The economic benefits and costs of trees in urban forest stewardship: A systematic review

Understanding the benefits provided by urban trees is important to justify investment and improve stewardship. Many studies have attempted to quantify the benefits of trees in monetary terms, though fewer have quantified the associated costs of planting and maintaining them. This systematic review examines the methods used to jointly analyse the costs and benefits of trees in the urban landscape, assesses the relative balance of benefits and costs, and attempts to understand the wide variation in economic values assigned in different studies. The benefits most frequently studied are those related to environmental regulation and property values, and the available data show that these usually outweigh the costs. Aesthetic, amenity, and shading benefits have also been shown to provide significant economic benefits, while benefits in terms of water regulation, carbon reduction and air quality are usually more modest. Variation in benefits and costs among studies is attributed largely to differences in the species composition and age structure of urban tree populations, though methodological differences also play a role. Comparison between studies is made difficult owing to differences in spatiotemporal scope, and in the way urban forest composition and demographic structure were reported. The overwhelming majority of studies concern deciduous trees in Northern America, and much less is known about urban forests in other regions, especially in the tropics. Future work should thus seek to fill these knowledge gaps, and standardise research protocols across cities. In light of ambitious goals in many cities to increase tree cover, ongoing advances in valuation methods need to provide a more comprehensive accounting of benefits and costs, and to better integrate economic assessment into the decision-making process.     

Social, economic and cultural perspectives of European inland fisheries: review of the EIFAC symposium on fisheries and society

The contributions presented at the EIFAC Symposium on Fisheries and Society in 2000 are reviewed. There have been considerable advances in many sectors of inland fisheries over the past decade. Nowadays the value of inland fisheries to society is generally better understood and increasingly recognized. However, it was recognized that the allocation of fishery resources and their management could still be made more effective through more extensive application of the recent approaches and techniques discussed during the Symposium and reviewed in the paper.     

A Framework for Valuing Ecological Services of Irrigation Water – A Case of an Irrigation-Wetland System in Sri Lanka

In many countries, irrigation water is usedfor several purposes other than irrigatingfield crops. In Sri Lanka, irrigationwater from canals, wells, and reservoirs isused for domestic purposes, industry,livestock, and fisheries, and it alsocontributes to sustain the environment. However, policy makers and water managersin irrigation systems only take intoaccount water used for irrigating the fieldcrops and sometimes water used for domesticpurposes. Owing to the failure torecognize the different uses and users ofwater, the water in irrigation systems hasbeen undervalued. This paper presents theenvironmental impact of irrigation and aframework for valuing water for itsmultiple and often competing uses,especially focusing on water uses forecological services, in this case wetlands.The south coastal area of Sri Lanka wasselected as a site for a case study, including2,610 ha of irrigated area and adownstream wetland area of 2,250 ha whichhas five lagoons. This wetland areacombines coastal, marine and freshwaterecosystems in a tropical environment inwhich distinct plant and animal speciescoexist in a delicate balance. All users ofwater and other resources, and theirenvironmental problems were identified. Thispaper discusses the policy and managementimplications of valuing water for competinguses.     

基于AHP的土地整理综合效益评价实证研究

运用AHP,从社会、经济、生态和景观4个方面构建了土地整理综合效益评价指标体系,并对湖南省5个土地整理项目的综合效益进行了定量评价.结果表明:江华县涛圩镇土地整理项目综合效益较好,应尽快实施;其他4个项目综合效益一般,可根据实际情况择优实施.     

湿地生态系统经济价值评价的探讨

为了促进湿地资源的合理利用和开发,我们通过需求—效用理论对湿地资源的价值评价问题进行了讨论.从中可以看出,湿地不但有巨大的物质生产价值,还有更为巨大的功能性服务方面的“隐形”价值。因此,开展湿地的经济价值评价,可以为湿地的开发利用项目的评定与选择提供依据,有利于湿地生态系统的可持续发展。     

Optimizing supplemental irrigation: Tradeoffs between profitability and sustainability

Water production functions are used to model yield response to various levels of supplemental irrigation (SI), to assess water productivity coefficients, and to identify optimum irrigation under various input-output price scenarios. The SI production function is taken as the difference between the total water production function (irrigation + rain) and that of rainwater. Theoretical analysis of the unconstrained objective function shows that the seasonal depth of SI to maximize profit occurs when the marginal product of water equals the ratio of unit water cost to unit product sale price. Applying this analysis to wheat in northern Syria, the production functions of SI under different rainfall conditions are developed. Coupled with current and projected water costs and wheat sale prices, the functions are used to develop an easy-to-use chart for determining seasonal irrigation rates to maximize profit under a range of seasonal rainfall amounts.Results show that, for a given seasonal rainfall, there is a critical value for the ratio of irrigation cost to production price beyond which SI becomes less profitable than rainfed production. Higher product prices and lower irrigation costs encourage the use of more water. Policies supporting high wheat prices and low irrigation costs encourage maximizing yields but with low water productivity. The resulting farmer practice threatens the sustainability of water resources. Balancing profitability versus sustainability is a challenge for policy makers. Our analysis can help national and local water authorities and policy makers determine appropriate policies for water valuation and allocation; and assist extension services and farmers in planning irrigation infrastructure and farm water management.     

