This paper used TM and MODIS satellite data to map ecosystem types and determine ecological features for Fuxian catchment in Yunnan Province. The remote sensing data and meteorological data were combined to compute Net Primary Productivity (NPP) for different ecosystems in the catchment. Based on NPP values, geographic attribute data and statistical data, the ecological capital of Fuxian catchment was quantified and applied into distinguishing spatial distributions of varies ecosystems.
The ecological capital of Fuxian catchment was 8.278 billion RMB in 2001, 7.995 billion RMB in 2002, 7.035 billion RMB in 2003, and 7.008 billion RMB in 2004. Shrub land made the greatest contribution of the entire value and was the most important part of the ecological capital, the paddy field made the highest efficiency of contribution, and the value of soil-water conservation accounted for a large proportion in the ecological capital. The result showed a trend of gradual decrease in ecological capital. Some important countermeasures about the ecological capital management were proposed in this paper.