How can ecological product value realization contribute to landscape sustainability?

Abstract

Towards the common goal of improving human well-being, Ecological Product Value Realization (EPVR) and landscape sustainability are both based on natural capital as the material foundation and sustainability science as the theoretical foundation. Integrating these two concepts can help advance the development of landscape sustainability science.
This study was intended to explore the different ways that EPVR can contribute to landscape sustainability science.
EPVR can contribute to the science and practice of landscape sustainability in multiple ways: (1) as an economic solution; (2) as an axiological research perspective; (3) as a multi-disciplinary, all-round and multi-level system concept; (4) as a dynamic mechanism with socioeconomic flows in landscape mosaic; (5) a holistic methodology through interdisciplinary integration; (6) as a landscape sustainability research approach following the “resource assetization–asset capitalization–capital monetization” chain of steps.
EPVR can contribute to landscape sustainability science in the following ways: to assist identifying landscape pattern by ecological product survey and monitoring; to promote landscape governance by natural-resource value transformation; to consolidate the resource base of sustainable landscapes with ecological compensation; to optimize landscape pattern by balancing the supply and demand of ecological products; to enhance landscape biodiversity by restoring ecosystems; and to optimize landscape sustainability evaluation using the comprehensive evaluation method of EPVR.

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https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-024-01802-6
RESEARCH
How can ecological product value realization contribute
tolandscape sustainability?
QianruChen· ZhiyuanLi· HualinXie·
ManyuWu· YehanPan· ShilongLuo
Received: 30 July 2023 / Accepted: 26 December 2023 / Published online: 5 February 2024
© The Author(s) 2024
Conclusions EPVR can contribute to landscape
sustainability science in the following ways: to assist
identifying landscape pattern by ecological prod-
uct survey and monitoring; to promote landscape
governance by natural-resource value transforma-
tion; to consolidate the resource base of sustainable
landscapes with ecological compensation; to opti-
mize landscape pattern by balancing the supply and
demand of ecological products; to enhance landscape
biodiversity by restoring ecosystems; and to optimize
landscape sustainability evaluation using the compre-
hensive evaluation method of EPVR.
Keywords Ecological product value realization·
Landscape sustainability· Ecological products·
Natural capital· Interdisciplinary integration
The subject background ofecological product
value realization contributes tolandscape
sustainability science
Landscape sustainability science (LSS) is a place-
based, use-inspired science of understanding and
improving the dynamic relationship between ecosys-
tem services and human well-being with spatially
explicit methods (Wu 2013). This definition is based
on the recognition of the ultimate goal of landscape
sustainability as seeking the landscape and regional
spatial pattern that promotes long-term maintenance
and improvement of ecosystem services and human
Abstract
Context Towards the common goal of improving
human well-being, Ecological Product Value Reali-
zation (EPVR) and landscape sustainability are both
based on natural capital as the material foundation
and sustainability science as the theoretical founda-
tion. Integrating these two concepts can help advance
the development of landscape sustainability science.
Objectives This study was intended to explore the
different ways that EPVR can contribute to landscape
sustainability science.
Results EPVR can contribute to the science and
practice of landscape sustainability in multiple ways:
(1) as an economic solution; (2) as an axiologi-
cal research perspective; (3) as a multi-disciplinary,
all-round and multi-level system concept; (4) as a
dynamic mechanism with socioeconomic flows in
landscape mosaic; (5) a holistic methodology through
interdisciplinary integration; (6) as a landscape sus-
tainability research approach following the “resource
assetization–asset capitalization–capital monetiza-
tion” chain of steps.
