Ecosystems provide a wide variety of marketable goods. However, society is increasingly recognizing the myriad functions—the observable manifestations of ecosystem processes such as nutrient recycling, regulation of climate, and maintenance of biodiversity—that they provide, without which human civilizations could not thrive.
Valuing Ecosystem Services evaluates methods for assessing services and the associated economic values of aquatic and related terrestrial ecosystems. It focuses on identifying and assessing existing economic methods to quantitatively determine the intrinsic value of these ecosystems in support of improved environmental decision-making, including situations where ecosystem services can be only partially valued.
Valuing Ecosystem Services: Toward Better Environmental Decision-Making
Nutrient recycling, habitat for plants and animals, flood control, and water supply are among the many beneficial services provided by aquatic ecosystems. In making decisions about human activities, such as draining a wetland for a housing …