[Case-based evaluation of forest ecosystem service function in China]

The data of valuation of forest ecosystem service function (FESF) in 101 primary case studies of China were collected and obtained based on Specifications for Assessment of Forest Ecosystem Services in China (LY/T 1721-2008). FESF was then analyzed synthetically in terms of value coefficient. The results showed that the average value per unit area (VPUA) of FESF in China was 6.11×10⁴ yuan·hm^-2, and the order of VPUA of each service function was: water conservation (2.44×10⁴ yuan·hm^-2)> soil conservation (1.15×10⁴ yuan·hm^-2)> biodiversity conservation (1.00×10⁴ yuan·hm^-2)> carbon fixation and oxygen release (0.98×10⁴ yuan·hm^-2)> atmosphere environmental purification (0.28×10⁴ yuan·hm^-2)> forest recreation (0.23×10⁴ yuan·hm^-2)> action of forest against natural calamities (0.19×10⁴ yuan·hm^-2)> nutrient accumulation(0.16×10⁴ yuan·hm^-2). Water conservation, soil conservation, biodiversity conservation, carbon fixation and oxygen release were the four dominant service functions of forest ecosystem in China. The VPUA of FESF of the reserve level was higher than that of county level. The establishment of reserves played positive roles in biodiversity conservation and enhancement of service function, but the service function of forest recreation still existed with some insufficiency, and it needed to be further improved. Dominant service functions of forest ecosystem varied in different physicographic regions, and each type of service function presented different differentiation characteristics in space. The VPUA of FESF in South China was the highest up to 11.36×10⁴ yuan·hm^-2. The power regression correlation coefficients (R²) of the total value of FESF with forest area and forest stock volume were 0.905 (P<0.01) and 0.860 (P<0.01), respectively, indicating that forest area and forest stock volume were the two key factors affecting FESF and its total value. Moreover, latitude and mean annual precipitation also had significant effect on the VPUA of FESF.