Economic Analysis for Ecosystem Service Assessments

The paper seeks to contribute to the expanding literature on ecosystem service assessment by considering its integration with economic analyses of such services. Focussing upon analyses for future orientated policy and decision making, we initially consider a single period during which ecological stocks are maintained at sustainable levels. The flow of ecosystems services and their contribution to welfare bearing goods is considered and methods for valuing resultant benefits are reviewed and illustrated via a case study of land use change. We then broaden our time horizon to discuss the treatment of future costs and benefits. Finally we relax our sustainability assumption and consider economic approaches to the incorporation of depleting ecological assets with a particular focus upon stocks which exhibit thresholds below which restoration is compromised.     

高度城镇化地区土地生态系统服务价值及其 镇域空间演变 ——以苏州为例

土地利用方式的快速转变深刻影响着生态系统服务 的能力和质量,高度城镇化地区镇域空间尤为突出。以TM/ ETM数据为基础,借助当量因子法和空间自相关方法,基于 镇域尺度分析1995—2015年5个时段苏州土地生态系统服务 价值格局及其演化规律。结果表明：1)耕地、林地、草地、 湿地大幅减少,水域、未利用地面积显著增加,水域居于主体 控制地位,水域、耕地主导用地发生变化;2)生态系统服务 价值总量减幅仅为1%,水域增加有效缓冲了损耗;3)水源涵 养和废物处理价值约占总价值的80%,单项生态系统服务价 值单一且明显衰退;4)镇域空间整体具有不断加强的集聚特 征,局部低值贫瘠区、退化区的“一核两片”和高值核心区、 保育区的“一环一带”格局基本稳定,中心城区-昆山沿线及 周边具有加剧衰退的迹象,过渡区、退化区范围不断强化。基 于时空演化特征提出了分区、分类的管控对策,以期为生态规 划、国土空间规划提供科学依据和参考。     

Climate change as a threat to biodiversity: An application of the DPSIR approach

Climate change and its consequences present one of the most important threats to biodiversity and the functions of ecosystems. The stress on biodiversity is far beyond the levels imposed by the natural global climatic changes occurring in the recent evolutionary past. It includes temperature increases, shifts of climate zones, melting of snow and ice, sea level rise, droughts, floods, and other extreme weather events. Natural systems are vulnerable to such changes due to their limited adaptive capacity. Based on an analysis using the DPSIR framework, this paper discusses some of the important socio-economic driving forces of climate change, with a focus on energy use and transportation. The paper also analyses observed and potential changes of climate and the pressures they exert on biodiversity, the changes in biodiversity, the resulting impacts on ecosystem functions, and possible policy responses. The latter can be divided into mitigation and adaptation measures. Both strategies are needed, mitigation in order to stabilise the greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, and adaptation in order to adjust to changes that have already occurred or cannot be avoided. One mitigation option, increased biofuel production, which is also a response to oil depletion, would change land use patterns and increase human appropriation of net primary production of biomass, thereby threatening biodiversity. By considering the first order and second order impacts of climate change on biodiversity when developing policy measures, it will be possible to integrate ecosystem and biodiversity protection into decision-making processes.     

新疆生态服务价值功能估算与分析

了解和研究生态系统服务功能价值是保证新疆生态安全与实现新疆可持续发展的基础。本文根据新疆1989年、1996年、1999年和2003年的土地利用变化情况,评价了新疆生态系统服务功能价值及其变化,并对变化原因做了分析。     

山区土地利用变化对生态系统服务价值的影响分析——以宁复彭阳县为例

山区土地利用变化对生态系统服务价值影响的预评价更具学术意义和科学价值。文章以宁夏彭阳县为例,以生态系统服务价值理论方法为基础,以《彭阳县土地利用总体规划大纲(2006-2020年)》为基本数据源,系统分析了土地利用变化对生态系统服务价值的影响。研究结果表明,在整个规划期彭阳县土地利用动态度变化幅度不大,但总的生态系统服务价值减少了279.25万元;林地的敏感度系数最大,其次是耕地和牧草地。生态系统服务价值的减少以及各地类敏感度系数的不同变化,就要求彭阳县未来一个时期必须保持好退耕还林还草工程成果、保护耕地,这对于保护生态环境、促进区域可持续发展具有重要意义。     

