Valuing Riparian and Hydrological Ecosystem Services on Federal Lands in Southern California

Summary: This session will highlight a suite of examples from southern California describing riparian and hydrological ecosystem services and the economic valuation of these services.

Description: Functioning ecosystems provide a suite of ecosystem services, or Nature’s Benefits, that are critical to human health and society. Habitat conversion, climate change, and invasion of non-native species affect the condition of natural ecosystems, leading to a reduced provision of ecosystem services for which substitutes are costly or scarce. To better comprehend the consequences of these changes and develop effective means of managing and sustaining hydrological and riparian systems, it is important to understand the impact of these changes on the provision of services and their associated economic value. The objective of this proposed concurrent session is to highlight a suite of studies from southern California (many funded by the US Forest Service and the California Landscape Conservation Cooperative) which are spatially measuring and economically valuing water-related ecosystem services across federal lands in southern California.