Ecosystem Services

Valuing the Ecosystem Services of Florida’s Forest Conservation Programs: The Economic Benefits of Protecting Water Quality

Melissa M. Kreye, Francisco J. Escobedo, Damian C. Adams, Taylor Stein, and Tatiana Borisova

Using the Ecosystem Services Approach to Advance Conservation Efforts on Private Lands

Melissa M. Kreye, Elizabeth Pienaar, Raoul K. Boughton, and Lindsey Wiggins

Environmental Services Provided by Tampa’s Urban Forest

Michael G. Andreu, Melissa H. Friedman, and Rob J. Northrop

FOR-204, a 5-page illustrated fact sheet by Michael G. Andreu, Melissa H. Friedman, and Rob J. Northrop, provides a brief overview and results from an urban ecological assessment conducted in the city of Tampa from February to July 2007. Includes references. Published by the UF School of Forest Resources and Conservation, January 2009.

Landowner Cost-Share Incentives and Payments for Ecosystem Services: A Comparison of Key Program Features

Melissa M. Kreye, Elizabeth Pienaar, and Raoul K. Boughton

Ecosystem Services Provided by Grass-Legume Pastures

Jose Dubeux, Jr., Lynn Sollenberger, Mark Mauldin, and Liza Garcia

Valuing Florida Water Resources: Ecosystem Services That We Do not Notice but Still Value

Tatiana Borisova, Fei He, Xiang Bi, and Kelly Grogan

This article is a part of the EDIS series “Economic Value of Florida Water Resources” (see https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_series_valuing_florida_water_resources ). This series is aimed at helping water-resource professionals and interested citizens improve their knowledge of the economic value of goods and services provided by Florida water resources. The focus of this paper is specifically on supporting and regulating ecosystem services provided by Florida water resources.

Public Land Management Agencies' and Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowners' Perceptions towards Ecosystem Services

Taylor Stein, Namyun Kil, Alexis Frank, Alison E. Adams, Damian C. Adams, and Francisco J. Escobedo

This document is FOR312, one of a series of the School of Forest Resources and Conservation Department, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date July 2013.

What Else Can Surface Water Buffer Systems Do?—Exploring Multiple Ecosystem Services

Ashley Smyth, Lei Wu, Rafael Muñoz-Carpena and Yuncong Li

Ecosystem Services Valuation for Estuarine and Coastal Restoration in Florida

Susanna Blair, Carrie Adams, Tom Ankersen, Maia McGuire, and David Kaplan

Valuing Florida's Water Resources: Ecosystem Services Approach

Tatiana Borisova, Tara Wade, Xiang Bi, Kurt Oehlbeck, and Kelly Grogan

How Ecosystem Services are Measured and Why it Matters for Florida

Charles Wallace, Anna Braswell, Mysha Clarke, Andrew Ropicki, Tara Wade, Frank Asche, Ashley Smyth, Armando Ubeda, and Ed Camp

Florida has many ecosystems that are thought of as especially important such as springs, coasts, dry prairies, and the Everglades. One of the ways importance is measured is through value. The term ecosystem services describes the benefits ecosystems and their components provide humans. This publication describes some of the ways to measure ecosystem services and explains how the different approaches to assess ecosystems might be selected, depending on what is most important to the user. This publication should help Extension and outreach agents, as well as agency personnel better understand ecosystem services values and explain them to the public. It should also help interested members of the public who wish to learn more about ecosystem services for themselves.

Ecosystem Services Provided by Living Shorelines

Ashley R. Smyth, Laura K. Reynolds, Savanna C. Barry, Natalie C. Stephens, Joshua T. Patterson, and Edward V. Camp

The purpose of this new 6-page document is to explain the types of ecosystem services provided by different types of living shorelines and how to quantify these values. The target audience for this document is local governments and municipalities that make decisions about developing, conserving, and restoring living shorelines; state management agencies that oversee broader scale habitat management; and finally, homeowners who will be immediately affected by any of these decisions. Written by Ashley R. Smyth, Laura K. Reynolds, Savanna C. Barry, Natalie C. Stephens, Joshua T. Patterson, and Edward V. Camp and published by the UF/IFAS Department of Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences.

The Impacts of Trimming Mangroves

Natalia D. Medina-Irizarry and Michael G. Andreu

Mangroves provide quintessential ecosystem services in Florida, where there are three native mangrove species: red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), black mangrove (Avicennia germinans), and white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa). Mangroves extend from the Florida Keys up to peninsular Florida along the coastlines.They are often removed or trimmed to capitalize on coastal views valued by residents and visitors. To protect mangroves and the ecosystem services they provide, the 1996 Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act provides management guidance. A literature review about trimming mangroves uncovered that not all species remain healthy after trimming. To minimize the negative impacts of trimming, landowners should carefully consider the amount of biomass removed, trimming frequency and timing, and best trimming techniques for the mangrove species they are managing.

Pasture’s Role in Climate Change Mitigation

Maria Silveira, Rosvel Bracho, Curtis Dell, and Abmael Cardoso

This new 4-page publication of the UF/IFAS Department of Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences provides information about the role of native and cultivated pastures in climate change mitigation and the opportunities and challenges for improving carbon sequestration in agroecosystems. Climate change mitigation in the context of this publication refers to actions that reduce the rate of climate change. This information should be of interest to stakeholders, students, scientists, and environmental agencies interested in enhancing ecosystems services provided by grazing lands. Written by Maria Silveira, Rosvel Bracho, Curtis Dell, and Abmael Cardoso.

