TYPE Original Research

PUBLISHED 20 October 2022

DOI 10.3389/fenvs.2022.1018801

Assessing the changes of the

OPEN ACCESS monetary value of mangrove
EDITED BY
Shuhong Wang,
Shandong University of Finance and
ecosystem services in China and
Economics, China

REVIEWED BY
its application
Zhiyi Zhang,
Shanghai Business School, China
Qi Ding,
Chun-Yu Lin 1, Chen-Yang Fu 1, Ying Liu 1, Meng-Qi Zhang 2,
Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute Yang Liu 2, Wan-Yu Wu 1, Li-Xia Wang 1, Xiang-Hong Lin 3* and
(CAFS), China
Xiu-Mei Fu 1*
*CORRESPONDENCE
Xiu-Mei Fu, 1
School of Economics, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China, 2School of Medicine and Pharmacy,
xiumei@ouc.edu.cn Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China, 3National Marine Data and Information Service, Tianjin,
Xiang-Hong Lin, China
tianshilezhuzhu@163.com

SPECIALTY SECTION
This article was submitted to
Environmental Economics and
Management, With the development of marine economy and climate changing, the ecological
a section of the journal value of mangrove ecosystem has become increasingly prominent. In this study,
Frontiers in Environmental Science
the ecological values of China’s mangrove ecosystem services was evaluated
RECEIVED 14 August 2022 based on the four services and nine functions of mangrove ecosystem. On this
ACCEPTED 22 August 2022
PUBLISHED 20 October 2022
basis, the dynamic changing characteristics of the nine mangrove ecological
values from 2001 to 2019 were analyzed. The results indicated that the top four
CITATION
Lin C-Y, Fu C-Y, Liu Y, Zhang M-Q, Liu Y, service values were that of preventing coastal erosion, raw material supply,
Wu W-Y, Wang L-X, Lin X-H and Fu X-M regulating water resources, and regulating climate and maintaining air quality.
(2022), Assessing the changes of the
monetary value of mangrove ecosystem Significant changes were found in China’s mangrove areas which increased
services in China and its application. during 2001–2013 and decreased during 2013–2019, while the unit area value
Front. Environ. Sci. 10:1018801.
of mangrove ecosystem services generally showed an upward trend.
doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2022.1018801
Subsequently, the evaluation results were applied to mangrove asset
COPYRIGHT
© 2022 Lin, Fu, Liu, Zhang, Liu, Wu,
management with balance sheets, ecological compensation standard
Wang, Lin and Fu. This is an open- determination, and carbon trading in blue carbon sink. Based on the above
access article distributed under the analysis, the corresponding countermeasures and suggestions were proposed
terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License (CC BY). The use, for mangrove protection and value application to guide effective management
distribution or reproduction in other on mangroves and further to realize a higher ecological value of mangrove
forums is permitted, provided the
original author(s) and the copyright
ecosystem.
owner(s) are credited and that the
original publication in this journal is KEYWORDS
cited, in accordance with accepted
academic practice. No use, distribution mangrove asset management, ecological value evaluation, dynamic change,
or reproduction is permitted which does ecological compensation, blue carbon trading
not comply with these terms.

1 Introduction
Mangroves is a typical tropical and subtropical estuarine wetland ecosystems as well
as special salty and fresh overlapping ecological environments. It has a vital ecological
regulation function in the coastal area connecting land and sea, which is known for
providing many ecosystem services (Marcello et al., 2021). With the rapid development of
the marine economy and the dramatic change of global climate, the ecological value of

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Lin et al. 10.3389/fenvs.2022.1018801

mangroves has attracted more and more attention, and the The evaluation methods used to evaluate the mangrove
protection of mangroves thereby has become a global concern ecosystem services in the previous reports mainly included the
(Wang and Sun, 2020). The ecosystem of mangroves is one of the direct market method, alternative market method, and
most important ecosystems in the biosphere (Hsieh et al., 2015), simulated market method (Shen and Mao, 2019; Tuan
mangrove restoration and protection are essential for achieving et al., 2015). The choice experiment method, derived from
sustainable goals (Jimenez et al., 2021). However, since the 1980s, the simulated market method, was usually used to estimate the
the global mangrove area has decreased by 35%, with an average willingness to pay of community members based on unpaid
annual decrease of approximately 1% (Hua, 2020). In China, due labor time to determine the monetary value of mangrove
to excessive reclamation, the area of mangroves in China has also ecosystems (Owuor et al., 2019). The meta-analysis
decreased drastically, from approximately 40,000 hm2 in the method, also derived from the simulated market method,
1950s to approximately 27100 hm2 in 2019 (National Bureau was used to evaluate the monetary value of mangrove
of Statistics of China, 2021) although it has shown a fluctuating ecosystems based on the literature on mangrove economic
trend in recent years. The carbon stock in vegetation, dominated valuation (Brander et al., 2012). The above two methods have
by low-intertidal pioneer species in more than half of the existing been found to have disadvantages, such as large uncertainty of
mangrove areas, has dramatically decreased from 21.8 Tg C in results, prone to biases and repeated calculations (Shen and
the 1950s to 10.2 Tg C in 2019 (Wang et al., 2020). Furthermore, Mao, 2019). It should be noted that due to the complexity of
mangroves in China face the problem of ecological degradation. mangrove ecosystem services, the use of a single evaluation
The increasing population pressure and the rapid development of method may result in greater errors.
offshore fisheries have caused critical environmental pollution, Abundant studies on the evaluation of mangrove ecological
damaging the local mangrove ecosystem (Wang et al., 2018). values have served as a warning and reference for mangrove
Mangroves are generally undervalued in both private and public ecological protection, such as the mangrove service values of
decision-making relating to their use, conservation and Mida Creek in the Watamu Marine Reserve on the Kenyan coast
restoration (Luke et al., 2012), so motivated by short-term (Ashournejad et al., 2019), the Nayband National Marine Park in
economic gain, the development of land reclamation and southern Iran, French overseas territories (Trégarot et al., 2021),
marine tourism severely reduced the living space of and the Jiulong River estuary in Fujian province, China (Wang
mangroves in recent years. Correspondingly, the ability of et al., 2018). Previous studies mostly investigated the ecological
mangrove wetland ecosystems has been severely affected to value of local areas (Ashournejad et al., 2019; Owuor et al., 2019),
provide humans with multiple ecological services, resulting in especially mangrove nature reserves, from a static point of view
a serious reduction of the ecological value (Wang et al., 2021a). (Brander et al., 2012; Zhang et al., 2013; Chen et al., 2016; Wang
Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the monetary value of et al., 2018; Yi et al., 2018). With the relatively complete basic
mangrove ecosystem services at different time nodes and data of the nature reserves, the monetary valuation for the
furtherly explore the dynamic characteristics of mangrove mangrove ecosystem services of the protected area could be
ecological value as well as the economic reasons behind it for conducted conveniently, contributing to improving the
guiding the conservation and restoration of mangroves. evaluation technology and providing pilot projects for the
Ecosystem services are the natural utilities formed by establishment of ecological compensation systems (Wang
ecosystems and ecological processes (Chang et al., 2022). et al., 2018). However, these studies did not incorporate the
The classification of ecosystem functions is a prerequisite for changes in mangrove ecological values at different time points
evaluating the monetary value of ecosystem services (Wang into an analytical framework, so they failed to reflect the dynamic
et al., 2021b). Because mangrove ecological functions are characteristics of the overall mangrove service values. And they
multidimensional, there is no unified standard for the were difficult to grasp the impacts of the changes in natural
ecological service classification so far. For instance, a conditions and socio-economic development on the mangrove
classification including direct use value, indirect use value, ecosystem.
and selection value was used to assess the service value of In the context above, this study analyzed the ecological
mangrove ecosystem (He et al., 2015; Malik et al., 2015; Chen value and its dynamic characteristics of the mangrove
et al., 2016). A typical classification of mangrove service ecosystem in China with data from three time nodes,
functions was recommended by the United Nations referencing the United Nations Millennium Ecosystem
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Classification System, Assessment Classification System and the corresponding
which includes supply, regulation, support, and culture methods. On this basis, the evaluation results were applied
services (Friess, 2016; Owuor et al., 2019; Marlianingrum in mangrove asset management with balance sheets, ecological
et al., 2021). This classification system avoids the overlap of compensation standard determination, and carbon trading in
the service items, which has been widely adopted in ecological blue carbon sink to hope to provide a scientific reference for
value evaluation for various ecological environments including the protective development and utilization of mangrove
mangroves. resources.

