Ecosystem Service Analysis Flashcards
What are ecosystem services?
In the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment, Ecosystem services have been defined as followed: “Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems.”
This definition is derived from two other commonly referenced and representative definitions: Ecosystem services are the conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems, and the species that make them up, sustain and fulfill human life. They maintain biodiversity and the production of ecosystem goods, such as seafood, forage timber, biomass fuels, natural fiber, and many pharmaceuticals, industrial products, and their precursors (Daily 1997b:3). Ecosystem goods (such as food) and services (such as waste assimilation) represent the benefits human populations derive, directly or indirectly, from ecosystem functions (Costanza et al. 1997:253).
What are three of the four ecosystem services categories as defined by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment?
Provisioning Services, Regulating Services, Cultural Services and Supporting Services
Why is harvesting fish from a lake a cultural and provisioning service?
The fish are food for the people and fishing from the lake is a way of living for those people. But note, you have to be careful not to double count services.
The purpose of the cascade framework is to show the pathway of ecosystem services from ecological structures and processes to human well-being. An ecological process or vegetation structure results in an ecosystem function, which results in an ecosystem service, which result in a benefit, which results in a value. Give for each element of the cascade framework (the underlined words) an appropriate description for the ecosystem service ‘flood protection’.
Ecological process or vegetation structure: vegetation cover
Ecosystem function: slowing down passage of water
Ecosystem service: flood protection
Benefit: protection for flooding
Value: WTP for flood protection
Provide three examples of a provisioning service provided by a mountain ecosystem
timber, food, medicine?
Explain the difference between direct use values and indirect use values of ecosystem services and give an example of each.
Direct use values are the economic or social value of the goods or benefits derived from the services provided by an ecosystem that are used directly, for example harvesting of wood or food (consumptive uses) or the enjoyment of scenic beauty (non-consumptive uses).
Indirect use values are the economic or social value derived from the goods and services provided by an ecosystem that are used indirectly, for example, pollination.
Imagine the ecosystem service carbon sequestration provided by a tropical forest. Give an appropriate indicator (including an appropriate unit) that represents this ecosystem service and explain how you would quantify this service. Also indicate how this service is/will be impacted given human behaviour.
Examples of appropriate indicators: forest or tree cover in ha or above (and below) ground biomass in t C/ha or carbon sequestration in t C/ha. To quantify carbon sequestration you can use a model (look-up table or process-based model) to translate forest cover into t C/ha. The service could be impacted by deforestation or reforestation in tropical areas.
Give an example of a stated preference method to value non-market ecosystem services and discuss one of its limitations.
Stated preference approaches are based on constructed or hypothetical markets, i.e. they ask people what economic value they attach to those goods and services. In other words, the economic value is revealed through a hypothetical or constructed market based on questionnaires. They were developed as methods for valuing goods and services for which there are no observable market prices – typically environmental benefits.
Provide six ecosystem services that can be supplied by a wetland ecosystem, including at least one regulating, one provisioning and one cultural service.
Provisioning services:
Flood plain agriculture, livestock fodder, fish, domestic water supply, fuel wood, timber, non-timber forest products
Regulating services:
Flood protection, erosion control, carbon sequestration, resilience to extreme events
Cultural services:
Tourism, habitat
Ecosystem services (and ecosystem assets) can be used in many different ways to support environmental policy making. Give four examples of different types of ways in which the concept of ecosystem services can be used in support of environmental (and other) policy making and implementation.
To communicate the value of an area (awareness raising), to assist in land use planning, to develop a PES, to determine the linkages between economy and ecology, to optimise management of natural resources, to analyse stakeholder conflicts.
