Abstract:

The mountains in Beijing, accounting for 62% of the total area, function as an ecological barrier in Chinese capital. Economy development in the mountain region is a key to guarantee the ecological function, among which the development of fruit industry in the mountain area is one of the most effective approaches in harmonizing economy and ecological function. In order to provide the theoretical basis for healthy development of fruit industry, the universal soil loss equation (USLE) was utilized to estimate the eco-economic value of soil conservation service of orchard ecosystems. The results showed that the orchard ecosystems in Pinggu district conserved soil 77.10 t ·hm^-2 per year, and the annual reduced loss of soil organic matter,soil available nitrogen,soil available phosphorus and soil available potassium was 21 647.60,169.68,54.85 and 227.19 t, respectively. The surface soil loss in this areas were decreased by 238.92 hm² per annum, and the sedimentation in the reservoirs and rivers were reduced by 229 366 m³ per annum. The results revealed that the total value of soil conservation of Pinggu orchard ecosystems added up to about 11.294 million yuan (RMB) per annum, of which,about 8.1 million yuan of holding nutrient,153.7 thousand yuan of reducing reservoir silt and 3.1 million yuan of decreasing soil loss. The values of holding nutrient included soil organic matter 2.2 million yuan (RMB),soil available nitrogen 4.1 million yuan (RMB),soil available phosphorus 595.3 thousand yuan (RMB) and soil available potassium 1.1 million yuan (RMB) per annum respectively.

Key words: orchard ecosystems, soil conservation service, USLE, eco-economic value, Pinggu District of Beijing