土地利用／土地覆盖变化与土地利用规划——以安徽马鞍山市为例

利用马鞍山市1983、1996、2010年的土地详查、土地现状和土地规划数据,分析了马鞍山市1983—1996年以及1997-2010规划年土地利用类型结构的变化及其土地变化的驱动因子。通过相关分析揭示出：马鞍山市1983年以来土地利用／土地覆盖变化主要表现为耕地减少和建设用地的增加,耕地减少的主要驱动因子是人口增加、工业和农业的发展;规划期土地利用／土地覆盖变化的驱动因子是土地管理、人口和社会经济的发展;新的土地管理法的严格施行,将使今后我国区域土地利用／土地覆盖变化不同程度的向着有利于经济、社会和生态环境的方向发展。     

基于生态系统服务价值的区域土地整理生态效益评价——以南京市为例

以Costanza等提出的生态系统服务价值理论为基础,建立了区域土地整理生态效益经济评价模型,并以南京市土地整理为例,评价了南京市土地整理项目实施取得的生态系统服务价值。结果显示:土地整理引起了土地利用结构变化,也必然引起区域土地生态服务价值的变化,而这种变化可能是正向的,也可能是逆向的。合理开发利用各类土地资源,适当增加和保护生态服务价值高的地类,补充一定生态用地,应成为当前土地整理过程中重要的内容。     

Research Trends and Opportunities in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics

The research questions and topics most likely to emerge in the near term future are assessed. A common theme is that policy issues will be an important driving force, as has generally been true in the past. More specifically, future theoretical advances are expected to occur in the treatment of uncertainty, the incorporation of stock service flows into natural resource analysis, and the incorporation of institutional considerations into models of resource exploitation. Research on valuation is expected to remain vigorous, primarily in the testing of basic assumptions and reconciliation of existing inconsistencies. Opportunities in renewable resource economics center on the incorporation of richer behavioral and technological detail in the general frameworks that already exist. A better understanding of what drives technology, and how environmental agreements can be negotiated and enforced among sovereign nations, are two topics likely to shape future research on global externalities. Finally, questions related to spatial aspects of natural resource use, and matters of land use more generally, seem likely to emerge as important topics on the profession's future research agenda.     

The Impacts of Urban Land Use on Urban Transport System in High-Densely Developed City - a Case Study of Guangzhou

Large quantities of research works and practical experi- ences have revealed that there exists an active interplay between the development of urban transport system and urban land use (Fan, 1999; Mao, 2002; Xu, 1999; Wang, 2001). Urban developments are th…     

高密度开发城市土地利用对交通系统的影响作用研究--以广州为例

Recently the study on the mutual relationship between urban transport and land use has been one of the hot subjects in the fields of urban geography, urban transport planning and urban planning. This paper tires to carry out some methods, such as multi-analysis statistics method to specify the impacts of urban land use on urban transport system. Firstly,the choice of urban transport road network affected by the characters of urban land use layout is discussed. Secondly, the promotion of urban public transportation affected by high-density concentrated land use pattern is demonstrated Thirdly, the impacts of urban city-size on transport system structure characters are expatiated. Finally, the impacts of urban master planning in Guangzhou on the layout of transport system are illustrated.     

