Studies On Ecosystem Services Of Artificial Ecosystems

Ecosystem services of artificial ecosystems refer to the products and services that artificial ecosystems and its component provide for human being through certain ecological processes.In recent years,with economic development and acceleration of urbanization process,the demand for ecosystem services increase and are not fulfilled only by natural ecosystems.Moreover,natural ecosystems are destroying and the capability of ecosystems to provide these services decreases. For assuring the provision of products and services,artificial ecosystems were developed and displacing parts of ecosystem function of natural ecosystems.Therefore,evaluating marine ecosystem services and studying the impact of human activities on them is important in the protection and sustainable development of artificial ecosystem.Firstly,the definition of ariticial ecosystem service is presented in this paper.According to the mass balance principal,the frame of artificial ecosystem services is established.From the perspective of ecological economics,the basic attribute of artificial ecosystem and the relationship between ecosystem services and human welfare is discussed.Based on the economic valuation methods to ecosystem services and the characteristic of artificial ecosystem services,the assessment system for ecosystem services of artificial ecosystems are established.Finally application study is carried out in several typical ecosystems including Greenhouse Agriculture, Tea Plantation and Artificial Grassland.The main content and results are as follows:(1) The formulation mechanism of the ecosystem services provided by artificial ecosystmesBased on analysis of the ecosystem services of artificial ecosystems,the difference between ecosystem functions and ecosystem services,artificial ecosystems and natural ecosystem are discussed.According to classification method of ecosystem services given by other scholars and the utilization of ecosystem services,the ecosystem services of artificial ecosystems can be subdivided into provisioning services,regulating services,cultural services and supporting services follow the classification method of MA.Finally,formulation mechanism of ecosystem services,the ecosystem component and main ecological processes,which support the services and the contribution of services to human being are analyzed.All the above study provide scientific basis for the services evaluation.(2) Studies about the valuation methods of the ecosystem services associated with artificial ecosystmsFrom the perspective of ecological economics,the assets characteristic of artificial ecosystem and relationship between ecosystem services and human welfare are discussed.The structure of the value and economic valuation method of ecosystem services associated with artificial ecosystems are analyzed.Finally,the assessment frame is used in this study with the mass balance principal.(3) Study on ecosystem serives of Greenhouse agricultureGreenhouse cultivation area in China accounts for 85%of global total area.Based on the mass balance approach,we estimated ecosystem services of greenhouse agriculture for two cultivation regions of China(Northern China and the Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River).Results show that,compared to open vegetable field,greenhouse agriculture demonstrates higher capacity in yield(30.95 to 74.05 t/hm²),CO₂ sequestration(0.74 to 2.16 t/hm²),soil retention(11.41 to 13.86 t/hm²),and soil nutrients protection(0.06 to 0.98 t/hm²).Based on 2004 prices,total economic values of ecosystem services of greenhouse agriculture in the two regions were 68871 and 34064 yuan/hm²,which were 33946 and 5558 yuan/hm² higher than that of open vegetable field,respectively.Although the environmental costs associated with greenhouse agriculture in the two regions were 7.64 and 14.30 yuan/hm² higher than that of open field vegetable field,it is worthwhile to promote greenhouse agriculture by producing higher net benefits for proprietary farmers and even the whole society.(4) Study on ecosystem serives of Tea plantationThere were the largest tea plantation area and longest cultivation history in China.In about 60 years,the area has expanded quickly and now it is about 700%of the 1950's area.In this paper, the ecosystem services in Southern Tea Plantation Region are identified.The economic values of ecosystem services are calculated based on the 2004 data and compared to that of natural shrub. According to the results of cost-benefit analysis,some measures to improve the tea plantation in Southern Region are given.The results show that:Compared to natural shrub,tea plantation demonstrates higher capacity in yield(30.95 t/hm2), CO2 sequestration(6.9 t/hm²),soil retention(0.15 t/hm²),while less soil nutrients protection(0.05 t/hm²) and water stored(9327.07 m3/hm²).Based on 2004 prices,total economic values of ecosystem services in tea plantation was 9042.74 yuan/hm²,which was 2964.45 yuan/hm² higher than that of natural shrub.For the value of the direct goods,tea plantation got additional 6923.21 yuan/hm² each year.However,the value of the indirect environmental services of tea plantation was 2120.33 yuan/hm² less than that of natural shrub.Furthermore,the environmental cost associated with tea plantation in the region was 0.80 yuan/hm² higher than that of natural shrub.In total,tea plantation provide a higher economic value of ecosystem services than that of natural shrub and the results of cost-benefit analysis showed that it is worthwhile to promote this cultivation mode.And the improvement of tea plantation in Southern Region should not only concentrate on the yield,but also address the impact of practices on ecosystem services and trade-off among different ecosystem services.(5) Study on ecosystem serives of Artificial grassland About 90%of the area of natural grassland in China has been degraded on different degrees and the grass provision has been impacted.It is important to develop artificial grassland to maintain the yield of grass as well as to protect natural grassland.The economic values of ecosystem services of artificial grassland in Shanxxi,Gansu and Ningxia were calculated based on the 2004 data and compared to that of natural grassland.The results show that:compared to natural grassland,artificial grassland demonstrates higher capacity in yield(3.07 t/hm²),CO₂ sequestration(4.47 t/hm²),while less soil retention(1.21 t/hm²),soil nutrients protection(0.02 t/hm²) and water stored(1001.89 m³/hm²).Based on 2004 prices,total economic values of ecosystem services of artificial grassland in the study regions was 3326.78 yuan/hm²,which was 363.58 yuan/hm² higher than that of natural grassland.The economic value of direct goods and indirect environmental services of artificial grassland were 336.66 and 26.92 yuan/hm² than that of natural grassland,respectively.Deducted the environmental cost,0.11 yuan/hm²,the net economic benefits provided by artificial grassland were 363.47 yuan/hm2 higher than that of natural grassland.There are much more work to do to promote artificial grassland in China,in which how to balance the tradeoff between economic and environment is the key.(6) Comparson economic values of ecosystem services of different artificial ecosystemsComparing the economic values of ecological service in different artificial ecosystems,the development potential of the different artificial ecosystems was weighed.To improve the sustainability and ecosystem services provision capacity of artificial ecosystems,the characters of different artificial ecosystems should be studied and comported.