Mapping the value of ecosystem services: A case study from the Austrian Alps
<p>Ecosystem services (ES) are considered the conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems sustain and fulfil human life. In the decision making process related to the natural resources management, two key-aspects must be taken into account: the economic value of the benefits prov...
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‘Marin Drăcea’ National Research-Development Institute in Forestry
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doaj-27b48e58b3b043c7b50d9373eb5caaee2020-11-25T02:19:42Zeng‘Marin Drăcea’ National Research-Development Institute in ForestryAnnals of Forest Research1844-81352065-24452015-04-0158115717510.15287/afr.2015.335224Mapping the value of ecosystem services: A case study from the Austrian AlpsAlessandro Paletto0Clemens Geitner1Gianluca Grilli2Richard Hastik3Fabio Pastorella4Laura Rodrìguez Garcìa5Council for Agricultural Research and Economics – Forest Monitoring and Planning (MPF), Piazza Monsignor Nicolini 6, 38123 Villazzano di Trento (Italy)Institute of Geography, University of Innsbruck (Austria), Innrain 52f; 6020 InnsbruckInstitute for Renewable Energy, European Academy of Bolzano (EURAC) and Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, via Mesiano 77, 38123 Trento (Italy)Institute of Geography, University of Innsbruck (Austria), Innrain 52f; 6020 InnsbruckEuropean Forest Institute (EFI) Project Center “MOUNTFOR”, Via E. Mach, 1 38010 San Michele A/A (Italy)Council for Agricultural Research and Economics – Forest Monitoring and Planning (MPF), Piazza Monsignor Nicolini 6, 38123 Villazzano di Trento (Italy)<p>Ecosystem services (ES) are considered the conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems sustain and fulfil human life. In the decision making process related to the natural resources management, two key-aspects must be taken into account: the economic value of the benefits provided by ES (provisioning, regulating and cultural services) and the spatial distribution of these benefits. The purpose of the paper is to develop a method aimed to capture the economic value of the benefits provided by ES, in order to support the decision makers in the natural resources management. ES are not homogeneous across landscapes nor in space. Consequently, gaining knowledge on the spatial distribution of the economic relevance of ES is a fundamental information to target management actions. This method was tested in a case study in the Austrian Alps (Leiblachtal area in Vorarlberg region), characterized by a high importance of forests and grasslands. The results show that the highest economic values could be achieved for the provisioning services with a range between 200 €/ha year and 1,400€/ha year. The regulating services have also important economic values, but strongly localized in specific areas (i.e. protective forests against natural hazards). The economic values of the cultural services are influenced by the preferences of tourists and varies between 5 €/ha year to 60 €/ha year. The method allowed us to reveal the spatial heterogeneity of provisioning, regulating and cultural ES, depending on the ecological characteristics of the site.</p>https://www.afrjournal.org/index.php/afr/article/view/335provisioning services, regulating services, cultural services, economic valuation, meta-analysis, benefit transfer method, alpine region, leiblachtal (austria) |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Alessandro Paletto Clemens Geitner Gianluca Grilli Richard Hastik Fabio Pastorella Laura Rodrìguez Garcìa |
spellingShingle |
Alessandro Paletto Clemens Geitner Gianluca Grilli Richard Hastik Fabio Pastorella Laura Rodrìguez Garcìa Mapping the value of ecosystem services: A case study from the Austrian Alps Annals of Forest Research provisioning services, regulating services, cultural services, economic valuation, meta-analysis, benefit transfer method, alpine region, leiblachtal (austria) |
author_facet |
Alessandro Paletto Clemens Geitner Gianluca Grilli Richard Hastik Fabio Pastorella Laura Rodrìguez Garcìa |
author_sort |
Alessandro Paletto |
title |
Mapping the value of ecosystem services: A case study from the Austrian Alps |
title_short |
Mapping the value of ecosystem services: A case study from the Austrian Alps |
title_full |
Mapping the value of ecosystem services: A case study from the Austrian Alps |
title_fullStr |
Mapping the value of ecosystem services: A case study from the Austrian Alps |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mapping the value of ecosystem services: A case study from the Austrian Alps |
title_sort |
mapping the value of ecosystem services: a case study from the austrian alps |
publisher |
‘Marin Drăcea’ National Research-Development Institute in Forestry |
series |
Annals of Forest Research |
issn |
1844-8135 2065-2445 |
publishDate |
2015-04-01 |
description |
<p>Ecosystem services (ES) are considered the conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems sustain and fulfil human life. In the decision making process related to the natural resources management, two key-aspects must be taken into account: the economic value of the benefits provided by ES (provisioning, regulating and cultural services) and the spatial distribution of these benefits. The purpose of the paper is to develop a method aimed to capture the economic value of the benefits provided by ES, in order to support the decision makers in the natural resources management. ES are not homogeneous across landscapes nor in space. Consequently, gaining knowledge on the spatial distribution of the economic relevance of ES is a fundamental information to target management actions. This method was tested in a case study in the Austrian Alps (Leiblachtal area in Vorarlberg region), characterized by a high importance of forests and grasslands. The results show that the highest economic values could be achieved for the provisioning services with a range between 200 €/ha year and 1,400€/ha year. The regulating services have also important economic values, but strongly localized in specific areas (i.e. protective forests against natural hazards). The economic values of the cultural services are influenced by the preferences of tourists and varies between 5 €/ha year to 60 €/ha year. The method allowed us to reveal the spatial heterogeneity of provisioning, regulating and cultural ES, depending on the ecological characteristics of the site.</p> |
topic |
provisioning services, regulating services, cultural services, economic valuation, meta-analysis, benefit transfer method, alpine region, leiblachtal (austria) |
url |
https://www.afrjournal.org/index.php/afr/article/view/335 |
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