Rice is a major cereal crop and staple food of eastern India, and most farmers depend solely on rice for their livelihood. Rice farming provides both tangible and non-tangible benefits to ecosystems which need to be maintained and enhanced. These benefits are provided through ecosystem services (ES) that include both marketable and non-marketable. In this study, the rice farms in eastern India were valued by quantifying the economic value of the services under conventional method of rice cultivation and the gap of ecosystem services value and farm income per unit area were assessed. A stratified random sampling technique was used in this study for selection of agro-climatic zones, districts, blocks, gram panchayat, and study units (households). Soil sampling was also performed for assessing the regulating services (biocontrol of pests, carbon flow, soil erosion, nitrogen fixation), provisioning services (food and by-products), and supporting services (soil fertility, hydrological flow, nutrient cycling, and soil formation). The results indicated that the total economic value of ecosystem services ranged from US$ 1238 to 1688 ha−1 year−1. The marketed (primary production) and non-marketed ecosystem services values ranged from 66–89 to 11–34% of the total, respectively. Valuation of some of the ecosystem services such as cultural services, biodiversity, and gas regulation, which may play a significant role in total ecosystem services, has not been made due to non-availability of data and appropriate methodology for rice ecosystem. Different values of parameters can explain the variability in ecosystem services among the agro-climatic zones in eastern India. Clustering of locations based on variability of ecosystem services helps in identifying intervention points for sustaining and improving ecosystem services, while permitting sustainable agro-ecological intensification. The highest total economic gap between ES value and farm income was found in the north central plateau zone (US$ 1063 ha−1 year−1) and the lowest in the north western plateau zone (US$ 670 ha−1 year−1). We suggest various measures to reduce the economic gap, including payments for ecosystem services for rice farming for sustainability of the ecosystem and agricultural development, while ensuring reliable farm income.

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印度东部稻田生态系统服务评估

稻米是印度东部的主要谷物作物和主食，大多数农民仅以稻米为生。稻作农业为需要维持和加强的生态系统提供了有形和无形的利益。这些好处是通过包括可销售和不可销售的生态系统服务（ES）提供的。在这项研究中，通过量化常规水稻种植方法下服务业的经济价值，对印度东部的水稻农场进行了估值，并评估了生态系统服务价值与单位面积农场收入之间的差距。在这项研究中，采用分层随机抽样技术来选择农业气候区，地区，街区，革兰人皮和研究单位（家庭）。还进行了土壤采样以评估调节服务（有害生物的生物防治，碳流量，土壤侵蚀，固氮），提供服务（食物和副产品）和支持服务（土壤肥力，水文流量，养分循环和土壤形成）。结果表明，生态系统服务的总经济价值在1238美元至1688公顷-1年-1年之间。市场（初级产品）和非市场生态系统服务的价值分别占总量的66-89％至11-34％。由于无法获得水稻生态系统的数据和适当的方法，尚未对某些生态系统服务（如文化服务，生物多样性和气体调节）进行评估，而这些评估可能在整个生态系统服务中发挥重要作用。参数的不同值可以解释印度东部农业气候区之间生态系统服务的变化。根据生态系统服务的可变性对位置进行聚类有助于确定维持和改善生态系统服务的干预点，同时允许可持续的农业生态集约化。ES值与农场收入之间的总经济差距最高的是北部中部高原地区（1063公顷-1年-1年），最低的是西北高原地区（670公顷-1年-1年）。 。我们建议采取各种措施来减少经济差距，包括为水稻种植的生态系统服务付费，以确保生态系统的可持续性和农业发展，同时确保可靠的农场收入。ES值与农场收入之间的总经济差距最高的是北部中部高原地区（1063公顷-1年-1年），最低的是西北高原地区（670公顷-1年-1年）。 。我们建议采取各种措施来减少经济差距，包括为水稻种植的生态系统服务付费，以确保生态系统的可持续性和农业发展，同时确保可靠的农场收入。ES值与农场收入之间的总经济差距最高的是北部中部高原地区（1063公顷-1年-1年），最低的是西北高原地区（670公顷-1年-1年）。 。我们建议采取各种措施来减少经济差距，包括为水稻种植的生态系统服务付费，以确保生态系统的可持续性和农业发展，同时确保可靠的农场收入。