The Public Value of Healthy Forests Rebecca Moore Warnell Sch. of Forestry & Natural Resources University of Georgia, Athens, GA AERC Congressional Briefing October 19, 2011

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Forest Ecosystem Services

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Private Benefits External Benefits Forest Ecosystem Services

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Value of ecosystem services provided Ecological processes Number of affected people Tastes and preferences of affected population What Determines Ecosystem Service Value?

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Example: Georgia’s Private Forests

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● We identified seven forest characteristics that describe this variation: Forest type Riparian status Rare species abundance Public land buffer Scenic visibility Development status Geographic region Per acre value of ecosystem service Ecological processes Number of affected people Tastes and preferences of affected population What Determines Ecosystem Service Value?

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Ecosystem Service$/ac/yr (2009 US$) Forest characteristics Gas and climate regulation: $381 $28 Urban forests Other Water regulation and supply: $8,196 $4,635 $1,728 $7 $0 Urban and suburban forested wetland Rural forested wetland Riparian, non-wetland Urban non-riparian, non-wetland Other Soil formation:$0All Pollination:$184 $0 Non-wetland forests Wetland forests Habitat/refugia:$251 $223 $28 $0 Evergreen forests in middle and south Georgia with middle or high rare species abundance Other forests with middle and high rare species abundance Evergreen forests in middle and south Georgia with low rare species abundance Other Average Per-acre Values, part 1

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● RegionCharac.$/acre/year North Georgia Riparian4,642 Road-buffer1,882 High Wildlife1,695 Other642 Middle Georgia Riparian481 Road-buffer577 High Wildlife617 Other314 South Georgia Riparian342 Road-buffer52 High Wildlife371 Other54 Average Per-acre Values, part 2: Aesthetic and non-use value per acre

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Total value of “public” ecosystem services Ecosystem Service Total Value ($/year) Gas and Climate Regulation 744,446,192 Water Regulation and Supply 20,306,463,460 Soil FormationN/A Pollination 3,406,289,512 Habitat/refugia 2,042,507,627 Aesthetic and non-use 11,184,013,738 Total 37,683,720,529 Average value per acre: $264 - $13,442 depending on characteristics

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Red Hills Region of Georgia and Florida

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Photo credit: Ryan Hagerty/USFWS Photo credit: Earl Cunningham/USFWS Photo credit: Arrowwood NWR/USFWS Photo credit: Gary Stolz/USFWS

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Bottom Line… These “other” ecosystem services are very valuable but potentially left out of land use decisions.

Questions?