Q.Chen· Z.Li· H.Xie(*)· M.Wu· Y.Pan· S.Luo
School ofApplied Economics (School ofDigital
Economics), Jiangxi University ofFinance andEconomics,
Nanchang330013, China
e-mail: xiehl_2000@163.com
Q.Chen· Z.Li· H.Xie· M.Wu· Y.Pan· S.Luo
Institute ofEcological Civilization, Jiangxi University
ofFinance andEconomics, Nanchang330013, China
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well-being in the context of internal dynamics and
external disturbances with uncertainty. These optimal
or suboptimal patterns are necessarily dynamic and
developing with time (Wu et al. 2014). Ecological
civilization is a new form of human civilization fol-
lowing industrial civilization. Ecological civilization
construction helps address global challenges such
as environmental pollution, climate change, ecosys-
tem imbalance and biodiversity loss brought about
by industrial civilization. Ecological product value
realization (EPVR) is an important part of ecological
civilization construction. Entering the era of ecologi-
cal civilization, exploring how EPVR contributes to
landscape sustainability is of great significance for
enriching the theoretical connotation and practical
implications of landscape sustainability science.
The concept of ecological products originated in
China, and similar conceptions include eco-labels and
ecosystem services. The eco-label is an environmen-
tal performance certification introduced by govern-
ment agencies and other public service organizations
(Hou etal. 2023). Just like other signs and prompts,
eco-labels are a way of informing consumers about
more sustainable product choices and advising them
of how to use the product more sustainably (Leire
and Thidell 2005). Ecosystem services are the con-
ditions and processes through which natural ecosys-
tems and the species that make them up, sustain and
fulfill human life (Daily 1997). Unlike the previous
two, ecological products include both purely natural
ecosystem services and human-produced products.
Specifically, ecological products refer to a continuous
bundle of products, including ecological design prod-
ucts, eco-label products, and ecosystem services(Ma
2012; Huang 2015; Shen and Xu 2017). Therefore,
ecological products refer to a collection of products
and services obtained from nature or processed by
humans, with functions of material supply, life sup-
port, environmental improvement, cultural inherit-
ance, etc. (Xie and Chen 2022a). According to var-
ied criteria, ecological products can be classified into
different categories (Table 1). Generally, ecological
products are classified into ecological material prod-
ucts, regulation service products and cultural service
products according to their manifestation and func-
tion (Shen and Li 2021). Ecological product value is
composed of material product value and functional
service value provided by ecological products for
human survival and development. The value realiza-
tion of ecological products refers to the processes of
transferring ecological value, etc., of ecological prod-
ucts to economic benefits via rational development
and utilization of ecosystem products while main-
taining the stability and integrity of ecosystems (Lin
et al. 2023). The key link is to use economic value
to monetize the protection cost or utilization value of
ecological products (Wang etal. 2016; Xie and Chen
2022a). EPVR is committed to protecting the ecologi-
cal environment, promoting the harmonious coexist-
ence between humans and nature, and addressing the
asymmetry between private costs and social costs
in environmental protection. The overlap between
EPVR and landscape sustainability science in mate-
rial basis, practical goal, and theoretical foundation
makes space for the integration of the two disciplines.
Common material basis: natural capital
Natural capital refers to the stock of natural resources
and environmental assets that can provide useful
product or service flows now or in the future (Daly
1996). It is composed of three parts: surface space;
various non-artificially produced species that form
various ecosystems; and the stock of substances
Table 1 Categories of ecological products
Categories of ecological products Criterion
Ecological material products, ecological cultural products, ecological service
products
Manifestation and function (Shen and Li 2021)
National public ecological products, regional or watershed public ecological
products, communal public ecological products, private ecological products
Public products theory (Zeng etal. 2014)
Public welfare products, nonpublic welfare products Business nature (Dou etal. 2022)
Public ecological products, quasi-public ecological products, business ecological
products
Characteristics of production and consumption
(Zhang etal. 2021; Wang etal. 2021a)
Pure public products, congestible public products, common pool resources Competitiveness and exclusivity (Gao etal. 2022)
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stored in the Earth’s crust and atmosphereto provide
raw materials for production and absorb wastes (Wan-
yan 2009). The circulation of natural capital facilitates
the production of ecological products that sustains the
development of individuals, families, enterprises, and
the entire society. Natural capital, ecological products
and ecological product value form the interdepend-
ent relationship between stock, flow and value (Zhang
etal. 2022). In this perspective, natural capital plays
an important role in the material basis for EPVR.
