Mapping global value of terrestrial ecosystem services by countries

Ecosystem services have received significant attention as more countries build sustainable economies. Valuing ecosystem services could greatly improve stewardship, which would yield a flow of vital goods and services when they were properly managed. This paper constructs a comprehensive framework to evaluate the terrestrial gross ecosystem products (GEP) at the global scale. By using remote sensing image with a spatial resolution of 1 km, the ecosystem provisioning services, regulating services and tourism services provided by 179 major countries are calculated from both biophysical and monetary perspectives. The results show that the range of global terrestrial GEP values was 108-187 trillion USD in 2017, with an average value of 147 trillion USD, and that the ratio of GEP to gross domestic product (GDP) was 1.86. The value of global ecosystem regulating services accounts for about 90%. There are obvious spatial differences in the distribution of the GEP. At the national level, the countries with the highest GEP values are Brazil, the United States, China, Canada and Russia. At the continental level, the GEP in America, Asia, Europe, Africa and Oceania account for 41%, 23%, 12%, 21% and 3% of the total global GEP, respectively. GEP of the top ten countries are mainly composed of the value of climate regulation service and water conservation service. Further analysis of the driving factors shows that these countries have sufficient evapotranspiration and precipitation to cool the region, increase humidity and conserve water. It is noted that African countries have higher GEP/GDP ratios, with value exceeding 100 in some countries, while developed countries such as Japan have higher GDP/GEP ratios.

Automated summary

Ecosystem services valuation is crucial in improving stewardship and global terrestrial GEP values range from 108-187 trillion USD in 2017, with majority coming from regulating services. Top countries like Brazil, the United States, China, Canada, and Russia have highest GEP values mainly from climate regulation and water conservation services.