Ecosystem services valuation to support decisionmaking on public lands—A case study of the San Pedro River watershed, Arizona

Abstract

Willingness to Pay Scenario Carbon sequestration and storage Water supply Biodiversity (habitat quality) Aesthetic viewsheds Proximity to open space Recreation Urban growth Loss Loss Loss Gain Gain Loss. Mesquite management Loss Gain Gain Water augmentation Gain. service valuation is useful only if it improves the ability to identify the tradeoffs between alternative management actions facing decisionmakers. From the outset of the project, Gila District and San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area managers and staff were involved with defining the direction of the analysis. Ecosystem Services Analyzed On the basis of stakeholder discussions at the project kickoff meeting held in Tucson, Ariz., in January 2010, broad categories of ecosystem services of interest were identified for the San Pedro River watershed. Participants sought to specify concrete economic benefits and beneficiaries relevant to these broad classes of ecosystem services, as described below for each broad group of services. Ecological "endpoints"-the Management issues Broad Specific Water Water quality. Water quantity. Surface and groundwater flows from Mexico: quality and quantity. Biodiversity Nonnative species. Threatened and endangered species recovery. Preserving biodiversity. Cultural Cultural site protection (for example, Murray Springs Clovis site). Rural character and lifestyle. American Indian treaty and trust responsibilities. International border Undocumented immigrants. Border safety. Recreation Managing recreational demand. Hunting and game management. Multiple-use demand. Ecological process management Soil conservation. Grassland preservation and erosion control. Forage and range provision. Wildfire management. Habitat connectivity and corridors. Growth and change Climate change. Urban growth.

A Framework for Quantitative Assessment of Impacts Related to Energy and Mineral Resource Development

“…The complexity of possible applications is limited only by the availability of necessary data and quantified relationships between development and impacts. Inclusion of social values (e.g., disrupted viewsheds, lost recreational opportunities, lifestyle improvement due to local economic growth) can readily be accomplished given adequate data (e.g., Sherrouse et al 2011;Bagstad et al 2012). Inclusion of economic components and extension to full economic valuation are possible for any application, given adequate data and suitable valuation schemes; methods and data related to ecosystems services provide a means for mapping and valuing natural processes that benefit humans.…”

Ecosystem services of human-dominated watersheds and land use influences: a case study from the Dianchi Lake watershed in China

“…One such method is modeling with Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) (Nelson et al 2009;Bai et al 2011;Bagstad et al 2012;Leh et al 2013). Artificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services (ARIES) is another modeling tool capable of estimating and visualizing multiple ecosystem services (Bagstad et al 2012). Other modeling methods have recently been reported by Johnston et al (2011), Jujnovsky et al (2012, Notter et al (2012), Watanabe and Ortega (2014), and Pickard et al (2015).…”

“…In recent years, ecosystem service investigators have utilized service assessment at the watershed scale (Nelson et al 2009;Bagstad et al 2012;Leh et al 2013;Villamagna and Giesecke 2014). Because of their geographical, hydrological, and ecological characters, watersheds provide critical water-related services, such as water yield, water purification, and water regulation.…”

“…One such method is modeling with Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) (Nelson et al 2009;Bai et al 2011;Bagstad et al 2012;Leh et al 2013). Artificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services (ARIES) is another modeling tool capable of estimating and visualizing multiple ecosystem services (Bagstad et al 2012).…”

“…Researchers have therefore devoted significant attention to these services (Bräuer 2005;Jujnovsky et al 2012;Notter et al 2012;Leh et al 2013;Bai et al 2013a). Other investigated ecosystem services produced by watersheds include carbon storage and sequestration, biodiversity, soil conservation, pollination, commodity production, storm peak management, erosion control, and cultural services (Nelson et al 2009;Reyers et al 2009;Wang et al 2009;Bai et al 2011;Bagstad et al 2012;Leh et al 2013;Bai et al 2013b). Some scientists have conducted further research based on the assessment of watershed ecosystem services.…”