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(Forest Resources Management Division of the State Forestry

Administration, 2002). The second national wetland resource
survey conducted by Chinese government in 2009–2013 found
out the mangrove area in 2013 increased to 34472.14 hm2 (Dan
et al., 2016). According to the third national land survey
conducted by Chinese government, the area of China’s
mangroves in 2019 was 27100 hm2 (National Bureau of
Statistics of China, 2021).
Due to the limitations of data availability, the price
parameters selected from the literature for evaluating different
service functions were not uniform in their source years and were
not comparable in terms of time. Therefore, the social discount
rate and the arithmetic average of the producer price index were
comprehensively used to convert them into the price parameters
of the same period. The conversion method was as follows:
Ri0 It0 −t , t < t0
Rit

(1)
Ri0 × It−t0 , t > t0

FIGURE 1 where Rit represents parameters after conversion; t, the calculated

Sketch map of mangroves distribution in China.
‘Note: Mangroves’. year, which is 2001, 2013 or 2019; Ri0, the price parameters
selected from relevant literature (Chen et al., 2021); t0, the base
year corresponding to Ri0; I, the mean of the average producer
price index and social discount rate.

2 Materials and methods

2.3 Classification of service functions of
2.1 Study area of mangroves mangrove ecosystem

Chinese mangroves are naturally distributed along the The mangrove ecosystem service functions were identified by
southeast coast of China, mainly in the provinces of Hainan, a comprehensive consideration of the universality of wetlands
Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, and Taiwan, and the two and the particularity of mangroves. Based on the United Nations
special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Classification System, four
northern boundary of the natural distribution of mangroves in services and nine functions of mangrove ecosystem were
China is located at Shachengwan (27°20′N) in Fuding County of confirmed (Figure 2).
Fujian province, and the northern boundary of artificial Supply services mainly refer to the various products that
introduction is at Yueqing County (28°25′N) in Zhejiang humans obtain from the ecosystem, including raw materials
Province (Lin and Fu, 1995). The southern boundary of the (such as timber, fiber), and feed (Zhang et al., 2006; Wang
distribution is at Yulingang (18°09′N) in Sanya city of Hainan et al., 2017). In this study, the monetary value of the supply
province (Lin and Fu, 1995; Zhang et al., 2006). The research service mainly included the raw material supply of timber
scope of mangroves in this study started from Yueqing County products and the feed supply of mangrove litter which
(28°25′N) in the north and ended at Yulingang (18°09′N) in the provides abundant bait for offshore fisheries.
south of China (Figure 1) (Fu et al., 2021). Regulating services refer to the various benefits that humans
obtain from the regulating function of ecosystems, including
regulating climate (carbon fixation), maintaining air quality
2.2 Data sources (oxygen release), regulating water resources (water
purification), and preventing coastal erosion (wave reduction
Referring to relevant literature (He et al., 2015; Malik et al., and revetment) (Zhang et al., 2007). Mangrove wetlands, like
2015; Chen et al., 2016; Yi et al., 2018; Ashournejad et al., 2019), natural filters, have strong adsorption and purification effects on
the area data of Chinese mangroves were selected in 2001, 2013, toxic substances, impurities, and other pollutants. Mangroves are
and 2019 for the evaluation of mangrove ecosystem service extremely important windbreaks in coastal zones. With the
values. In 2001, the State Forestry Administration of China ability to reduce waves, known as the green wave-resistant
organized a national mangrove resource survey, which “wall”, mangroves can effectively protect the seawall from
demonstrated that China’s mangrove area was 22024.9 hm2 being destroyed and reduce economic losses along the coast

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FIGURE 2
Classification of mangrove ecosystem service functions.