北京妙峰山森林文化条件价值评估

【目的】评价妙峰山森林文化价值,对我国其他地区的森林文化价值评估亦有一定的借鉴意义,为全面开展中国森林文化价值量化评估探索路径。【方法】采用条件价值评估法,调研受访者对森林文化的认同程度,评估妙峰山森林文化价值,继而采用逐步回归法分析受访者支付意愿的影响因素。【结果】古树名木、寓言典故和神山传说是受访者接触程度最高的文化符号;受访者了解森林文化的方式呈现多元化,互联网和书籍是最主要的途径;森林采摘是受访者最乐于接受的森林实践活动;94%以上的受访者认同森林具有文化价值,认可程度较高;舒缓心情是受访者最为认同的福利(占比为82.32%),其次为锻炼身体(占比为62.20%)和休闲娱乐(占比为45.12%);妙峰山森林文化的人均支付意愿为100元人民币,最重要的影响因素是个人年收入,其次是对森林文化价值的认同程度和学历;对所支付费用的使用透明度不放心是部分受访者拒绝支付的最主要原因;大部分受访者(占比为53.05%)愿意将所支付的费用使用在妙峰山森林文化艺术创作方面,捐款(占比为33.77%)是受访者最愿意接受的支付方式。【结论】理解偏差、心理账户偏差、支付方式偏差、投标起点偏差等多种偏差都会造成条件价值评估结果的误差。即使本研究只是初步估值,本研究的方法与结论仍然可以为建设与保护森林文化的相关管理决策提供依据。另外,如何提升国民对森林文化的认知和参与程度以及对森林文化所带来福利的感受,是提升国民对森林文化的认可程度,乃至提升森林文化价值的关键。森林文化的内涵随着人类对森林功能认识的不断深入、人类与森林相互作用关系的变化而不断拓展,如何正确认识森林文化并科学计量森林文化的价值仍然是一个有活力的课题,值得继续深入研究。     

农业清洁生产技术应用的补偿机制实证研究——以云南省大理州洱源县农户调查为例

以云南省大理州洱源县农户调查为例,开展农户对于农业清洁生产技术采纳的补偿意愿实证研究。研究采用意愿价值评估法,在假设政府提供补偿的前提下进行农户问卷调查,获得农户对于采用不同农业清洁技术的受偿意愿数据,从而为制定相应的补偿政策提供依据。首先,分析了农户对于使用配方肥、秸秆还田及修建化粪池等3类清洁技术的采纳意愿;其次,明确了农户愿意接受的现金和实物2种补偿方式;第三,简单估算了农户采纳3类清洁技术希望获得的补偿标准;最后,调查了农户对于政府可能采取的推进清洁技术发展的配套政策的偏好程度。     

露天煤矿待复垦土地适宜性评价单元类型划分

从水土保持、土地复垦及环境保护的综合角度考虑,采用“五级指标逐级推断法”,即岩土污染程度、重塑地形坡度、地表物质组成、有效覆土厚度和土体容重五级分类指标逐级推断,确定露天煤矿待复垦土地适宜性评价单元类型为：（１）厚层覆土平台;（２）薄层覆土斜坡;（３）岩土混排斜坡;（４）混岩、页岩碎砾坡;（５）砂岩石砾坡。     

石家庄市森林生态服务价值评估及预测

根据石家庄市森林资源清查数据及相关统计资料,对石家庄森林生态系统服务进行价值评估及预测。结果表明:2005年石家庄森林生态系统服务总价值为184.98亿元/a;从森林资源空间分布看,森林生态服务价值分布严重不均衡,价值较大的区域主要集中在平山县、辛集市、灵寿县、赞皇县、晋州市和赵县等森林资源丰富的6个县(市);从各项服务价值构成来看,调节气候服务价值最大,各项森林生态系统服务价值大小排序为调节气候净化大气环境固碳释氧涵养水源保育土壤森林游憩。根据石家庄森林资源现状和城市森林建设规划,分析和预测了20年间石家庄森林生态服务价值的动态变化,表明随着森林面积、森林覆盖率和活立木蓄积量的提高,生态服务总价值和人均生态受益价值都将得到提高。为了充分发挥森林潜在生态功能,在今后应加强森林保护,扩大森林贫乏区造林面积,丰富造林树种,通过森林结构调整提升森林质量。