A Space-Scale Estimation Method based on continuous wavelet transform for coastal wetland ecosystem services in Liaoning Province, China

Wetland ecosystem services are attracting increasing public attention. It is crucial that management decisions for wetland ecosystem services quantify the economic value of the ecosystem services. This study aimed to analyze the use of a new method that incorporated the scale and space-distance factors to evaluate the provincial scale of wetland ecosystem. We cased Coastal Wetland Ecosystem Services in Liaoning Province, China, using a Continuous Wavelet Transform-based Space-Scale Estimation Method to identify the total value and characteristic scales in the provincial areas. The result showed that the total value of the coastal wetlands in Liaoning Province in 2013 was estimated as 213 billion RMB. The characteristic scales were 8, 17, 35 and 55, which corresponded to the spatial distances of 160km, 340km, 700km and 1100km, respectively. When the wetland evaluation was up-scaled to spatial ranges of characteristic scales, its value underwent obvious changes, known as scale effects. We use the new method that incorporated the scale and space-distance factors to evaluate the provincial scale of wetland ecosystem. Understanding the scale effects and characteristic scales can provide a theoretical basis and reference for wetland evaluation on a larger scale for future research.