Ecosystem services are one of the core compo-
nents of landscape sustainability science (Wu 2013).
Ecosystem services are sourced from the mate-
rial flow, energy flow and information flow in natu-
ral capital, and its combination with manufacturing
capital and human capital generates human welfare
(Costanza 1997). In this sight, natural capital lays the
material foundation for landscape sustainability. A
number of definitions of landscape sustainability have
been centered on natural capital (Haines-Young 2000;
Odum and Barrett 2005; Potschin and Haines-Young
2006; Nassauer and Opdam 2008; Potschin and
Haines-Young 2013; Turner et al. 2013). For exam-
ple, Odum and Barrett (2005) argued that a sustain-
able landscape is one that maintains “natural capital
and resources to supply with necessities or nourish-
ment to prevent falling below a given threshold of
health or vitality’’. Haines-Young (2000) argued that
landscape sustainability is about maintaining the total
amount of natural capital and associated ecosystem
goods and services in a landscape without increasing
people’s liabilities (Potschin and Haines-Young 2006,
2013).
It was implied that both EPVR and landscape sus-
tainability need to be adapted to the natural charac-
teristics of natural capital and its elements. Follow
the natural laws of formation, reproduction, restora-
tion and distribution, and pay attention to the finite-
ness, scarcity and nonrenewable nature of natural
resources, as well as the adaptability, vulnerability
and resilience of environmental systems. This is also
a prerequisite for the contribution of EPVR to land-
scape sustainability science.
Common practical goal: human well-being
improvement
In addition to protecting and restoring ecosystems,
EPVR also attaches importance to poverty reduction,
sustained livelihood improvement (Kareiva et al.
2011; Guerry et al. 2015; Mandle et al. 2019), cost-
effectiveness, equity, governance, and specific objec-
tives such as enhancing the supply capacity of public
goods, promoting ecosystem services, and integrating
urban‒rural development. Landscape sustainability
is defined as the capacity of a landscape to consist-
ently provide long-term, landscape-specific ecosys-
tem services essential for maintaining and improving
human well-being (Wu 2013). This indicates that the
ultimate goal of landscape sustainability is to improve
human well-being, that is, to meet the material, cul-
tural, and spiritual needs of contemporary and future
generations (Zhao and Fang 2014). Both EPVR and
landscape sustainability are highly compatible with
the well-being of humans derived from ecosystems,
such as security, basic material needs to maintain a
high-quality life, and freedom of choice and action
(Zhao and Zhang 2006). EPVR is the process in
which the ecosystem provides products and services
to enhance the sustainable well-being of human
beings and nature through ecological processes or
joint effects with human social production. It is also
the process of developing and strengthening land-
scape sustainability (Fig.1).
Common theoretical foundations: sustainability
theory
Landscape sustainability has long been recognized
as a key research topic in sustainability science (Wu
2013). As the basic spatial units for sustainability
development research and practice, landscapes and
regions are the most operational spatial scales for
studying sustainability processes and mechanisms,
as well as an important pivotal scale for connect-
ing global and local factors (Wu 2006, 2012, 2013).
According tothe two opposing sustainability para-
digms (Neumayer 2003), strong sustainability pos-
its that natural capital is non-substitutable, while
weak sustainability holds that it is substitutable.
Two paradigms of EPVR are thus derived: weak
sustainability theory inspires the EPVR paradigm
of “value transformation”, which emphasizes the
use of market mechanisms to transform ecologi-
cal value into economic value and promote the
transformation of ecological advantages into eco-
nomic advantages; strong sustainability theory
inspires the EPVR paradigm of “value protection”,
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emphasizing reliance on government regulatory
measures to protect the value of natural capital (Shi
2021). Landscape sustainability science inspires
a spatial perspective based on landscape scale for
EPVR study; meanwhile, the two EPVR paradigms
based on strong and weak sustainability theories
also provide a sustainable solution combining mar-
ketization and government regulation for landscape
ecology study. This facilitates the effective manage-
ment and coupling of socioeconomic and ecologi-
cal systems, thereby smoothly transitioning toward
sustainability.
