Chapter 13. Forests

What ecosystem services do forests provide?

Interactive Study Guide
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Guiding Question 13.3

What ecosystem services do forests provide? Why might it be useful to put a dollar value on these services?

Why You Should Care

Some of the most productive terrestrial biomes in the world are forests. This means that forest trees and non-woody plants together undergo a lot of photosynthesis, which takes a lot of CO2 out of the atmosphere. Not only do they remove CO2 from they atmosphere, they store it long term, mostly in the form of wood and soil organic matter. So, slash-and-burn agriculture, in which forests are cut down and the wood that isn’t harvested burnt to turn them into fields, deals a double blow by reducing the global capacity to absorb CO2 and releasing stored CO2 back to the atmosphere.

These are just two of many ecosystem services provided by forests. Since these services are "free," at least in that no one pays for them, we are less inclined to assign them worth. This is compounded by the fact that it may take years for all of the negative effects of deforestation to become apparent. Although convincing people of the natural benefits of maintaining healthy forest is important, real efforts to conserve forest probably won’t happen unless people are made aware of the monetary benefit.

Question 13.1

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Infographic 13.3: Ecological and Economic Value of Forests
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Question 13.2

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Infographic 13.3: Ecological and Economic Value of Forests
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Question 13.3

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Infographic 13.3: Ecological and Economic Value of Forests
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Question 13.4

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Infographic 13.3: Ecological and Economic Value of Forests
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Question 13.5

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Infographic 13.3: Ecological and Economic Value of Forests
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Question 13.6

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Infographic 13.3: Ecological and Economic Value of Forests
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Question 13.7

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Infographic 13.3: Ecological and Economic Value of Forests
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Question 13.8

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Infographic 13.3: Ecological and Economic Value of Forests
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Question 13.9

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Potentially yes. The example of Haiti demonstrates that valuing the raw materials in forests over the services provided by them is done at one’s peril. Therefore, the demands for raw materials from forests must be met in a sustainable fashion if the other resources provided by the forest are to be maintained.

Question 13.10

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Your answer will, of course, vary, but the best answers will provide both a monetary and a social rationale for why a particular resource will be perceived as the most important. For example, although genetic resources are not the top resources listed, since they may represent potential sources of medicines or food for people, you could make a case that preserving them is the most important reason to manage resources.