(Wang et al., 2009). In this study, the regulating service values ecosystem provide good conditions for the development of
were calculated with the values of carbon fixation, oxygen release, tourism activities. The fauna and flora resources in mangrove
water purification, and wave reduction and revetment. wetlands provide abundant materials and research sites for
Supporting services are the basic services which are scientific research, and help to raise the public’s
necessary for the ecosystem to provide supply services, environmental awareness. In the present study, the cultural
regulating services, and cultural services, including the service values were assessed in two main parts of leisure
functions of soil fixation, fertilizer preservation, and habitat tourism value, and scientific research and education value.
provision (such as soil formation, nutrient cycling, water
cycling, photosynthesis, primary production, preventing
diseases, and promoting pollination) (Zhang et al., 2007). 2.4 Evaluation methods
Mangrove wetland is one of the most biodiversity-rich
ecosystems and is suitable for the habitat of a variety of In view of the complexity of the classification of mangrove
living beings. In the present study, the values of supporting ecosystem services, the evaluation methods for mangrove
services were calculated with the functions of soil fixation and ecosystem service values used in this study were selected
fertilizer preservation, and habitat provision. comprehensively (Table 1). The mangrove ecosystem service
Cultural services refer to the non-material benefits that values in this study were evaluated with reference to the
people obtain from the eco-system through spiritual methods for general ecosystem service values, including direct
satisfaction, cognitive development, thinking, recreation, and market methods, alternative market methods, and simulated
esthetic experience, including cultural diversity, spirit and market methods (Shen and Mao, 2019).
religion, knowledge systems, education, esthetic, sense of The service values of raw material supply, feed supply, soil
place, social relations, recreation and ecotourism (Zhang et al., fixation and fertilizer preservation were evaluated with the
2007). The rich animal and plant resources in the mangrove market value method, and the value of regulating climate

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TABLE 1 Monetary value evaluation methods of China’s mangrove ecosystem services.

Classification of service function Evaluation method

Service Function

Supply services Raw material supply Market price method

Feed supply Market price method
Regulating services Regulating climate and maintaining air quality Payment for environmental services (PES method)
Regulating water resources Expert evaluation method
Preventing coastal erosion Shadow price method
Supporting services Soil fixation and fertilizer preservation Opportunity cost method; Market price method
Habitat provision Shadow price method; Expert evaluation method
Cultural services Leisure tourism Expert evaluation method
Scientific research and education Practical investigation method

TABLE 2 The parameters selected for monetary valuation of mangroves in China.

Service Function 2001 2013 2019

Supply services Raw material supply R11 = $3822.79 R11 = $8446.69 R11 = $9975.77
Feed supply G = 10%; R12 = 9.42 t/hm2
P12 = 162.15 $/ton P12 = 358.28 $/ton P13 = 423.14 $/ton
Regulating services Regulating climate and maintaining air quality C = 11.1 t/(hm2·a)
T = 76.90 $/ton T = 169.92 $/ton T = 204.10 $/ton
K = 68.24 $/ton K = 150.77 $/ton K = 188.45 $/ton
Regulating water resources Q = 2754.99 $/(hm2•a) Q = 6087.32 $/(hm2•a) Q = 7189.29 $/(hm2•a)
Preventing coastal erosion S1 = 13309.64 $/km S1 = 29408.50 $/km S1 = 34732.22 $/km
S2 = 32884.47 $/km S2 = 72660.34 $/km S2 = 95672.97 $/km
S3 = 107641.69 $/km S3 = 237841.20 $/km S3 = 280896.83 $/km
Supporting services Soil fixation and fertilizer preservation D = 0.77 t/m3; T = 0.31 m; R32 = 1.39%
P31 = 613.90 $/hm2 P31 = 1356.45 $/hm2 P31 = 1602.01 $/hm2
P32 = 186.27 $/ton P32 = 411.58 $/ton P32 = 550.84 $/ton
Habitat provision P33 = 452.15 $/hm2 P33 = 999.06 $/hm2 P33 = 1179.92 $/hm2
2 2
Cultural services Leisure tourism P41 = 1785.18 $/hm P41 = 3944.47 $/hm P41 = 6523.16 $/hm2
Scientific research and education CP = $13385.82
N = 131 N = 436 N = 485
Mangrove area (hm2) 22024.9 34472.14 27100

and maintaining air quality is evaluated with the payment for evaluated with the opportunity cost method. Both of shadow
environmental service method (PES). The market value method price method and opportunity cost method were designed as
and the PES method could be used to estimate the ecosystem alternative methods to evaluate the service values that are
service values based on the actual transaction prices of difficult to be directly assessed by the market (Shen and
ecosystem services during transactions and transfers, and the Mao, 2019). The values of regulating water resources and
evaluation results of these two methods were considered leisure tourism were evaluated with the expert evaluation
objective and less controversial (Zhang and Zhang, 2019). method. Although the expert evaluation method is
The values of preventing coastal erosion, and habitat subjective, the results obtained by this method still have
provision were evaluated with the shadow price method, and reference value, which has been frequently used to appraise
the values of soil fixation and fertilizer preservation were the ecosystem service values relying on the expert’s professional

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knowledge and evaluation experience (Ding et al., 2016). 2.5.2 The monetary value accounting of
Additionally, the practical investigation method was used to mangrove regulating services
estimate the value of scientific research and education mainly The monetary value of the mangrove regulation service is
based on the number of published papers (Yi et al., 2018). composed of regulating climate and maintaining air quality
value, regulating water resources value, and preventing coastal
erosion value.
2.5 The monetary value accounting of the
mangrove ecosystem services 1) Regulating climate and maintaining air quality value.

