An Ecosystem Services Framework

Abstract

Ecosystem services are the full range of social, ecological, and economic benefits that people obtain from nature (Millennium Assessment 2003; Smith et al. 2011). These services include both biophysical (e.g., water, food, and fiber) and intangible (e.g., cultural or health) benefits. The concept originated in ecological economists’ attempts to assign monetary valuations to the goods and services humans receive from naturally functioning ecosystems, so that the full array of direct and indirect benefits are captured in environmental policy, management, and decision making (Westman 1977). The importance and value of ecosystem services are being recognized internationally (Farley and Costanza 2010; Muradian et al. 2010), as illustrated by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES 2012), which is currently supported by 124 nations. Many US state and federal natural resource agencies have adopted policies that include analyses of ecosystem services in planning and decision making. The US Environmental Protection Agency, US Geological Survey, and US National Park Service all have new initiatives regarding the identification and mapping of ecosystem services. Specific to national forestlands, the US Forest Service’s new planning rule (USDA 2012) requires all 175 national forests to report key ecosystem services for forest plan assessments and revisions.