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The use of a new ecosystem services assessment tool, EPA H2O, for identifying, quantifying, and valuing ecosystem services production.
Citation:
Russell, M. AND J. Harvey. The use of a new ecosystem services assessment tool, EPA H2O, for identifying, quantifying, and valuing ecosystem services production. A Community on Ecosystem Services, Washington, DC, December 08 - 12, 2014.
Impact/Purpose:
This poster is an extension of and linked to an oral presentation by Russell, Fulford, and Yee at ACES 2014
Description:
The task of estimating ecosystem service production and delivery deserves special attention. Assessment tools that incorporate both supply and delivery of ecosystem services are needed to better understand how ecosystem services production becomes realized benefits. Here, we demonstrate the use of a new ecosystem services assessment tool, EPA H2O, for identifying, quantifying, and valuing ecosystem services production in the Tampa Bay, Florida region. In Tampa, population growth over the next 20-50 years is expected to bring large changes in regional land use and a key management objective is to plan for these changes in the context of maximizing ecosystem service production from natural capitol, particularly from the adjacent bay. We generated several case study reports summarizing both user generated and computer modeled scenarios, which are available within the tools database, of land use development for this region over the next 20-50 years. We also demonstrate the tool’s ability to incorporate user specified valuation information; a key context driven factor influencing ecosystem services assessments. The tool is designed to be scalable from neighborhood to regional assessments and transferable to different regions of the US or the world. Our examples illustrate how our freely available ecosystem services assessment tool can help land use planners and natural resource managers understand how environmental change affects human well-being through the production and delivery of ecosystem services.