ENVIR ST 260 1st Edition Lecture 19Outline of Last Lecture I. Forests and Climate ChangeII. Desertsa. Factors that Form Desertsb. Plant and Animal AdaptationsOutline of Current Lecture I. What Are Ecosystem ServicesII. Specific Examples of Ecosystem ServicesIII. What is the $$ Value of Ecosystem ServicesIV. Ecosystem ValuationV. HousekeepingCurrent LectureWhat Are Ecosystem Services Defined by Ecological society of America as: “Processes by which the environment produces resources that we often take for granted” Examples of Ecosystem Services Seed dispersal Mitigate drought and floods Nutrient cycling UV protection Detoxify and decompose waste Control pests Purify air and water Pollinate cropsSpecific Examples of Ecosystem ServicesThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute. Grasslands Seed Dispersal Carbon Sink Pollination of crops Forests Watershed / filtrations Limiting Erosion / Building up Soil Timber Wetlands Water filtration Coastal Stabilization Fish / Food Production Desert ecosystems Preservation of Fossils and Artifacts Solar Energy Recreation and TourismWhat is the $$ Value of Ecosystem Services An example: NYC Water supplied by Catskill Mountain watershed Pollution decreased water quality (due to poor management of watershed) Cost of filtration plant would be 6-8 billion dollars Annual operating cost of 300 million dollars- When you suggest to tax payers that they have to pay for this, they aren’t very happy. Invested 600 million into restoration of watershed- This is a lot cheaper option than the plant Something to Keep in Mind for the Following Numbers A lot of times you find vastly different numbers for these ecosystem services because it all depends on who’s calculating them and what they’re looking at. It’s hard to assign a dollar value for what’s happening in the natural world Grasslands Pollination of crops: 14.6 Billion Dollars a Year Forests Limiting Erosion / Building up Soil: 1.8 Trillion Dollars Wetlands Coastal Stabilization: 23.2 Billion Dollars a Year Desert ecosystems Movie Production: 96 Million Dollars Ecosystem Valuation Cost of Replacement for “Free” Services Hand pollinating crops (Cost of Man Power) Water Filtration (Cost of Running a Plant) Cost of cleanup or restoration of ecosystem Fines for destruction How much are citizens willing to pay for a service Based on survey data The professor thinks this is a poor way to do things, because people are really biased in how they think about natural ecosystems. Just asking somebody on the phone what they’d be willing to pay is very different than just making them do it. If people actually try to increase taxes they would say no. There is a disconnect there. Greater Questions: Should we be assigning dollar values?Housekeeping Exam #3 on Tuesday: Review notes and readings posted on Moodle Photo ID, depart through front
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