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Ecosystem Services in Cecil County’s Green Infrastructure: Technical Report for the Cecil County Green Infrastructure Plan

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This document examines a suite of 16 ecosystem services provided by forests and wetlands in Cecil County, Maryland, and attempts to estimate their economic value, primarily based on transfers from previous studies.

  • In Cecil County, Maryland, 16 ecosystem services provided by forests and wetlands provide services valued at $2.1 billion a year. That amount is equivalent to two-thirds of the county’s total economic output of $3.3 billion. These ecosystem services do not include services from bodies of water, such as the Chesapeake Bay.
  • Large, contiguous blocks of forests and wetlands are most likely to contain fully functioning ecosystems, and therefore are more likely to provide valuable ecosystem services. This shows that preservation of these contiguous blocks is a vital investment.

http://www.ccgov.org/uploads/PlanningAndZoning/General/Ce...

Year: 2007

Author(s): Ted Weber

Organization/Source: The Conservation Fund

Topic tags: Economic Benefits of Open Space