Evaluation and study of ecosystem service value in Yongding River of Beijing

Objectively assessing and analyzing the value of river ecosystem services possess the important significance on the conservation, restoration, and management of water environment and ecosystems. We put forward the method for the classification and assessment of Yongding River ecosystem services in Beijing, and estimated the monetized value of Yongding River from 2007 to 2012 on 4 aspects of provisioning, regulating, culture and support. By means of factor analysis, we screened out 4 major factors affecting the Yongding River ecosystem services from 15 indexes. Then using the composite weighting method, we assigned the weights respectively to the scores of the 4 factors, and had a comprehensive analysis on ecosystem services of the Yongding River from 2007 to 2012. The results show that the value of Yongding River ecosystem services has been increasing constantly according to traditional monetized assessment, which is related to restoration project in Yongding River. Even the scores of ecosystem service are on the rise, however fluctuation exists. It illustrates that the decrease of water storage and river regulation actually caused the impacts to ecosystem services though the economic values increasing. Analysis also shows that tourism in Yongding River is the core function among all ecosystem services, and ecological function is guarantee for the tourism. The proposal for the management strategy of the Yongding River is to keep the balance between economic and ecological development.