Accounting for the water related ecosystem services of forests in the Southern Aegean region of Turkey

Abstract

This study aims to model hydrological ecosystem services provided by forests and explore how they can be captured in an ecosystem accounting framework. We test a dynamic GIS-based hydrological model to quantify and map key hydrological ecosystem services in the Southern Aegean Region of Turkey and integrate the services into an ecosystem account following the System of Environmental Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA). We map and account for services in physical and monetary terms, using an innovative model to quantify flood control services. Our paper connects forest management with water resource supply, eliciting the hydrological role of forests. The combined value of the three ecological services (groundwater recharge, flood control and sediment control) is about 201 million €/year. Reduction in forest coverage means that the economy will face the consequences of losses of these critical regulating services. Finally, we discuss opportunities, challenges, and limitations in the practical application of the ecosystem accounting concept.