Ecosystem Services: Challenges and Opportunities for Hydrologic Modeling to Support Decision Making

Authors

Andrew John Guswa, Smith CollegeFollow
Kate A. Brauman, University of Minnesota
Casey Brown, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Perrine Hamel, Stanford University
Bonnie L. Keeler, University of Minnesota
Susan Stratton Sayre, Smith CollegeFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-29-2014

Publication Title

Water Resources Research

Abstract

Ecosystem characteristics and processes provide significant value to human health and well- being, and there is growing interest in quantifying those values. Of particular interest are water-related eco- system services and the incorporation of their value into local and regional decision making. This presents multiple challenges and opportunities to the hydrologic-modeling community. To motivate advances in water-resources research, we first present three common decision contexts that draw upon an ecosystem- service framework: scenario analysis, payments for watershed services, and spatial planning. Within these contexts, we highlight the particular challenges to hydrologic modeling, and then present a set of opportunities that arise from ecosystem-service decisions. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations regarding how we can prioritize our work to support decisions based on ecosystem-service valuation.

Volume

50

First Page

4535

Last Page

4544

DOI

10.1002/2014WR015497

Rights

© 2014. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved

Comments

Archived as published.

Recommended Citation

Guswa, Andrew John; Brauman, Kate A.; Brown, Casey; Hamel, Perrine; Keeler, Bonnie L.; and Sayre, Susan Stratton, "Ecosystem Services: Challenges and Opportunities for Hydrologic Modeling to Support Decision Making" (2014). Engineering: Faculty Publications, Smith College, Northampton, MA.
https://scholarworks.smith.edu/egr_facpubs/3