What can EPVR provide forlandscape
sustainability?
The overlap of EPVR and landscape sustainability
science in material basis, practical goal and theo-
retical basis provides possibility for the integration
of the two. Landscape itself is an important ecologi-
cal product, including ecological material products,
ecological regulatory products and ecological cul-
tural products at the landscape level. This section
discusses what EPVR can provide for landscape
sustainability in terms of research perspective,
research paradigm, methodology, etc.
A market-based economic solution involving multiple
subjects
Landscape sustainability involves the environment,
economics, equity, aesthetics, experience, and eth-
ics (Musacchio 2009), which determine the diver-
sity of ecological and cultural knowledge. There-
fore, interdisciplinary cooperation in multiple fields
is necessary for landscape sustainability. With land-
scape sustainability science’s focus on the interac-
tion between landscape pattern, landscape service,
and human well-being (Zhao and Fang 2014),
EPVR provides a market-based economic solu-
tion involving multiple subjects. Landscape itself
is a kind of ecological product, and it possesses the
general characteristics of ecological products: the
first is externality, that is, the positive externality of
landscape ecosystems may lead to insufficient sup-
ply and overuse of landscape ecological products,
such as landscape resource loss, environmental pol-
lution, and ecological degradation. “Internaliza-
tion of external costs” in economics such as envi-
ronmental taxation has played an important role in
coping with the negative effects caused by resource
overutilization, and the insufficient supply of land-
scape public goods caused by free riding. The sec-
ond characteristic is indivisibility. Being unable to
be subdivided infinitely, magnitude threshold may
Fig. 1 Common practical goal: human well-being improvement
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exist in the value realization of landscape ecologi-
cal products. Applying scale economy theory to
the overall planning and coordination of landscape
ecological products helps to enhance landscape sus-
tainability. The third characteristic is the implicit
nature of value. In particular, the regulation service
value and cultural service value of landscape eco-
logical productsare difficult to directly reflect in the
market, so a certain economic mechanism is neces-
sary to make the implicit value explicit (Shi 2021),
which involves the distribution mechanism of land-
scape ecological elements, the supply and demand
mechanism of landscape ecological products, and
the price mechanism.
An axiological research perspective based on
dynamic value transformation and value sharing
Social equality, one of the main goals of sustain-
able development (United Nations 2015), embod-
ies the concept of value sharing of EPVR, and one
key point lies in landscape value transformation.
From the perspective of axiology, it is worthwhile
to explore the sources and compositions of land-
scape ecological product value, including use value
and nonuse value (e.g., existence value), economic
value and noneconomic value (e.g., cultural value);
the driving force of landscape value flow, the evalu-
ation and realization path of landscape value, ways
to enhance human well-being through value shar-
ing…… These explorations highlight the impor-
tance of natural capital theory and inclusive wealth
theory in landscape sustainability science, and
strengthen the link between landscape ecosystems
and humanistic systems, thus providing channels
for interdisciplinary integration between landscape
sustainability science and resource economics,
institutional economics, sociology, etc. In addition,
the magnitude of value also provides ideas for the
principles and methods of landscape pattern and
process scaling in landscape ecology. Takingvalue
measurement for example, it can be taken as an
evaluation index of an integrated landscape index
reflecting social, cultural and ecological diversity
and heterogeneity. The composition of landscape
value also provides reference for landscape pattern
optimization regarding biodiversity conservation,
ecosystem management and sustainable landscape
development.
