Capacity as "virtual stock" in ecosystem services accounting.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Accounting
• Ecological Economics
• Natural Resource Management

Background:

• Growing interest in ecosystem services accounting necessitates robust methodologies.
• International guidelines propose 'capacity' as the crucial link between ecosystem assets and services.
• Existing frameworks lack clear distinction between ecosystem assets and their service-generating capacity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the unresolved issue of defining and measuring ecosystem capacity.
• To establish a clear conceptual and practical link between ecosystem assets and ecosystem services.
• To propose a novel framework for ecosystem services accounting.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing Supply and Use tables for ecosystem services.
• Defining ecosystem capacity as a 'virtual stock' derived from ecosystem assets.
• Comparing ecosystem asset accounts with ecosystem capacity accounts.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated the relationship between ecosystem assets and ecosystem capacity using Supply and Use tables.
• Clarified the distinction between ecosystem assets and ecosystem capacity as a 'virtual stock'.
• Presented a novel approach for integrating capacity into ecosystem services accounting.

Conclusions:

• The proposed method provides a clearer definition and measurement of ecosystem capacity.
• This framework enhances the linkage between ecosystem assets and services in accounting.
• The approach offers a foundation for future research and development in ecosystem accounting.