On the basis of evaluation methods mentioned above, the The regulating climate and maintaining air quality value of
monetary values of mangrove ecosystem services in China were mangroves was represented and calculated by the carbon fixation
accounted according to the classification of nine functions with value and oxygen release value provided by mangroves.
the parameters selected (Table 2). According to the photosynthesis reaction equation, plants
need 1.63 g CO2 and release 1.19 g O2 for each 1 g of dry
2.5.1 The monetary value accounting of matter production (He et al., 2015). The calculation formula
mangrove supply services is as follows:
The monetary values of the supply services mainly include
V21
1.63 × C × S × T + 1.19 × C × S × K (4)
the raw material supply value of timber products, and the feed
supply value of mangrove litter which provides abundant bait for where V21 represents the value of regulating climate and
offshore fisheries. maintaining air quality of mangroves ($); C, the net
production of mangroves (t/[hm2·a]); T, the price of carbon
1) Raw material supply value fixation ($/ton); K, the price of oxygen release ($).
The net production of mangroves (C) was 11.1t/(hm2•a)
The raw material supply value of mangroves was represented (Zhu et al., 2020); The price of carbon fixation prices (T) in
and calculated by the value of timber provided by mangroves. 2001 and 2013 were 76.90 and 169.92 $/ton, respectively, and the
The calculation formula was as follows: price of oxygen release prices (K) were 68.24, 150.77 $/ton,
respectively (State Forestry Administration, 2016). The carbon
V11
R11 × S (2)
fixation price and oxygen release price in 2019 were 204.10 and
where V11 represents the value of the supply of raw materials ($); R11, 188.45 $/ton, respectively (Hu et al., 2019; Zhang et al., 2020).
the annual output value of mangrove timber per hectare ($); S, the area
of mangroves (hm2), the same meaning as in the following formulas. 2) Regulating water resources value.
The annual output values (R11) of mangrove timber per
hectare in 2001 and 2013 were from the previous reports as The regulating water resources value of mangroves was
$3822.79 and $8446.69, respectively (Malik et al., 2015) while the represented and calculated by the water purification value
annual output value in 2019 was calculated as $9975.77 by price provided by mangroves. The calculation formula was as follows:
index method based on the value of 2013. V22
Q × S (5)

2) Feed supply value where V22 represents the value of water purification of
mangroves ($); Q is the adsorption value of mangroves per
The feed supply value of mangroves was represented and unit area to nitrogen, phosphorus, and heavy metals ($/[hm2·a]).
calculated by the value of litter provided by mangroves. The The adsorption values of nitrogen, phosphorus, and heavy
calculation formula was as follows: metals per unit area of mangroves in 2001, 2013, and 2019 were
2754.99, 6087.32, and 7189.29 $/(hm2·a), respectively (Trégarot
V12
R12 × G × S × P12 (3) et al., 2021).

where V12, the value of feed supply ($); R12, the amount of litter in
3) Preventing coastal erosion value.
the mangroves (t/hm2); G, the yield rate of litter bait (%); P12, the
average price of feed ($/ton).
The preventing coastal erosion value of mangroves was
The annual litter of mangroves (R12) was approximately
represented and calculated by the wave reduction and
9.42 t/hm2, and the yield bait rate (G) was 10% (Han et al.,
revetment value provided by mangroves. The calculation
2000). The average feed prices (P12) in China in 2001, 2013 and
formula is as follows:
2019 were 162.15 $/ton, 358.28 $/ton (Chen et al., 2016), and
423.14 $/ton (Liu and Chen, 2020), respectively. V23
(S1 + S2 + S3 )d (6)

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where V23 represents the value of mangroves to reduce waves and where V32 represents the value of mangroves in fertilizer
revetment ($); S1, the ecological benefits per kilometer of mangrove preservation ($); D is the density of the mangrove surface soil
coastline per year ($/km); S2, the cost of repairing the seawall ($/km); (t/m3); T is the thickness of the mangrove surface soil (m); R32 is
S3, the added benefits per kilometer of mangroves to the ecological the comprehensive content of nitrogen, phosphorus, and
conservation function of the embankment per year ($/km), and d is potassium in the surface soil of the mangroves (%); P32 is the
the length of the mangrove coastline (km). average price of fertilizers ($/ton).
The value of S1 and S3 were converted into the current year’s The surface soil density (D) of the mangroves was 0.77 t/m3;
prices according to the price index with referencing the previous study the soil thickness (T) was 0.31 m, and the comprehensive content
(Fan 1995). The annual ecological benefits of mangrove distribution of nutrition elements (R32) was 1.39% (Ding et al., 2016). The
along the shoreline (S1) in 2001, 2013 and 2019 were converted as average prices of fertilizers (P32) were 186.27 and 411.58 $/ton in
13309.64, 29408.50, 34732.22 $/km, respectively; The costs of 2001 and 2013, respectively [34], and 550.84 $/ton in 2019 (Liu
repairing seawalls (S2) were saved by 32884.47 and 72660.34 $/km et al., 2018).
in 2001 and 2013, respectively (Trégarot et al., 2021), and 95672.97 $/
km in 2019 (Liu et al., 2018). The added benefits per kilometer of 2) Habitat provision value.
mangroves to the ecological conservation function of the
embankment per year (S3) in 2001, 2013 and 2019 were The habitat provision value of mangroves was represented and
converted as 107641.69, 237841.20, 280896.83 $/km, calculated by the animal habitats value provided by mangroves. The
respectively; The distribution bandwidth of mangroves along unit area values of animal habitats provided by mangroves were
the coast was generally 40–160 m, and the length of the 452.15 and 999.06 $/hm2 in 2001 and 2013, respectively (He et al.,
protected shoreline (d) could be obtained by taking the 2015; Liu et al., 2018), and 1179.92 $/hm2 in 2019 calculated using
average value of 100 m (Han et al., 2000). the shadow engineering method. The values of habitat provision
were calculated by the following formula:
2.5.3 The monetary value accounting of
V33
P33 × S (9)
mangrove supporting services
The monetary value of mangrove supporting services where V33 represents the value of mangroves in providing wildlife
comprises two parts. One part is the value generated by habitat ($); P33, the value of wildlife habitat provided by
mangroves for soil fixation and fertilizer preservation, of mangroves per hectare ($/hm2).
which the monetary values were calculated using the
opportunity cost method and the market price method. The 2.5.4 The monetary value accounting of
other part is the value generated by mangroves in habitat mangrove cultural services
provision, which was calculated using an expert evaluation The cultural service values of mangroves comprise two parts.
method. The calculation processes were as follows: One is the value of leisure tourism, which was calculated with the
expert evaluation method; the other one is the value of scientific
1) Soil fixation and fertilizer preservation value. research and education, which was calculated with the practical
investigation method.
The soil fixation value of mangroves is reflected in the
economic value obtained by reducing soil loss, which was 1) Leisure tourism value.
calculated using the opportunity cost method. The calculation
formula was as follows: The value of leisure tourism was calculated as follows:
V31
P31 × S (7)
V41
P41 × S (10)
where V31 represents the value of mangroves in soil
consolidation; P31, is the price of unit value of the soil fixation where V41 represents the value of leisure tourism ($); P41,
by mangroves ($/hm2). represents the value of leisure tourism per hectare ($/hm2).
The unit values of soil fixation (P31) in 2001, 2013, and The annual ecotourism values per unit area (P41) were
2019 were 613.90, 1356.45, and 1602.01 $/hm2, respectively 1785.18 and 3944.47 $/hm2 in 2001 and 2013, respectively
(Zhang and Zhang 2019). (Han and Gao et al., 2009) and 6523.16 $/hm2 in 2019
The value of fertilizer preservation in mangroves is embodied (Huang et al., 2020).
in the soil nutrient value, that is, the fertilizer value equivalent to
the contents of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the 2) Scientific research and education value.
surface soil. The calculation formula was as follows:
The value of scientific research and education of mangroves
V32
S × D × T × R32 × P32 (8) could be estimated by calculating the total input cost of