基于GEE的淮南市土地利用变化对生态系统服务价值的影响

以淮南市为研究区,基于谷歌地球引擎(GEE)云平台获取的土地利用数据和修正的当量因子表,分析2010—2018年淮南市生态系统服务价值(ESV)的时空变化,以期探究淮南市煤炭开采对ESV的影响,为淮南市可持续发展提供决策依据。结果表明:2010—2018年,淮南市的耕地面积减少,建设用地和水域面积增加,其他土地利用类型变化幅度较小;淮南市ESV呈增长趋势,由2010年的98.37亿元增长到了2018年的119.64亿元;基于1 km×1 km的格网尺度对淮南市ESV进行分析发现:淮南市ESV低值区面积减少,较低、中等、较高、高等级的面积均呈上升趋势;各土地利用类型价值系数的敏感性指数均小于1,说明研究结果具有可靠性;淮南市ESV与累计原煤产量有较高的相关性,两者相关系数R2为0.8546。     

高密度开发城市交通系统对土地利用的影响作用研究--以广州为例

在评述国内外城市交通系统对土地利用影响作用研究的基础上,以广州为案例,利用有关政府部门资料、统计资料和实地调查资料,引入定量分析和GIS、RS空间分析技术,系统全面地研究了我国高密度开发城市交通系统对土地利用的影响作用。首先论述了城市交通系统发展对城市空间格局演化的引导作用;接着应用GIS和RS技术分析论证了城市交通系统建设对土地利用开发的刺激作用;然后应用GIS技术和多元统计分析方法探讨了城市交通系统对土地利用价格的影响作用;最后阐明了城市交通系统对广州各类用地布局的影响。     

根据土地原理评价中国近现代农村土地使用制度

首先推导合乎自然法则的土地产权理论,即"土地原理".然后在对近现代中国土地使用制度的转移过程进行回顾的前提下,按照已推导的土地原理,对近现代中国农村土地使用制度是否符合土地原理,进行了分析.并进一步指出如何完善现行家庭联产承包责任制.     

海洋对海岸带土地利用变化的影响

海岸带是海陆交接过渡带,也是陆海相互作用剧烈地带,陆海相互作用通过土地利用变化（LUCC）表现出来,研究LUCC有益于深入认识人地相互作用与全球变化。借助地形图及TM影像资料,运用GIS方法,研究海南西部海岸带LUCC,并探讨出海洋与陆表的相互作用与相互影响。结果显示,海岸带LUCC变化显著,土地利用程度越近海岸线越高;各地类变化分持续增长型与波动变化型2大类,与海洋相关的土地利用类型多为持续增长型;海洋通过对海岸带地形、土壤、气候、动植物等自然要素作用于土地利用,表现为出现新的与海洋相关的土地利用类型及原有类型面积的增加;海洋强大的作用力使土地利用变化向有利于海洋功能发挥的方向演变。     

土地可持续利用决策模式及基本原则初探

土地可持续利用是实现我国可持续发展战略目标的根本保证，其决策行为必须适应可持续发展的要求。本文针对传统的土地利用决策观念与可持续发展要求之间的矛盾，结合决策学理论和可持续发展准则，对土地可持续利用决策模式及基本原则进行了初步探讨。     

Economic Assessment of Forest Ecosystem Services Losses: Cost of Policy Inaction

This paper presents a bottom-up methodological framework for estimating some of the key ecosystem services provided by forests biomes worldwide. We consider the provision of wood and non-wood forest products, recreation and passive use services, and carbon sequestration. The valuation framework derives per hectare estimates by applying meta-analysis, value-transfer and scaling-up procedures in order to control for the existing heterogeneities across world regions and forest biomes. The first part of the study estimates stock values per hectare for each forest ecosystem service in the baseline year 2000 and in the year 2050. Results differ per geographical region and biome. Carbon stocks represent, on average, the highest value per hectare, followed by provisioning services, passive use and recreational values respectively. The second part provides an estimation of the welfare loss (or gain) associated with policy inaction in the period 2000–2050 leading to a change in the forest area. Welfare results are mixed and require a careful interpretation, ranging from a worldwide annual benefit of + 0.03% of 2050 GDP to an annual loss of −0.13%. The highest damage is expected in Brazil due to the increasing deforestation taking place in tropical natural forests, which is causing a considerable loss of carbon stocks.     

