You are here:
The costs of climate change: ecosystem services and wildland fires
Citation:
The costs of climate change: ecosystem services and wildland fires.
Impact/Purpose:
Estimating the implications of climate-induced wildfires on ecosystem services.
Description:
In this paper we use Habitat Equivalency Analysis (HEA) to monetize the avoided ecosystem services losses due to climate change-induced wildland fires in the U.S. Specifically, we use the U.S. Forest Service’s MC1 dynamic global vegetation model to forecast changes in wildland fire patterns across the contiguous U.S. from 2013 to 2115 under reference and greenhouse gas mitigation policy emission scenarios (POL). We first evaluate ecosystem service losses due to wildland fires using a proxy method approach. We then estimate the cost of fuel management actions to offset the expected loss in ecosystem services due to wildfire under each scenario; the difference in costs between the two scenarios (REF and POL) is the benefit of the greenhouse gas mitigation policy. Specifically we estimate the cost of offsetting ecosystem services lost due to climate change-induced wildland fires using fuels management. Fuels management is a common activity undertaken to reduce the frequency and intensity of wildland fires. By avoiding more frequent and/or more severe fire, at other locations, ecosystem service losses at these locations are avoided. In so doing, fuels management offsets ecosystem services loss due to climate change-induced wildland fires.