Economic Valuation of Ecosystem Service in the Middle Basin of Heihe River, Northwest China

The ecosystem service concept is becoming more and more acknowledged in science and decision-making. Taking an economic valuation approach, we quantified the economic value change of ecosystem services for different land use types in the middle basin of Heihe River, Northwest China. Eight ecosystem services indicators were selected: raw materials production, crop production, gas regulation, hydrological regulation, climate regulation, aesthetic values, soil conservation and biodiversity maintenance. Results are as follows: (1) Land areas for forest, grassland, farmland, wetland, water and desert have been decreased by 1.27%, 2.2%, 17.33%, 5.57% and 2.78% respectively, and farmland and human settlement have been increased by 9.91% and 16.42% in 2000-2009; (2) The potential total valuation of ecosystem services has decreased 26.07×1010 US $ in 2000-2009; (3) The total values of ecosystem services for forest, grassland, farmland, wetland and water have been decreased by 28.22%, 27.83%, 6.25%, 42.66% and 84.66% respectively, in contrast, the total value of ecosystem services for desert has been increased by 127.79%; (4) Driving forces of ecosystem services change and limitation of economic valuation in the research are also discussed. The method of economic valuation may be sufficient for local stakeholders to better understand the provision and change of ecosystem services in study area.