help measure spatially explicit parameters.We conclude that acquiring good in-situ measurements and selecting appropriate remote sensor data in terms of resolution are critical for accurate assessment of ecosystem services.
文摘Ecosystem valuation can serve as a basis of scientific support for decision-making. So far, the most popular methods for ecosystem valuation are ecosystem service valuation （ESV）, which is based on the utility of ecosystem to human beings rather than on the objective value of the ecosystem. After more than 10 years＇ application, it has been found that all losses of ESV were about 10% of the benefits of human activities. In this paper, the ecosystem intrinsic value （EIV） is defined. EIV is an objective value that emerges from the existence, structures, functions and processes of ecosystem, but independent with man, man＇s will and preferences. The valuating approach and methods used for EIV were developed by using energy approach and the methods of emergy analysis and eco-exergy analysis. The EIV calculated by emergy from the substance, energy and information of ecosystem and by eco-exergy from the structure and function of ecosystem represents the existent value and the externally working capacity of ecosystem, respectively. The approach and methods of EIV evaluation were applied to Xiamen Bay, China. The results showed that the marine EIV in Xiamen Bay was 209 billion RMB, including 116 billion RMB of emergy and 92.4 billion RMB of eco-exergy in 2010, nearly 30 times of ESV and 8.5 times of the GDP of Xiamen marine industry in 2010. The EIV in unit area of Xiarnen Bay is more than 10 times higher than the average global ESV in estuaries. It implied a potential undervaluation to ecosystem value by ESV calculation, which may mislead decisions-making processes.
基金Under the auspices of Forestry Nonprofit Industry Scientific Research Special Project(No.201204201)National Key Technology Research and Development Program of China(No.2011BAJ07B05)
文摘Ecosystem services valuation seeks to increase the social relevance of ecosystem characteristics, the underlying biological mechanisms that support services, by making the contribution of ecosystems to human well-being explicit. Economic valuation can help management by clarifying the full range of benefits and costs of proposed management actions. In the past two decades, economic valuation of wetland ecosystem services has become one of the most significant scientific priorities for wetland protection. In this paper, we provide an overview of ecosystem services, and summarize the main interdisciplinary approaches to measure and value wetland ecosystem services. We identified four main methodological gaps preventing progress on wetland valuation of ecosystem services in China, which are: 1) confusion on terminology like intermediate and final ecosystem services, 2) lack of ecological production functions to link ecosystem characteristics to final ecosystem services, 3) static valuation making it difficult to evaluate the trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services, and 4) lack of clear guidance on relating ecological compensation programs to conservation targets. Overcoming these gaps is important to inform wetland compensation mechanisms and conservation policies. We propose future research on wetland ecosystem services in China should be focused on: 1) defining final ecosystem services based on beneficiary preferences and underlying biophysical mechanisms, 2) establishing wetland monitoring programs at specific sites to collect data on final ecosystem service indicators and ecosystem characteristic metrics to create ecological production functions for economic valuation and rescaling techniques, and 3) incorporating wetland ecosystem service values into decision-making processes to inform wetland management.
文摘Payments for ecosystem service （PES） schemes have spread all over developing countries in the last 20 years or so. PES schemes often have high opportunity costs in terms of foregone uses of goods and services offered by the environment. It is within this scope that economic evaluation of environmental goods and services plays a role. In this paper we surveyed articles and studies that report application of economic environmental valuation procedures in PES schemes. Special attention was paid to data collection and analysis, to theoretical robustness of its procedures and to the aggregation of estimated value. We also scrutinize how these estimates had been incorporated into PES schemes, in particularly in the assessment phase of these schemes. Empirical data from Brazil and other Latin American countries were used, particularly those in the Amazon Basis. Our results reveal a frequent overestimation of the values of ecosystem services calculated through the use of economic valuation methods. Values have been estimated by production function methods （opportunity cost, preventive expenditures, recovering cost or dose-response methods）. As a consequence, estimated values reflect much more willingness to accept compensation by supplier and rarely willingness to pay by consumer of these ecosystem services. Besides this distance between supply and demand, application of valuation methods did not account for problems such as uncertainty, risks, and lack of information. All these limitations have led to wrong decision-making.
