Abstract

Title: Navigating Human–Ecological Systems: Modeling Human Consumption of Ecosystem Services, with a Case Study in China

Authors: Lin Zhen, Xuelin Liu, Yunjie Wei, Li Yang

Center for Natural Resources Research, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS

Abstract: The global ecosystem is changing due to human and natural causes, and only the human aspects of this interaction are within our control. This paper provides a critical analysis of the interactions between humans and the ecosystem in terms of the human consumption of ecosystem services to maintain a comfortable lifestyle. It starts by reviewing human consumption of ecosystem services, and then develops a conceptual framework that links ecosystem services with consumption of these services and ecosystem management to construct a general functional model of the factors that affect the consumption of ecosystem services. A case study is introduced to show how the model can be used to provide specific assessments of patterns of direct human consumption of ecosystem services in China. The study reveals management implications for ecosystem consumption: as rural people consume mostly locally available provisioning services to meet their physical demand, a relatively high utility from such consumption behavior can be realized through readjustment of the proportions of their current consumption; moreover, willingness to pay cannot be judged simply by willingness to accept the same services, because physiological and cultural factors and social norms should be taken into consideration.