Part 2
Part III
Part 2
Ecosystem Services in the Puyallup River Watershed
Section Summary: Ecosystem services can be divided into four categories: Regulating, Habitat, Provisioning and Information services. In this section, a selection of ecosystem services is described in detail. Included are several examples of specific ecosystem services provided in the Puyallup Watershed.
Categories of Ecosystem Services Ecosystem services can be categorized in different ways. This study follows the approach developed by de Groot et al. (2002), dividing ecosystem services into functional categories. This approach is consistent with the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment completed in 2005, as well as much of the ecosystem service valuation literature. Economists have generally accepted these categories. • Regulating services are benefits obtained from the natural control of ecosystem processes. Intact ecosystems provide regulation of climate, water, soil, flood and storms, and keep disease organisms in check. • Provisioning services provide basic goods including food, water and materials. Forests grow trees that can be used for lumber and paper, wild and cultivated crops provide food, and other plants may be used for medicinal purposes. Rivers provide fresh water for drinking and fish for food. The coastal waters provide fish, shellfish and seaweed. • Information services provide humans with meaningful interaction with nature. These services include spiritually significant species and natural areas, places for recreation, and educational opportunities through science. • Habitat services provide refuge and reproduction habitat to wild plants and animals and thereby contribute to the (in situ) conservation of biological and genetic diversity and evolutionary processes.
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The Puyallup River Watershed: An Ecological Economic Characterization