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Potential indicators of final ecosystem services in wetlands
Citation:
NAHLIK, A. M., M. E. KENTULA, P. L. RINGOLD, D. H. LANDERS, AND M. WEBER. Potential indicators of final ecosystem services in wetlands. Presented at Society of Wetland Scientists Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, June 28 - July 02, 2010.
Impact/Purpose:
Numerous and inconsistent lists of wetland ecosystem services exist because services are identified using ambiguous definitions or categorization schemes based around divergent or ambiguous objectives.
Description:
Numerous and inconsistent lists of wetland ecosystem services exist because services are identified using ambiguous definitions or categorization schemes based around divergent or ambiguous objectives. A consistent and scientific approach would provide clarity and provide greater creditability to identifying and categorizing wetland ecosystem services. In a model effort, stream ecologists working with social scientists applied an approach that uses a set of principles structured around final ecosystem services. Final ecosystem services are “components of nature, directly enjoyed, consumed, or used to yield human well-being” (Boyd and Banzhaf 2007). For example, the final ecosystem service of a stream to a fisher may be fish in the stream. This user-perspective embodied in the final ecosystem service approach promotes interdisciplinary collaboration by establishing shared measures and language. Using the final ecosystem service approach and principles similar to those of the stream group, we conducted interdisciplinary workshops to compile a set of indicators directly related to final wetland ecosystem services. We present our approach to final ecosystem services, user categories, and potential indicators resulting from the workshops. We anticipate that our scientifically-based, interdisciplinary approach to identifying final ecosystem services and indicators will provide the framework to develop a monitoring program, assist in connecting wetlands to human well-being, and lead to incorporation of quantifiable services into the science of wetlands management.