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EPA H20: Assessing ecosystem services in D'Olive Watershed
Citation:
Fulford, R. AND M. Jackson. EPA H20: Assessing ecosystem services in D'Olive Watershed. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Center for Environmental Assessment, Washington, DC, EPA/600/F-18/252, 2018.
Impact/Purpose:
This fact sheet will be used to inform stakeholders and decision makers in the Mobile Bay water shed about the data needs and application of the EPA H20 tool in the D'olive sub-watershed. This is an National Estuary Program project to restore this sub-watershed and to assess impacts on ecosystem services. Stakeholders will learn how to use the EPA H20 tool and how to obtain the necessary data for other sub-watersheds undergoing restoration.
Description:
EPA H2O is an open source Geographic Information System (GIS) based demonstration tool, used for assessing Ecosystem Services (ES) at local to regional scales. EPA H2O was developed as a preliminary assessment tool in support of research being conducted in the Tampa Bay, FL USA watershed. The tool is being adapted to assess ES in the D’Olive watershed: a subwatershed of Mobile Bay, AL USA undergoing rapid urbanization. EPA H2O provides information, data, approaches and guidance that communities can use to examine alternative land use scenarios, in the context of nature’s benefits to the human community. Knowledge gained from using this tool may help community representatives make strategic decisions for moving towards a more environmentally sustainable future.