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Double counting in ecosystem services valuation: causes and countermeasures

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Ecological Research

Abstract

Many studies have been conducted on ecosystem services and double counting is a frequent problem that causes uncertainty and poor reliability of estimating the value of ecosystem services. By referring to previous studies of ecosystem service valuation, our research has identified the basic causes of double counting. These include ambiguous definitions and inconsistent classifications of ecosystem services, poor understanding of ecosystem complexity, inadequate recognition of exclusiveness and complementarities of individual ecosystem services, spatio-temporal scale dependence of ecosystem services, and overlap and lack of cross-referencing between ecosystem service valuation methods. Measures for reducing double counting in ecosystem service valuation are proposed as follow: (1) identifying the spatio-temporal scales of ecosystem services; (2) valuing the final benefits obtained from ecosystem services; (3) establishing consistent classification systems for ecosystem services; and (4) selecting valuation methods appropriate for the study context.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the project (2009CB421104) of the National Basic Research Program of China, the project (Contract NE/G008582/1) funded by the Ecosystems Services for Poverty Alleviation Program with support UK NERC, DfID and the ESRC, and the CAS/SAFEA International Partnership Program for Creative Research Teams of “Ecosystem Processes and Services”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 2871, Beijing, 100085, People’s Republic of China

    Bo-Jie Fu, Chang-Hong Su, Yi-He Lü & Guo-Hua Liu

  2. Australia-China Centre on Water Resources Research/Uniwater, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010, Australia

    Yong-Ping Wei

  3. School of Resource Management and Geography, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010, Australia

    Ian R. Willett

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  1. Bo-Jie Fu
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Fu, BJ., Su, CH., Wei, YP. et al. Double counting in ecosystem services valuation: causes and countermeasures. Ecol Res 26, 1–14 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-010-0766-3

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