Integrated Terrestrial and Marine Ecosystem Services Valuation and Result Variation Trends: A Case Study of Jiangsu Province, China

Abstract

Quantitative ecosystem services valuation (ESV) is the key to effective environmental protection and ecosystem restoration. Studies have focused on terrestrial ecosystems and are mainly based on static analyses, excluding marine ecosystem service values and their variability. In this study, we comprehensively evaluated terrestrial and offshore ecosystem service values in Jiangsu Province in 2010 and 2018 using a table of unit area value equivalence factors and a vertically generalized production model (VGPM) to estimate marine primary productivity. The results showed that the terrestrial ESV in Jiangsu Province was 322.740 and 477.798 billion yuan in 2010 and 2018, respectively. The ESV of hydrological regulation in water areas was the highest, whereas that of unutilized land was the lowest. The ESV in different prefectural-level cities exhibited significant spatial heterogeneity and were highly correlated with the proportion, protection, and rational utilization of urban water areas. The offshore ESV in Jiangsu Province was 426.011 and 460.438 billion yuan in 2010 and 2018, respectively; the farther from land, the lower the ecosystem service value. The value of ecological regulation services is the dominant factor in the comprehensive services of terrestrial and offshore ecosystems in Jiangsu Province (accounting for 80% of ESV). From 2010 to 2018, the overall terrestrial and offshore ESV in Jiangsu Province rose by 188.901 billion yuan, increasing by 25.28% from 2010. In future, boundaries of development in production activities should be controlled, the protection and restoration of the ecological environment promoted, and regulatory functions and cultural services of ecosystems rationally exploited.