The Environmental Calculator: A Tool for the Efficient Assessment of Environmental Services Loss due to Deforestation

Abstract

Forest ecosystems contribute to protect soils from erosion and to regulate watersheds and local hydrological systems by reducing variation in water flows. They also provide local and global climate regulation, carbon storage as well as air and water purification. Forests contain the largest assortment of species found in any terrestrial ecosystem and supply numerous social and cultural services. They are also part of our cultural and historical heritage (Stenger et al., 2009). Information about forest values might be needed for legal processes of damage compensation, but also for cost-benefit analyses, for the establishment of governmental regulations, for "environmental pricing'' or simply for general information (Elsasser et al., 2009). The unavailability of cartographical values, representing differential prices for the economical value of environmental services which forest provides, make it difficult to use such resources on a sustainable basis. One major threat to forest sustainability is deforestation. Deforestation has several side effects on the ecosystem services of a site. As runoff and erosion increase, they modify soil structure, which in turn reduces water infiltration and reservoirs recharge. The associated functions that a forest cover usually plays are also affected: thermal regulation, biodiversity support, and carbon sequestration, among others.