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TABLE 3 The monetary values of China’s mangrove ecosystem services in 2001, 2013, and 2019 (million $).

Service Function 2001 2013 2019

Supply services Raw material supply 8419.65 29117.54 27034.32

Feed supply 336.42 1163.44 1117.56
Regulating services Regulating climate and maintaining air quality 5049.70 17463.29 16753.27
Regulating water resources 6067.83 20984.30 19482.98
Preventing coastal erosion 33882.18 117174.26 111462.85
Supporting services Soil fixation and fertilizer preservation 1353.47 4680.69 4346.39
Habitat provision 995.86 3443.99 3197.58
Cultural services Leisure tourism 3931.84 13597.43 17677.76
Scientific research and education 175.35 583.62 649.21
Total value — 60212.31 208208.56 201721.92
unit area value ($/hm2) — 27338.29 60399.08 74436.13

publishing papers related to China’s mangroves each year. The methods corresponding to the types of mangrove ecological
calculation formula was as follows: functions (Table 3).
V42
N × Cp (11)
1) The monetary value of China’s mangrove ecosystem services
where V42 represents the value of scientific research and in 2001
education of mangroves ($), N is the number of published
papers related to China’s mangroves (piece), Cp , the input In 2001, the calculated monetary value of China’s mangrove
cost of each paper ($/piece). ecosystem services was $602.12 million, and the unit area value
A literature survey of China’s mangroves was conducted was 27338.29 $/hm2. The top four functions with high value
on China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and proportions were preventing coastal erosion, raw material
Web of Science. The publications concerning China’s supply, regulating water resources and regulating climate and
mangroves were retrieved to 131, 436, and 485 papers in maintaining air quality among the nine service functions, which
2001, 2013, and 2019, respectively. Based on the 10-years were considered as the core functions of mangrove ecosystem
data of general projects (2006–2016) in the annual services in China in 2001.
report data released by the National Natural
Science Foundation of China, the input cost of Chinese 2) The monetary value of China’s mangrove ecosystem services
academic papers was determined as $13,385.82 per article in 2013
(Liu 2018).
In 2013, the monetary value of China’s mangrove ecosystem
services was $2082.08 million, and the unit area value was
3 Results and discussion of the 60399.08 $/hm2. Compared with 2001, the total monetary
monetary value evaluation of China’s value and the unit area value in 2013 were improved greatly.
mangrove ecosystem services While the proportions of various service values were not much
different from those in 2001. The top four functions were
The monetary values of mangrove ecosystem services at preventing coastal erosion, raw material supply, regulating
different time nodes in China were calculated, and the water resources, and regulating climate and maintaining air
dynamic changes in the monetary values of mangrove quality, the same as those in 2001.
ecosystem services were analyzed and discussed.
3) The monetary value of China’s mangrove ecosystem services
in 2019
3.1 The monetary values of China’s
mangrove ecosystem services In 2019, the monetary value of China’s mangrove ecosystem
services was $2017.21 million, and the unit area value was
The monetary values of each type of mangrove ecosystem 74436.13 $/hm2. Compared with 2013, the unit area value
service in 2001, 2013 and 2019 in China were calculated with the increased greatly but the total value decreased. The

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proportions of various services were not much different from that of mangroves by 1,307 hm 2 in Quanzhou Bay, Jiulong
in 2013 either. The service functions of preventing coastal River estuary, and Zhangjiang River estuary (Lin et al.,
erosion, raw material supply, regulating water resources, and 2020).
regulating climate and maintaining air quality, were still
accounted for the top four proportions in the nine functions. However, after 2013, improper coastal utilization and
environmental pollution led to a decrease of 7372 hm2 of
4) The credibility of the evaluation results Previous reports mangrove area, resulting in a huge loss of mangrove
showed that the unit area value of Mangroves in China in ecosystem service value. During this stage, with the
2001 was 21982.39 $/hm2 (Wang et al., 2009). In 2015, the increase in coastal engineering construction, frequent land
unit area value of Hainan Province was about 53,402 $/hm2, reclamation led to a sharp decline in the natural shoreline of
and the mangrove area in Hainan Province accounted for mangrove distribution (Yu et al., 2019). With the development
about 33% of the mangrove area in China (He et al., 2015). of the social economy, the functions of mangrove tourism
Therefore, the unit area value could represent the unit area service and ecological aquaculture service became increasingly
value of mangroves in China to a certain extent. The unit area prominent. However, due to the lack of scientific and long-
values of mangroves in China in 2001 and 2013 calculated in term planning, the construction and introduction of tourist
the present study were basically consistent with the previous facilities, such as wooden boardwalks and fast yachts, directly
results but relatively larger. The reason is that the conversion caused the reduction of mangroves. Excessive aquaculture
of social discount rates and producer price indexes in this along the coast resulted in the fragmentation of mangrove
study was generally low when dealing with price parameters. habitats (Fan and Wang 2017; Wu et al., 2018). Furthermore,
There were few studies on the evaluation of the ecosystem the land-based source pollution from the coastal factories with
service value of mangrove forests in China in 2019, and there chemicals and heavy metals induced the spread of hostile
was no readily available data for comparison. Based on the organisms in mangrove wetlands, which resulted in the death
comparison of the previous two time nodes, the value of mature mangroves and a decline in mangrove area (Fan and
evaluation results in 2019 have also certain explanatory Wang 2017). Due to the game between economic benefits and
power. ecological benefits, coastal wetland protection behavior was
short-term and mutable, which led to the instability of
mangrove area in China.
3.2 Analysis of the monetary value
evaluation results of China’s mangrove 2) According to Table 3, the dynamic characteristics of
ecosystem services mangrove ecological value were displayed with the
changes of unit area value, total value and the nine
By evaluating the monetary value of China’s mangrove service function values at the three time nodes
ecosystem services at three time nodes of 2001, 2013, and (Figure 3). Although the unit area value of the
2019, the changing trend of mangrove ecosystem service ecosystem services showed a greatly increasing trend,
values was revealed. And the dynamic characteristics of the total value of Chinese mangroves in 2019 was
mangrove ecological value were explored for the purpose of obviously less than that in 2013 because the area in
revealing the economic reasons behind. 2019 decreased severely in recent years. With the
development of the social economy, public attention
1) During the evaluation period, the area of mangroves in shifted from focusing on the economic benefits to the
China increased at first and then decreased, but the unit ecological benefits of mangroves, which greatly increased
area value of mangrove ecosystem services increased at the nine values of service functions as well as the unit area
all these three time nodes. In the first stage, the total area value. But the monetary value growth in 2019 could not
of mangroves in China increased significantly from offset the monetary value loss caused by the area decrease,
2001 to 2013, with an increase of 12,447 hm 2 . The making the total value of China’s mangrove ecosystem
main reason was that the Chinese government paid services in 2019 much lower than that in 2013.
more attention to the protection and restoration of 3) The unit area value of regulating services showed an
mangroves during this stage. For example, increasing trend in the evaluation period (Table 3;
11 mangrove nature reserves were built covering an Figure 3). Among them, from 2001 to 2019, the unit area
area of 41,093.17 hm 2 , which effectively improved the value of regulating climate and maintaining air quality
area of mangroves (Fu et al., 2021). After 2009, a series of increased greatly. In recent years, the construction of
mangrove ecological restoration projects were ecological civilization has been placed at an unprecedented
implemented (Dan et al., 2016). For example, from high position in China, and more attention has been paid to
2010 to 2013, Fujian province alone increased the area the vital role of blue carbon in coping with climate change and

