Economic valuation of three ecosystem services before the establishment of a greenbelt of Quebec City forest, Canada

Abstract

Introduction: Forest ecosystem services provide benefits to human beings. However, it is after an economic assessment, when such services become more relevant. Objective: To estimate the values of three ecosystem services in the forestland around Quebec City and compare these values with those obtained in other studies. Materials and methods: The total cost of three ecosystem services (water supply and quality, air quality and forest habitat) was estimated to represent the value of a green belt around Quebec City. For this, four valuation methods were used: replacement cost for water supply, cost-effectiveness for water quality, avoided cost for air quality and market price for forest habitat. Results and discussion: The economic value corresponding to the three ecosystem services (water supply and quality, air quality and habitat) was USD 4 539.48·ha -1 . Therefore, the total economic value for 15 998.96 ha of the forest area around Quebec City was USD 72 627 025.00 year -1 . The variation between the estimates and the values reported in other studies were the result of different valuation methods, systems created by man as a replacement for the function of the forest ecosystem, the level of efficiency among the forest systems and the price sources of market used for the valuation of the ecosystem. Conclusion: The type of forest mass, the valuation method and the study context were relevant criteria determining the ecosystem’s economic value.