CSANR > Publications Library > Food Systems > Ecosystem Services

Ecosystem Services

The natural world around us provides a number of functions from which we benefit at no charge.  These are commonly called “ecosystem services” and are an important element of sustainable agriculture systems.  Examples include watershed functions (intake, storage, and release of water), conversion of carbon dioxide to oxygen by natural forests, native pollinator species, and natural checks and balances that prevent organisms from becoming pests.  There are an increasing number of tools developed to try to understand and place value on these services and the impacts that our agriculture and other activities have on them, including the Measure to Manage tools, the life-cycle assessment tool from OFOOT supported by WSU, and the BioEarth Model.

Featured Publications

Fire Refugia: Islands of Possibilities (PDF)

Saari, B. 2022. Fire Refugia: Islands of Possibilities. FireEarth Science Brief No. 14. Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University. csanr.wsu.edu/publications/fireearth-brief14/. ↑ Back to top

Washington Soil Health Initiative Roadmap

Hills, K. & C. Benedict (Eds.) 2021. Washington Soil Health Initiative Roadmap. Washington State University, Pullman WA. October 2021. https://soilhealth.wsu.edu/washington-state-soil-health-roadmap/ ↑ Back to top

The Effects of Masticating Forest Fuels on Fire Behavior (PDF)

Kirkpatrick, A.W. 2021. The Effects of Masticating Forest Fuels on Fire Behavior. FireEarth Science Brief No. 12. Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University. csanr.wsu.edu/publications/fireearth-brief12/. ↑ Back to top

The Effects of Fire Intensity on Trees and Productivity (PDF)

Kirkpatrick, A.W. 2021. The Effects of Fire Intensity on Trees and Productivity. FireEarth Science Brief No. 11. Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University. csanr.wsu.edu/publications/fireearth-brief11/. ↑ Back to top

Assessing Landscape Vulnerability to Wildfire (PDF)

Saari, B. and Hall, S.A. 2021. Assessing Landscape Vulnerability to Wildfire. FireEarth Science Brief No. 04. Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University. csanr.wsu.edu/publications/fireearth-brief04/. ↑ Back to top

True Cost Accounting Resources

Anne Schwartz, CSANR Advisory Committee member. 2018. True Cost Accounting is the study in economics that addresses all of the upstream and downstream costs and benefits associated with a set of management decisions and ensuing practices, and their long-term impacts on natural resources and communities. ↑ Back to top

Organic Farming Footprints

WSU webpage for the OFoot project, working to provide a scientifically sound yet simple estimation of the carbon and nitrogen sequestration and net greenhouse gas (GHG) balance likely in a given organic cropping system scenario. ↑ Back to top

Additional Publications

Greenhouse Gases and Agriculture: Where Does Organic Farming Fit?

Agriculture can be both a source and a sink for greenhouse gases. In this webinar, the presenters discuss these roles of agriculture, how management affects them, and ways in which organic farming systems in particular may influence greenhouse gases. ↑ Back to top

Browse all Ecosystem Services Publications

External Links

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