A multidisciplinary, all-round and multilevel system
concept
EPVR is a comprehensive new-born research field
integrating economics, ecology, environmental sci-
ence, statistics, remote sensing technology, and
involving various stakeholders including government,
enterprises, financial institutions, and the public. Out-
lined by a multi-layered and multi-scale structure
composing of biological system and value judgment
etc., EPVR covers a wide range of fields including
ecological environment, natural resources, landscape
planning, industrial development, and green finance,
and involves varied aspects, such as ecological prod-
uct investigation and monitoring, value evaluation,
operation and development, protection and compen-
sation. Owing to the systematicness nature of this
structure, EPVR can serve as a platform for bringing
together scholars from different disciplines and fields
to search for common landscape sustainability strat-
egies. It enables scholars with different disciplinary
backgrounds, ideologies and values to discuss pos-
sible points of common interest regarding landscape
sustainability and encourages further exploration
onlandscape sustainability from varied perspectives,
facilitating breakthrough insights in different dimen-
sions. The integration of this knowledge will con-
tribute to expanding a new study field that combines
EPVR and landscape sustainability.
A dynamic mechanism with factor flow and value
stream in landscape mosaic
EPVR is a process of embedding ecological resources
into regional spatial environment and integrating
them with multiple factors, such as economy, soci-
ety, culture and environment. In the symbiotic sys-
tem composed of natural ecosystems and socioeco-
nomic systems, landscape elements not only undergo
constant changes and form heterogeneous patterns
through interactions with ecosystem process in the
flow of energy, material, and information, but also
participate in the production, distribution, exchange
and consumption of social reproduction as the core
production factor of modern economic systems,
constituting an important entity in the value flow of
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ecological products. Relevanttopics include, but not
limited to the factor flow and value stream in land-
scape mosaic involve the existing forms of factor flow
and value stream in landscape mosaic, the motion
trajectories under different characteristics and inten-
sities of human activities, variations with spatial and
scale changes, and the transformation mechanism of
ecological resources, production factors, and land-
scape value. Discussion on the above topics helps to
further expand the research scope of energy, material
and biological flow processes in heterogeneous land-
scapes. It is also one of the most essential and distinc-
tive aspects of landscape sustainability science.
A holistic methodology providing landscape
sustainability solutions through interdisciplinary
integration
According to the ecological product value accounting
theory, on the basis of physical quantity accounting
of landscape ecological products, a value accounting
method system for landscape ecological products can
be constructed. It includes accounting method, evalu-
ation index system and value measurement standard
of landscape ecological products, thus providing a
basis for their operation and development, ecologi-
cal protection compensation, market transactions, etc.
According to the theory of public goods, the payers
of landscape ecological products are usually identi-
fied according to value benefit range or the size of
ecological product consumer group, thus generating
corresponding payment scheme such as government
payment (e.g., ecological compensation), beneficiary
payment, or consumer payment. As is the case with
most ecological products, the positive and negative
externaties of landscape protection and destruction
are not adequately reflected in the costs and prices
of ecological products. Combing environmental eco-
nomic theory, two alternatives are available. The
first is direct control through administrative means.
For example, apply usage control or environmental
standards on the basis of determining the quantity
and intensity of the consumption of landscape eco-
logical products, such as license trading or quota trad-
ing. The second is to allocate landscape resources
through market-oriented mechanisms, such as the
Pigouvian tax. These interdisciplinary theories and
solutions facilitate the formation of a method system
in which diverse theories, methods and technologies
for landscape EPVR are integrated, thus enrich-
ing the content and level of landscape sustainability
methodology.
A landscape sustainability research approach
following the “resource assetization–asset
capitalization–capital monetization” chain of steps
An important link in realizing the value of ecologi-
cal products is to make their value explicit, in which
a popular approach is to monetize the multidimen-
sional value of ecological products. It follows the
“resource assetization–asset capitalization–capital
monetization” chain of steps. (1) Resource assetiza-
tion is a process of transforming ecological resources
into ecological assets through effective management
and protection without harming the rights and inter-
ests of the owners. (2) Asset capitalization is a pro-
cess of assert conversion and capital appreciation by
appropriate capitalized operations on the condition of
clear property rights of ecological assets. (3) Capital
monetization emphasizes monetizing ecological prod-
uct value through market mechanisms. Following the
“resource assetization–asset capitalization–capital
monetization” chain of steps, EPVR provides eco-
nomic support for landscape protection through value
transformation, and landscape protection consolidates
the resource base for value transformation. This facil-
itates the mutual transformation of landscape eco-
logical, social and economic values, thus forming a
virtuous cycle and enhancing landscape sustainability
(Fig.2) (Xie and Chen 2022b).