Ecosystem Service Value and Agricultural Conversion in the Amazon: Implications for Policy Intervention

We explore the welfare implications of agricultural expansion in the Brazilian Amazon by comparing spatially explicit estimates of soybean rents and the value of ecosystem services. Although these estimates are generated from different datasets, models, and estimation techniques, the values are comparable, such that the value of ecosystem services is greater than soybean rents for about 61% of the total area and 24% of the area where soybean rents are positive if protected areas are well enforced. Based on the balance between the benefits and costs of conversion, failure to value ecosystem services reduces total social welfare by 7.13 billion dollars annually relative to an optimum. Policy instruments that internalize the value of ecosystem services via protected lands, land conversion taxes, conservation subsidies, or excise taxes can avoid much of this loss. Regardless of intervention regime, policy makers should be cognizant of the diminishing net benefits of converting natural ecosystems to agriculture. Realizing the final 3.8% requires the conversion of an additional 15% natural ecosystems to soybean production.     

Valuation of ecosystem services from rural landscapes using agricultural land prices

Agricultural lands, primarily managed for crops and livestock production, provide various ecosystem services (ES) to people. In theory, the economic value of the service flows that can be captured privately is capitalized into land prices. This study proposes an integrative framework to characterize the ecosystem services associated with agricultural lands. Using that framework, we demonstrate how hedonic analysis of agricultural land prices can be used to estimate the private values of land-based ES. The model is estimated with data from southwestern Michigan, USA. Results suggest that ES values are associated with lakes, rivers, wetlands, forests and conservation lands in rural landscapes. Ecosystem services that support direct use values, such as recreational and aesthetic services, are likely to be perceived by land owners and capitalized in land prices. Some regulating services that provide indirect use values may be partially capitalized in a land parcel's relationship to natural resources and landscapes. Other ES from the land parcel and its surroundings are unlikely to be capitalized due to lack of private incentives, unawareness, or small perceived value. The private ES values measured in this study highlight opportunities to design cost-effective public policies that factor in the value of private benefits from agricultural lands.     

Ecosystem services and regional development: An application to Sweden

This study carries out interregional comparisons of development and sustainable use of natural capital with and without inclusion of non-marketed ecosystem services. A simple dynamic model of an open economy shows that appropriate adjustment of conventional income accounts includes flow and stock components, but excludes explicit entrance of pollution. Calculations are made for Swedish regions and for two types of ecosystem services — pollution sequestration and recreational services — provided by three types of ecosystems: forests, agricultural landscape and wetlands. When comparing the adjusted and non-adjusted regional income accounts it is shown that the two measurements generate significantly different pictures of regional income and growth; regions that are traditionally considered as relatively less growth promoting are shown to hold important sources of wealth from natural capital, while counties that are rich in conventional accounts fall behind when adjusting for values of changes in natural capital.     

Identifying cost-effective hotspots for restoring natural capital and enhancing landscape multifunctionality

Much effort is expended toward planning for conservation, natural resource management and sustainable land use in agricultural landscapes. Although often not explicitly stated, the aims of these efforts are often to restore natural capital for the provision of ecosystem services and stimulate multifunctionality in landscapes. However, the scarcity of resources for, and the potential economic impact of, ameliorative actions that restore natural capital necessitates the identification of cost-effective geographic priorities, or hotspots, which provide multiple ecosystem goods and services. This requires the integrated spatial modelling of multiple environmental and economic processes accompanied by clear goals and performance indicators. Identification of hotspots provides guidance for highly targeted land use change that cost-effectively adds to the stocks of natural capital in a landscape. Additionally, the multifunctionality of the landscape can be increased through the provision of multiple ecosystem goods and services. This paper begins by examining data requirements for identifying geographic hotspots for land use change. This study integrates traditionally disparate landscape-scale biophysical and economic data and models. The elements of natural capital considered here are species and ecosystems, soil and water resources, and the atmosphere. It is demonstrated that locating ameliorative actions towards hotspots will be more cost-effective at restoring natural capital and stimulating landscape multifunctionality than a random targeting approach. We calculate these efficiencies using a small set of indicators for assessing aspects of multifunctionality. The focus of this study is the agricultural landscapes of the Lower Murray region of south-eastern Australia.