The Green Value of Your Woods: A Summary of Ecosystem Services Provided by Forest Stewardship Lands in Florida

Rose Godfrey, Chris Demers, Francisco Escobedo, Damian Adams, and Michael Andreu

A UF/IFAS numbered Fact Sheet. in support of UF/IFAS Extension program: Animal Systems

Understanding Ecosystem Services from Urban Agriculture

Jiangxiao Qiu, and Hui Zhao

Urban agriculture has gained momentum in global research and policy, and is proposed to combat challenges such as food insecurity, climate change, and social inequality. Here we provide an overview of ecosystem services urban agriculture provides. We found a general agreement that urban agriculture could deliver: (1) food production; (2) microclimate and air quality regulation; (3) stormwater retention; (4) waste management and nutrient recycling; (5) biodiversity conservation; (6) climate regulation and mitigation; (7) energy conservation; and (8) social-cultural values. But quantitative evidence is scarce for many ecosystem services, especially those that are intangible. Urban agriculture could be integral to green infrastructure, included in urban and regional planning, but consideration should also be given to types of urban agriculture, the role of technology and management practices, and potential tradeoffs, risks, and disservices.

Living Shoreline Ecosystem Service Valuation Tool

Ashley R. Smyth, Laura K. Reynolds, Savanna C. Barry, Natalie C. Stephens, Joshua T. Patterson, and Edward V. Camp

Living shorelines are an increasingly popular way to protect and stabilize waterfronts for coastal property owners. Living shorelines provide valuable benefits to humans, including water quality improvement, habitat, fisheries, and carbon sequestration. Estimating the economic value of the ecosystem services living shorelines offer is an integral part of management decisions. The living shoreline valuation tool can help quantify the costs and benefits of living shorelines projects. This publication briefly describes the ecosystem services associated with living shorelines. The purpose of this publication is to introduce the ecosystem service valuation tool. Our target audience for the living shoreline evaluation tool includes natural resource extension agents, community organizations, and coastal homeowners who want to calculate the value of ecosystem services provided by coastal restoration projects, including living shorelines. 

Miami-Dade County's Urban Forests and Their Ecosystem Services

Francisco Escobedo, Joy Klein, Micah Pace, Henry Mayer, Sebastian Varela, and Basil Iannone

A UF/IFAS numbered Fact Sheet.

Scenario Planning for Managing Ecosystem Services and Natural Resources

Jiangxiao Qiu and Lorna Bravo

Florida is experiencing environmental challenges such as climate change, sea-level rise, and urbanization that make it difficult to develop management and policy actions to conserve our ecosystems and their goods and services, which are vital for human well being. Scenario planning is a useful tool to explore and cope with the uncertainties surrounding the future consequences of decisions, but it remains underused in Extension practices. This publication provides an overview of scenario planning and the conditions under which scenario planning can be useful. It explains how to construct and develop effective scenarios for decision making and provides illustrated, real-world examples across different scales. The goal is to introduce the concept of scenario planning to Extension and elaborate its potential to be incorporated into existing Extension programs to help develop robust, sustainable solutions to manage agriculture, ecosystem services, and natural resources in Florida.

Economic Value of the Services Provided by Florida Springs and Other Water Bodies: A Summary of Existing Studies

Sara Wynn, Tatiana Borisova, and Alan Hodges

A UF/IFAS numbered Fact Sheet. in support of UF/IFAS Extension program: ==Water==

Stewardship Ecosystem Services Study Series: Assessing Forest Water Yield and Regulation Ecosystem Services in the Lower Suwannee River Watershed, Florida

Sonia Delphin, Francisco J. Escobedo, Amr Abd-Elrahman, Alison E. Adams, Jackie Martin, Ronald Cademus

A UF/IFAS numbered Fact Sheet. in support of UF/IFAS Extension program: ==Water==

South Florida residents give urban farming a green thumbs-up as catalyst for ecosystem services, sustainable city growth

Lourdes Mederos

Urban agriculture is emerging as a key player in the search to develop sustainable cities, offering not just fresh produce but a portfolio of ecosystem services that can extend far beyond the farm and community gardens. In the vibrant metropolis of Miami for example, urban farming perceptions have sprouted deep roots among city dwellers. Those […]

Natural resources: our ally in climate change

Alissa Hevesh

We are right in the middle of hurricane season here in Florida, and much of the state is experiencing the last remnants of Tropical Storm Debby. In Highlands County, we got by without much damage, but things did get windy and wet. Other areas have not been so lucky, including the Big Bend region who […]

UF/IFAS study offers critical insights to encourage sustainable agriculture, protect Florida grasslands, wetlands

Lourdes Mederos

The term ‘sustainable agriculture’ involves boosting food production while conserving habitats and natural resources and reducing reliance on pesticides and fertilizers. While experts agree there is still much to learn to support its potential, they say sustainable agriculture models could promote food security, regulate climate change, promote biodiversity, improve water quality and more. University of […]