EPVR pathways contributing tolandscape
sustainability
Identify landscape patterns with the aid of ecological
product investigation and monitoring
Ecological product investigation and monitoring
makes full use of the natural resource survey system
and ecological environment monitoring system to
investigate, track and monitor (1) the basic informa-
tion on the stock status of various natural resources
and ecological elements and (2) the basic information
on ecological products, including the distribution,
supply level, quality grade, functional characteristics,
ownership, protection, development and utilization
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situation. On this basis, a catalog list of ecological
products is formulated to comprehensively reflect the
state of the main ecological elements, as well as the
ecological products and ecological services that the
ecosystem can provide. These pieces of information
can be applied to investigate landscape element types,
spatial distribution patterns and characteristics. It ena-
bles a more comprehensive understanding of the dis-
tribution characteristics of ecological processes and
geographical phenomena in varied areas and a more
precise identification of their inherent laws, thus facil-
itating a more accurate analysis of the spatiotemporal
interaction of surface landscapes and a more compre-
hensive description and explanation of the evolution
of surface landscape patterns (Liu etal. 2022).
Promote landscape governance by
ecological-resource transformation
As mentioned before, “resource assetization–asset
capitalization–capital monetization” is an impor-
tant approach of EPVR. It is a process of preserving
and increasing ecological resource value based on
the cognition, protection, development, utilization,
investment and operation of ecological resources.
Ecological resource value isvaried forms of value at
different stages of EPVR, and the multidimensional
value of ecological products are realized in the con-
stant changes of the forms and values of ecological
resources. The meaning of realization is twofold: the
first refers to the maintenance and improvement of
key natural capital1, which applies to ecological prod-
uct value that cannot be transformed into economic
value (Xie and Chen 2022a). Taking ecologically
fragile areas as an example, it’s prior to improve the
supply capacity of ecological products through eco-
logical protection, so as to realize the goals of land-
scape governance including landscape morphology
optimization, ecological function enhancement and
ecological environment improvement. The second
refers to the realization of economic benefits. Through
market trading, optimal allocation, investment and
operation, etc., the economic value transformed from
the multidimensional values of landscape ecological
products facilitates landscape governance by finan-
cial support, thus forming a benign mechanism that
supports landscape governance by ecological-product
value transformation.
Fig. 2 “Resource assetization–asset capitalization–capital monetization” chain of steps
1 According to English Nature, key natural capital refers to
natural capital that is crucial to human health or the effective
functioning of life support systems, or natural capital of high
value that cannot be substituted for any practical application.
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Consolidate the resource foundation of landscape
sustainability with ecological product protection and
compensation
Ecological protection compensation is an important
means of realizing the economic value of public eco-
logical products. It refers to the behavior in which
the government, in the public interest, pays the labor
value and opportunity cost to the producers of eco-
logical products for ecological protection in restricted
development areas (Zhang et al. 2019). Restricted
development is always accompanied with the inevi-
table economic loss of ecological product providers,
and the asymmetric cost and benefits between actual
users and providers of ecological products may easily
lead to market failure. Therefore, it’s essential to exert
the guiding role of the government to redistribute the
asymmetric cost and benefits authoritatively (Xie and
Chen 2022a). The main measures include financial
subsidies and financial transfer payments. According
to statistics, in 2019, China invested nearly 200bil-
lion Yuan in ecological protection and compensation,
and 15 provinces participated in 10 pilot projects of
ecological compensation in cross-provincial river
basins (Wang etal. 2021b). This has played an impor-
tant role in maintaining national ecological security
and improving the ecological environment, further
consolidating the resource foundation of landscape
sustainability.