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FIGURE 3
Changes of monetary values of mangrove ecosystem services in China in 2001, 2013 and 2019.

improving the marine ecological environment (Zhao and Hu, Figure 3). Supporting services are essential basic services of
2019). Since 2013, China has established several carbon mangrove ecosystems to sustain other services. The
emission exchanges. The construction of carbon emission construction of nature reserves plays an incomparable role
trading systems has greatly improved the status of carbon sink in maintaining biodiversity, thus enhancing the unit area
ecosystems including mangroves (Bai and Hu, 2021). It value of habitat services. For example, the Shenzhen Futian
should be noted that the unit area value of mangroves to Mangrove Reserve provides a suitable habitat for a variety of
prevent coastal erosion has been getting higher and higher. marine living beings, significantly improving the service value
The ability of mangroves to reduce waves has far exceeded of the mangrove ecosystem in the area (Gong et al., 2019). The
that of seawalls, and the costs of building materials and value proportion of supply services was found to be relatively
manpower to build seawalls also increased. Ecological higher in the four services of the mangrove ecosystem.
seawalls have been widely constructed in the coastal area Specifically, owing to the litter of mangroves could be used
of China in recent years as an irreplaceable natural means of as a feed source for offshore fish, the offshore fishing income
protection (Zhao et al., 2019). In 2018, the most stringent of local residents could further be increased. Local residents
reclamation control measures were issued in Chinese history, could also directly obtain economic benefits from timber
claiming no longer to approve any general projects products by raw material supply. Although the direct
concerning sea area usage (Wang and Tian, 2019). utilization of timber products should not be encouraged,
4) The unit area value of cultural services showed an increasing the value of the supply services was still considerable.
trend in the three time nodes (Table 3; Figure 3). With the
development of the social economy, the pleasured leisure The above analysis would be helpful to deepen the
tourism in mangroves strengthened people’s willingness to understanding of mangrove ecosystem service functions and
pay for mangrove ecosystem services (Su and Li, 2016). With awaken people’s awareness of the protection and conservation
the development of tourism, mangrove ecological parks of mangroves. The revelation of mangrove ecological value and
have become one of the favorable destinations to travel its dynamic change characteristics may provide a theoretical basis
(Wu et al., 2021), leading to the increase of the unit area for promoting and realizing the maximization of mangrove
value of mangrove leisure tourism (Spalding and Parrett, ecological value finally.
2019). In addition, with the constant enrichment of
scientific research achievements and mangrove eco-
culture themes, the public cognition of mangrove 4 Application of monetary value
ecosystem services has been deepening, which brought an evaluation results of China’s
inevitable rising trend of the value of mangrove scientific mangrove ecosystem services
research and education services.
5) The unit area value of supporting services and supply services For the purpose of effective protection, management, and
showed an increasing trend in 2001, 2013, and 2019 (Table 3; development of mangrove resources, the above results of value

