Ecosystem service values as an ecological indicator for land management decisions: A case study in southern Ontario, Canada

This research quantifies the economic value of ecosystem services by land cover type, using a case study approach and data localized to southern Ontario, Canada. The cumulative value of different ecosystem services per unit area can be a valuable ecological indicator for guiding land use decision-making and environmental planning. Literature values were used to ascribe values of provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting ecosystem services for different land cover classes. Data describing land cover classification from two time periods were used to understand changes on the landscape before and after protected areas were designated. The results showed that wetlands were the most valuable land cover classification in this region. Regulating services accounted for 74% of the total value of ecosystem services across Halton in 2015. Within protected areas regulating services accounted for 77% of the total valuation. Overall, the Natural Heritage System protects 85% of the available value of ecosystem services within the study area. The data shows there is a drop in the value of regulating services and an increase in cultural services between 2002 and 2015. These findings illustrate the effectiveness of using ecosystem service values to assist planners and land managers in making land management decisions with regard to maintaining protected areas for the long term, versus the conversion of protected areas into urban development. Overall, the tool presented here is capable of monitoring discrete categories of ecological services as well as overall values to provide useful ecological indicators for environmental planners and land managers. Using this approach, a land area can be assessed over time to see how different ecosystem services are changing. The use of the tool described in this paper, which ascribes economic values of ecosystem services to specific landcover types, can show planners and land managers where services are being improved, or in decline over time. The tool can be used to provide a common basis for comparison of land use trade-offs by assessing the impacts of different decisions on overall ecosystem value and on the discrete categories of services. Localization of ecosystem services and economic values can serve to modify the described tool for adaption and use around the world.