Optimize landscape patterns by balancing the supply
and demand of ecological products
The market-oriented EPVR mode is an important
way for ecological products to integrate into the
market economy system, and the balance of sup-
ply and demand is the key to the smooth opera-
tion of the market-oriented mechanism. Currently,
the widespread overexploitation, extensive utili-
zation and extravagant waste of resources restrict
landscape sustainability to a great extent. These
unreasonable planning and utilization of landscape
resources directly lead to the potential supply short-
age of ecological products and structural regional
imbalance, which are manifested in weak ecosys-
tem function, single landscape structure, ecological
imbalance, landscape pattern chaos, and increased
landscape fragmentation. Expanding the supply of
high-quality ecological products and controlling the
total consumption help approach Pareto optimal-
ity of matching the total consumption of ecological
products with the potential market supply (Chai and
Dong 2020), thereby optimizing landscape patterns.
Promote biodiversity conservation at the landscape
level through habitat conservation and restoration
Rich biodiversity implies abundant ecosystem types,
specific species and genetic resources, regional dis-
tribution characteristics, unique landscapes and
cultural resources, which are of high ecological
and cultural value. Protecting biodiversity helps to
improve the value and quality of ecological prod-
ucts, while EPVR also helps to improve the effec-
tiveness of biodiversity conservation. Economic
value generated from varied EPVR modes, such
as ecological product branding, franchising, ben-
efit compensation or carbon sink trading, provides
financial support for habitat protection and resto-
ration, thus promoting biodiversity. The increased
biodiversity further improves the value and quality
of ecological products and consolidates the resource
base for EPVR (Fig.3).
Enrich landscape sustainability evaluation system by
EPVR evaluation
Following the concept of sustainability, evaluating
EPVR from the perspectives of economic and eco-
logical benefits (Xu et al. 2023), EPVR effective-
ness (Wang etal. 2023), EPVR capacity (Yu and
Xiong 2023), value realization rate(Lin etal. 2023)
etc., is of positive significance for the enrichment
of a comprehensive and operational landscape sus-
tainability evaluation system that integrates natu-
ral, social, and economic elements. The results of
EPVR evaluation have various implications with
respect to the improvement and understanding (1)
of the specific set of landscape sustainability evalu-
ation and the responses of landscape sustainabil-
ity to the operation and management of ecological
products, (2) of the potential benefit that the appli-
cation of a transfer of sets of EPVR evaluations into
landscape sustainability assessments could have
for the sustainability-based assessment in general
(Schädler etal. 2013) (Table2).
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Conclusions anddiscussion
In September 2021, Professor Tobias Plieninger men-
tioned in an interview that it is imperative to integrate
landscape sustainability science with other related
disciplines (Tobias and Guo 2022). Given the overlap
between EPVR and landscape sustainability science
in material basis, practical goals and theoretical foun-
dations, they are both committed to the better supply
of environmental elements to human society, thus lay-
ing the foundation for the integration of the two. Dis-
cussing the contributions of EPVR to landscape sus-
tainability is an exploration of discipline integration,
which reflects the interdisciplinary nature of land-
scape sustainability science and helps to develop and
perfect the concept and theory system of landscape
sustainability. Traditionally, quantifying the contribu-
tion of landscape to human welfare in an economic
way is not easy. The introduction of EPVR offers a
more intuitive and measurable way to recognize the
contribution of landscape to human socioeconomic
development. At the same time, landscape sustain-
ability science also provides a multi-scale and spatial
solution for EPVR, which is also a focus in future
study.
EPVR contributes to the science and practice of
landscape sustainability in multiple ways: (1) as an
economic solution; (2) as an axiological research
perspective; (3) as a multi-disciplinary, all-round and
multi-level system concept; (4) as a dynamic mecha-
nism with socioeconomic flows in landscape mosaic;
(5) a holistic methodology through interdisciplinary
integration; (6) as a landscape sustainability research
approach following the “resource assetization–asset
capitalization–capital monetization” chain of steps.
In these ways, more possibilities for policy and eco-
nomic sustainability regarding landscapes become
available. Emphasizing a recyclable and sustainable
pattern, the cycle of economic, social, and ecological
values during the EPVR process provides a new way
for humans to strengthen landscape sustainability.
