Valuation of groundwater-dependent ecosystems: A functional methodology incorporating ecosystem services

Murray, BR; Hose, GC; Eamus, D; Licari, D

Valuation of groundwater-dependent ecosystems: A functional methodology incorporating ecosystem services

Murray, BR

Hose, GC

Eamus, D

Licari, D

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Australian Journal of Botany, 2006, 54 (2), pp. 221 - 229
Issue Date:: 2006-04-17

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Murray, BR https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4734-5976	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Hose, GC https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2106-5543	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Eamus, D https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2765-8040	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Licari, D	en_US
dc.date.issued	2006-04-17	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Australian Journal of Botany, 2006, 54 (2), pp. 221 - 229	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0067-1924	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/3727
dc.description.abstract	Groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) are ecosystems that must have access to groundwater to maintain their ecological structure and function. Rapidly expanding numbers of humans are placing increased demands on groundwater for consumption, industry and agriculture. These demands alter groundwater regimes of GDEs that have evolved over millennia, resulting in the degradation of ecosystem health. As a consequence, the goods and services (ecosystem services) that GDEs provide for humans, which include food production and water purification, are at serious risk of being lost. Effective management of GDEs and their ecosystem services requires prioritisation of the most valuable ecosystems, given that increasing human demands and limited time and money preclude complete protection of all GDEs. Here, we provide an eight-step method for the valuation and initial prioritisation of GDEs. The proposed methodology improves on previous, primarily subjective methods for the valuation of GDEs by employing both economic valuation of the ecosystem services provided by GDEs, and ecological valuation of significant environmental attributes of GDEs. We apply the eight-step method to a hypothetical case study in order to demonstrate its applicability to a catchment containing a range of GDEs of different sizes, each possessing its own suite of threatened taxa. The major benefit of the valuation methodology presented here is that it can be used at three levels of complexity: (1) a full-desktop study, (2) a semi-desktop study requiring stakeholder consultation, and (3) a full field-based study, according to the time and money available for initial prioritisation efforts. © CSIRO 2006.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Australian Journal of Botany	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1071/BT05018	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Plant Biology & Botany	en_US
dc.title	Valuation of groundwater-dependent ecosystems: A functional methodology incorporating ecosystem services	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	2	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	54	en_US
utslib.for	0607 Plant Biology	en_US
utslib.for	0602 Ecology	en_US
utslib.for	0605 Microbiology	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	2	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	54	en_US

Abstract:

Groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) are ecosystems that must have access to groundwater to maintain their ecological structure and function. Rapidly expanding numbers of humans are placing increased demands on groundwater for consumption, industry and agriculture. These demands alter groundwater regimes of GDEs that have evolved over millennia, resulting in the degradation of ecosystem health. As a consequence, the goods and services (ecosystem services) that GDEs provide for humans, which include food production and water purification, are at serious risk of being lost. Effective management of GDEs and their ecosystem services requires prioritisation of the most valuable ecosystems, given that increasing human demands and limited time and money preclude complete protection of all GDEs. Here, we provide an eight-step method for the valuation and initial prioritisation of GDEs. The proposed methodology improves on previous, primarily subjective methods for the valuation of GDEs by employing both economic valuation of the ecosystem services provided by GDEs, and ecological valuation of significant environmental attributes of GDEs. We apply the eight-step method to a hypothetical case study in order to demonstrate its applicability to a catchment containing a range of GDEs of different sizes, each possessing its own suite of threatened taxa. The major benefit of the valuation methodology presented here is that it can be used at three levels of complexity: (1) a full-desktop study, (2) a semi-desktop study requiring stakeholder consultation, and (3) a full field-based study, according to the time and money available for initial prioritisation efforts. © CSIRO 2006.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/3727