Provisioning services

Wood production

Forests are the most important producers of the renewable resource wood. Hence, the relevant factor for wood production is the forest area in a region. However, also other factors will affect wood production: non-biological factors such as position, soil characteristics and climate; biological factors such as genetics, tree type or illnesses; and sustainability and multi functionality which is linked to forest management. The ecosystem service wood production is closely linked to other regulating services (carbon sequestration, erosion prevention, air and water quality regulation), cultural services (forest-related recreation) and biodiversity. To estimate the service wood production we differentiate between:

• annual growth of wood volume,
• potential maximal growth (we determine the tree type with the maximal potential wood production given the present soil characteristics),
• annual growth of harvestable wood volume in the present forests,
• potential maximal annual growth of harvestable wood volume (the maximal volume of wood that could grow annually, for the best growing wood type and the given soil characteristics), and
• harvested wood production in the present forests.

The benefits are on the one hand the use of the wood for construction, furniture and firewood (primary benefits) and on the other hand as source of employment and income (secondary benefits). Wood production is an important economic function of forests. The economic value is estimated based on wood volumes and the average price per m³ (variable per wood type and stem diameter class).

Food production

Food production is determined by the harvest of agricultural products in a specific area. The ecosystem service food production depends on many factors, such as nutrient and water cycling, soil fertility, regulation of populations, hydrological context and pollination. The supporting processes and structures consist of physical-chemical soil processes, hydrological processes and biological processes. Food production is estimated for different food types (arable land, grassland, maize, vegetables and fruit), and a difference is made between the physical and actual suitability of soils for the different food types. About half of the area in Flanders is occupied by agriculture (623.698 ha in 2008 or 46%), of which the majority with fodder (60%) and furthermore arable crops (32%) and horticulture (8%). The hydrological condition of the soil is a crucial factor for the soil suitability: physical suitability relates to soils with natural drainage and actual suitability relates to soils under an optimal hydrological condition. The economic value of food production is determined by the added value (€) of the actual agricultural activities. This is a combination of crops, soil suitability and yield percentiles per crop type.

Water production

Within the ECOPLAN project both the volume water subtracted from phreatic ground water layers (renewable) and surface water are taken into account. We differentiate between water use (for cooling, navigation) and water consumption (for drinking, irrigation, process water…). The different types of water provision have different requirements, related to water quality and water quantity needed at certain locations and at certain moments. Water provision is a provisioning service from ecosystems, driven by the ecosystem function infiltration. Water quality is influenced by land use/ land cover and the use of pesticides and nutrients. Water quantity is estimated from the volume of water infiltrated in areas, with a differentiation between areas with a high or low potential for contamination. In addition, also the volume of water subtracted from areas with a high or low potential for contamination is estimated. Relevant factors are the volume of infiltration and the local extraction pressure. Subtracted water could be used for drink water production and private water subtraction (industry, agriculture). Furthermore, also ecosystems itself use water. Indeed, plants and animals need water for survival.