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assessment of China’s mangrove ecosystem services were reduced as much as possible. Meanwhile, the protective strategies
applied to mangrove asset management with balance sheets, and measures should be promoted to cultivate and restore
ecological compensation standard determination, and carbon mangrove resources. It is required not only to increase the
trading in the blue carbon sink. area of mangrove resources, but also to improve the ecological
quality of mangrove resources to increase the service value of
mangrove ecosystems. Conversely, if the final value balance of
4.1 Application in mangrove asset mangrove resources is higher than or equal to the initial value
management with balance sheeting in balance, the flow value of using mangrove resources is less than
blue carbon sink or equal to the regenerative value. Thus, the current status of
development and utilization of the mangrove resources could be
The natural resources balance sheet is an effective tool for the maintained. It is hoped to control the utilization of mangrove
asset management of natural resources (Fu et al., 2018). It is no resources within a reasonable threshold, so as to facilitate the
doubt that the preparation of the balance sheet for China’s coordinated development of the marine environment and marine
mangrove resources will be helpful to know the stock of economy.
mangrove resources and the dynamic changes of its ecological
values.
In this study, the balance sheet of mangrove resources was 4.2 Application in ecological
designed based on the above results of the monetary value compensation standard determination
evaluation of China’s mangrove ecosystem services. Assets
tables (Supplementary Tables S1–S3) and resource liability Ecological compensation has been considered as an
sheets (Supplementary Table S4) were designed and created to important system for the management of natural resources
reflect the physical inventory and the value inventory of (Mao et al., 2002). The above results of the mangrove valuation
mangrove resources in 2001–2013 and 2013–2019 in China. could provide a basis for the ecological compensation of the
The final balance sheet of mangrove resources was formed by mangrove ecosystem. There is a game relationship in interest
filling the values of the assets and liability accounts into the demands between the local government and coastal residents in
accounting accounts (Supplementary Table S5). the process of mangrove wetland usage and mangrove
The balance sheet of mangrove resources could be used to ecosystem compensation. For example, the farmers are the
analyze the status and changes of the final value of mangrove owners of the coastal ponds in the mangrove area who may
assets, so as to judge the intensity of development and utilization insist on their rights to use the aquaculture ponds. The
of mangrove resources. The mangrove ecosystem service value government, however, as the main body of mangrove
may be changed with the utilization, destruction and restoration ecosystem management, advocates ecosystem compensation
of mangrove resources. Mangrove area may be increased through to maintain the rights and interests of the public. From a
natural reproduction, and artificial restoration and afforestation short-term perspective, regardless of whether the
(Li et al., 2021). The newly added mangrove resources may government compensates, farmers will choose not to
provide new ecological service value, which was defined as a participate in returning ponds to mangroves for purpose of
regenerative value on the balance sheet. The values generated by maximizing their own interests. Similarly, from a short-term
the development and utilization of products and services from perspective, the government will also choose not to compensate
mangrove resources were defined as the flow value of mangrove the farmers. Apparently, the result of the game (no
assets during a fixed accounting period. If mangrove resources participation, no compensation) could not maximize the
were over exploited or destroyed by human activities, the assets interests of either side. From a long-term perspective, it is
of mangrove resources may be reduced. The liabilities of assets necessary for the government to negotiate with farmers on
will occur on the mangrove asset balance sheet if the ending the strategy of government compensation and farmers’
balance of the total mangrove asset value is lower than the participation in returning ponds to mangroves for the
beginning balance. On this basis, follow-up management purpose of making the interests of both sides to achieve the
strategies and measures for mangrove resources could be Pareto optimum so as to well protect the mangrove ecosystem.
established and implemented. For instance, during an It could be assumed that after negotiating between the two
accounting period, if the ending value balance of mangrove sides, the policy tool of ecological compensation with added
resources is lower than the initial value balance, it indicates protection cost may be introduced, and after gaming between
that the flow value of mangrove resources is greater than the the two sides, the Nash equilibrium (returning ponds to
regenerative value, thus the total value of mangrove resources mangroves, compensating) would be achieved, and the
being reduced. This will generate liabilities in the balance sheet of overall optimization could be realized (Table 4).
mangrove resources, resulting in a decrease in net assets. In this The willingness of farmers to participate in returning
case, the utilization intensity of mangrove resources should be ponds to mangroves is contingent on government subsidies

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TABLE 4 The game between the government and farmers.

Subject and strategy Farmers

Returning Not returning ponds

ponds to mangroves to mangroves

Government No penalty Compensation S1-C1+C2, U1-C2 S2+C2, U2-C2

No compensation S1-C1, U1 S2, U2
Penalty Compensation S1-C1+C2,U1-C2 S2+C2-θ1,U2-C2
No compensation S1-C1,U1-θ2 S2-θ1,U2-θ2

S1 represents the benefits obtained by farmers participating in returning ponds to mangroves, S2 represents the benefits obtained by farmers not participating, U1 represents the benefits
obtained by the government when farmers participate; U2 represents the income obtained by the government when farmers do not participate; C1 represents the cost of fishermen’s
participation; C2 represents the cost of the government’s implementation of the compensation policy; θ1 represents the penalty for farmers who do not participate; and θ2 represents the
government’s compensation amount when farmers participate.

4.3 Application in carbon trading in blue

carbon sink

Under the background of global climate change, blue carbon

has been considered to be a possibility to make up for the huge
gap in carbon sinks. Mangroves have a strong carbon fixation
capacity and are of great significance to the carbon sink
mechanism (Hong et al., 2017). The evaluation results of
mangrove ecosystem service value in this study could offer a
reference for the construction of the cycle mechanism of
mangrove carbon sink and carbon trading. Based on the
function of the mangrove carbon sink, a cycling mechanism
of mangrove carbon sink and carbon trading was constructed to
facilitate the marketization of the value of mangrove carbon sink
FIGURE 4
Cycle mechanism of mangrove carbon sink and carbon
(Figure 4).
trading. In this cycle mechanism, a stable carbon sink formed by a
healthy mangrove ecosystem is the basis of carbon trading. The
historical maximum mangrove area in China was up to about
to compensate for their marginal losses. If the subsidies to 250,000 hm2 (Liao and Zhang 2014; Fan and Wang, 2017), nearly
farmers cannot make up for the marginal loss, farmers will be 10 times the current area, indicating the considerable potential to
unwilling to participate in returning ponds to mangroves, recover the mangrove area by returning ponds to mangroves
then the subsidies make no sense. Similarly, if the subsidies for supported by conservation policy such as mangrove ecological
farmers exceed the marginal utility of the mangrove ecosystem compensation.
to the government, the government will be unwilling to pay The mangrove ecosystem with stable carbon fixation ability,
compensation. Through gaming analysis, the standard formed and consummated by ecological restoration, has
amount of ecological compensation should be no less than ecological and economic values which could become the
the marginal loss of farmers and does not exceed the marginal object of carbon trading in the blue carbon market, which
utility of the government as well. Based on the evaluation shows great potential in China (Shi et al., 2022). However,
results in this study, the compensation paid by the blue carbon is usually obtained by free as public goods in
government should be lower than 74436.13 $/hm2, the unit China, which causes the loss of its commodity attributes and
area value of mangrove ecosystem services in 2019. In the further hinders the effective construction of the domestic blue
future, a reasonable compensation standard and policy should carbon trading market (Bai and Hu 2021). Moreover, due to the
be formulated according to the changes of mangrove long transaction cycle and the uncertainty of the transaction
ecosystem service value with the development of the social process, coupled with the large demand for blue carbon funds,
economy and marine ecosystem. neither the purchasing by a government nor the free supplying by