Taking the ecological compensation mode regarding
EPVR as an example, the users of ecosystem services
provided by landscape resources have to assume equal
responsibility with the right to use them. The sustain-
able supply of landscape ecological products needs to
be guaranteed by financial support or technological
restoration. More than landscape resource protection,
it is also a supportive measure for human beings to
gain well-being from sustainable landscapes.
EPVR is a grand systematic project involving
environmental protection, top-level design, techni-
cal support and other aspects of ecological, eco-
nomic and social systems. This discussion presents a
Fig. 3 EPVR and biodiversity conservation
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Table 2 Several main EPVR evaluation methods
Evaluation object Methodologies/indicators Index measurement Case findings
Evaluation of economic and ecological
benefits of ecological restoration projects
(Xu etal. 2023)
Method: comprehensive evaluation
method
Index: economic benefit, public welfare
ecological benefit, project cost
The annual economic performance of
various types of business activities in
the restoration area, the annual value
of various regulatory services provided
by ecological products, the direct cost
of investment in ecological restoration
projects etc.
The total direct and indirect economic
benefit of ecological restoration project
of Jiangyin Riverside Park, China is
2780.63million RMB, while the public
welfare ecological benefit is 1569.85mil-
lion RMB
EPVR effectiveness (Wang etal. 2023) Method: entropy weight method and com-
prehensive index method
Index: performance of ecological product
supply, improvement of the trading
environment of ecological products, and
improvement of people’s welfare
The proportion of surface water with fine
quality, the construction of ecological
financial products, and the sewage treat-
ment rate etc.
The effectiveness of improving the trading
environment of ecological products ranks
the first, followed by the performance
of ecological product supply and the
improvement of people’s welfare, respec-
tively, in the study areas
EPVR capacity (Yu and Xiong 2023) Method: entropy weighted TOPSIS
method.
Index: input capability, operational capa-
bility, organizational capability
The newly increased soil erosion control
area, the proportion of water-saving
irrigation area to cultivated land area, the
number of typical EPVR cases selected
by the Ministry of Natural Resources,
etc.
The EPVR capacity in eastern China is
better than that in western and northeast
China
Value realization rate of ecological prod-
ucts (Lin etal. 2023)
Method: comprehensive evaluation meth-
odology
Index: ratio of realized economic value of
ecological products to Gross Ecosystem
Product ( GEP)
Total value of ecological material prod-
ucts, total value of ecological regulatory
service products, total value of cultural
service products etc.
In 2019, the value realization rate of
ecological products in Lishui, China was
24.76%
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conceptual framework of the contributions of EPVR
to landscape sustainability. EPVR involves various
natural resources, such as mountains, water, forests,
wetlands, oceans, grasslands, etc. The realization
modes of different natural resource are varied, and
different resource combinations may give rise to new
value realization mechanisms. Accurately finding the
integrating point with landscape sustainability in the
grand EPVR connotation and further seeking a break-
through constitute the key to the integration of the
two.
Author contributions QC and HX conceptualized the
research and performed the validation. QC and ZL admin-
istered the project, developed the methodology, conducted
the formal analysis and wrote and prepared the original draft
manuscript. MW, YP and SL produced visualizations. QC and
HX reviewed and edited the manuscript. QC and HX acquired
funding. All the authors contributed to drafting the manuscript
and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Funding This study was supported by the Major Pro-
jects of the National Social Science Foundation of China
(21&ZD185), the National Natural Science Foundation of
China (42261050&42371285), and the China Postdoctoral Sci-
ence Foundation (2023M731428).
Data availability The data and materials presented in this
study are available from the author upon request.
Declarations
Competing interests The authors declare no competing inter-
ests.
Ethical approval Not applicable.
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Com-
mons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits
use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any
medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the
original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Crea-
tive Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The
images or other third party material in this article are included
in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated
otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not
included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your
intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds
the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly
from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
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