Environmental Sciences Commons^™

From Theoretical To Actual Ecosystem Services: Mapping Beneficiaries And Spatial Flows In Ecosystem Service Assessments, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Ferdinando Villa, David Batker, Jennifer Harrison-Cox, Brian Voigt, Gary W. Johnson

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Ecosystem services mapping and modeling has focused more on supply than demand, until recently. Whereas the potential provision of economic benefits from ecosystems to people is often quantified through ecological production functions, the use of and demand for ecosystem services has received less attention, as have the spatial flows of services from ecosystems to people. However, new modeling approaches that map and quantify service-specific sources (ecosystem capacity to provide a service), sinks (biophysical or anthropogenic features that deplete or alter service flows), users (user locations and level of demand), and spatial flows can provide a more complete understanding of ecosystem …