The economic value of land-based ecosystem services in Portugal

Abstract

Ecosystem Services (ES) provide benefits, not always measured in the market, for society, posing the necessity of valuation. Meta-analytic Benefit Transfers value Ecosystem Services, based on the estimates of past studies. In this study, we assess the value of selected ES for Portugal in 2018, in particular, Climate Regulation, Drought Regulation, Erosion Prevention, Food Supply, Pollination, Recreation and Water Purification. We propose a new approach for meta-analytic benefit transfer functions in which each service uses a specific meta-regression without including methodological variables. The results obtained allow the assessment of effects of land use changes, providing relevant information for policy purposes