Original research articleA consistent ecosystem services valuation method based on Total Economic Value and Equivalent Value Factors: A case study in the Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China

- Feature Services were introduced to Total Economic Value besides common services.
- The Sanjiang Plain ecosystem value made 5.84% of China's terrestrial ecosystem.
- Rapid valuation based on revised Equivalent Value Factors was consistent with TEV.

In this study, a regional revision coefficient is proposed for the Equivalent Value Factors to better valuate the Sanjiang Plain (in China) ecosystem services. An index system suitable for the valuation of the ecosystem services in the Sanjiang Plain is established. The proposed method can realize the rapid valuation of nine ecosystem service types of six different terrestrial ecosystems. Through the preliminary application of the method, the calculated total value of ecosystem services of the Sanjiang Plain in 2010 was 510.89 billion yuan, of which the forest ecosystem contributed to 37.85%, followed by water bodies and wetland ecosystems. The variations among the contributions of the different ecosystem services are considerable. The contribution attributed to regulation function was the highest, especially the value from the hydrological regulation (36.17%) and climate regulation (16.04%). The Total Economic Value (TEV) method and the Equivalent Value Factors (EVF) method are compared in this study. Results show that Equivalent Value Factors derived value of the Sanjiang Plain ecosystem services is slightly lower than the value obtained by the Total Economic Value method, i.e., 537.84 billion yuan, of which the total value of the Feature Services has reached as high as 38.35 billion yuan.