Measurement of ecosystem services consumption: a case study of the traditional agricultural area in Congjiang County of Guizhou Province
生态系统服务消费计量——以传统农业区贵州省从江县为例

Most studies on ecosystem services in China have been primarily focused on assessments of their functions and values from the perspective of supply. While assessments and methods of ecosystem services valuation are continuously emerging, there has been little attention to assessment of their consumption from the demand perspective or to analyzing the relationship between supply and consumption. This paper was designed to use different methods for measurement of ecosystem services consumption of the traditional agricultural area in Congjiang County, Guizhou Province. This paper also tried to evaluate the effectiveness of the different methods for measurement of ecosystem services consumption and how these methods can measure the balance between supply and consumption of ecosystem services in the county. Results from monetary measurement, emergy analysis and ecological footprint all show that the consumption of provision service constitutes the main part of ecosystem services consumption in Congjiang County. As is shown by emergy analysis and ecological footprint, Congjiang County has a total ecological balance in 2007 which is at breakeven level. Comparison of methods for measurement of ecosystem services illustrates the usefulness of the methods as a tool to monitor and manage our ecological assets although each method of measurement has its own strengths and weaknesses.