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mangrove owners is sustainable. The introduction of the blue creatively applied in three aspects: mangrove asset
carbon ecological fund and blue carbon trading insurance system management with balance sheets, ecological compensation
may provide a feasible way to solve these problems. In order to standard determination, and carbon in blue carbon sink.
further improve the ability of mangroves to provide ecosystem An adequate understanding of the functions and values of the
services, the funds provided by the blue carbon ecological fund mangrove ecosystem services is a prerequisite for the rational
from trading carbon emission reductions could be used not only management of the mangroves to realize the sustainable output
for ecological compensation, such as returning ponds to of ecological value. Based on the above investigation, the
mangroves, but also for ecological restoration, mangrove following suggestions and measures for the protection and
management and conservation, and community public restoration of mangrove ecosystems were proposed:
construction. The establishment of blue carbon trading
insurance system could transfer the risk to the third party, 1) The management of mangrove reserves should be
thus relieving the pressure of the policyholder in the process strengthened. Based on the principle of the integrity of
of blue carbon trading to make the damaged marine ecosystem mangrove ecosystem, the protected area should not only
get recover timely and effectively (Lin et al., 2018). be limited to mangrove forest lands, but also include
The current carbon sink trading mechanism develops slowly, beaches, suitable forest lands, and rare and endangered
owing to a lack of institutional guarantee and process animals and plants around mangroves. Environmental
supervision. Problems within the trade must be solved first, pollution and other destructive activities must be rectified,
such as the unclear definition of property rights, inconsistent especially the sewage discharge at the estuary of mangrove
measurement standards of carbon fixation (Ahmed et al., 2017), wetland, and the pollution of mariculture.
and difficulty in determining the amount of compensation. It is 2) A mangrove resources investigation network and monitoring
particularly important to reasonably evaluate the values of system should be constructed. The data statistics of mangrove
carbon fixation and other ecosystem services of mangroves. resources must also be vigorously promoted to provide original
Fortunately, the first blue carbon trading project in China, the data for the preparation of mangrove resources balance sheet.
Zhanjiang Mangrove Afforestation Project in Zhanjiang, According to the characteristics and restoration process of
Guangdong Province, was registered successfully in April mangrove resources, the preparation of mangrove resources
2021. This has set a positive example for achieving carbon balance sheet should be continuously updated. The
peaks and carbon neutrality. accounting results of the balance sheet should be applied as
soon as possible to the asset management of forest resources and
the outgoing audit of leading cadres, so as to realize the orderly
5 Conclusion and suggestions and effective management of mangrove resources.
3) The overall restoration of mangrove ecosystem should be
In the present study, the monetary values of the Chinese actively promoted. In view of the advantages of restoring
mangrove ecosystem services in 2001, 2013, and 2019 were mangrove ecosystem in China, the implementation of
estimated and the change characteristics of the values were mangrove ecological compensation policy should be
discussed first. Significant changes were found in the areas accelerated, such as “returning ponds to mangroves”. On
and ecological values of mangroves in China at the three time the premise of comprehensively considering the natural
nodes of 2001, 2013 and 2019. Mangrove area increased during geographical and economic conditions of the restoration
2001–2013 and decreased during 2013–2019. It was area, it is necessary to replace the previous restoration
demonstrated that the task of protecting mangrove resources approach dominated by vegetation restoration with the
in China is still arduous. Although the area of mangroves in approach dominated by promoting the comprehensive
2019 was less than that in 2013, its ecological value was higher restoration of the ecosystem. At the same time, based on
than that in 2013, indicating that with the development of the the research on basic theories, technologies, standards, and
marine economy, the role of mangroves in China is becoming cases of “returning ponds to mangroves”, the sources of
more and more significant. Among the nine mangrove ecosystem compensation should be broadened through multiple
service functions, the three functions, namely, preventing coastal channels to solve the problems of a job transfer and
erosion, raw material supply, and regulating water resources, employment of farmers by local government.
accounted for relatively high monetary values, which were 4) The trading system of mangrove carbon sink market should be
considered as the core service functions of China’s mangrove continuously improved. It is suggested to take Zhanjiang
ecosystem. Especially, the service function of regulating climate Mangrove Afforestation Project in Guangdong Province as a
and maintaining air quality of mangroves has become an pilot to further promote the construction of blue carbon trading
important part of the blue carbon ecosystem. In order to market. The mangrove carbon sink cycle mechanism should be
realize the sustainable development of mangrove ecosystem continuously improved to help China realize its commitments to
and maximize its service value, the evaluation results were “carbon peak” and “carbon neutralization".

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It could be expected that the statistical data will be more Funding

complete with the continuous advance of the national wetland
resources survey and the continuous improvement of This research is supported by the National Natural Science
technology in the future. The mangrove ecosystem service Foundation of China (grant numbers 42176126); and the
value assessment could be conducted more accurately Department of Marine Strategic Planning and Economy,
according to the ecological conditions and species types of Ministry of Natural Resources of China, and Marine
mangrove ecosystems in different regions. And the mangrove Development Research Society of China (grant number
ecosystem could create more new values through the CAMA201817).
application of value evaluation.

Conflict of interest
Data availability statement
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the
The original contributions presented in the study are absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could
included in the article/Supplementary Material, further be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
inquiries can be directed to the corresponding authors.

Publisher’s note
Author contributions
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the
C-YL: idea, design, conceptualization, formal analysis, data authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated
curation, writing—original draft; C-YF: methodology, data organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the
curation, writing—original draft; YL: formal analysis, reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or
visualization, writing—review and editing; M-QZ: claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or
methodology, data curation, visualization; YL: methodology, endorsed by the publisher.
visualization, writing—review and editing; W-YW: formal
analysis, visualization, writing—review and editing. L-XW:
formal analysis, visualization, writing—review and editing; X- Supplementary material
HL: design, conceptualization, writing—review and editing,
supervision; X-MF: idea, design, conceptualization, The Supplementary Material for this article can be found
methodology, validation, writing—review and editing, online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2022.
supervision, funding acquisition. 1018801/full#supplementary-material

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