Ecosystem services can be defined as the benefits people obtain from ecosystems. An ecosystem is a dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and the non-living environment functioning as a functional unit. Ecosystem services include products such as food, fuel and fibre; regulating services such as climate regulation and disease control; and non-material benefits such as spiritual or aesthetic benefits (UNEP 2004).

The state of a particular area of land can be measured in terms of its capacity to provide ecosystem services. Ecosystems differ in the suite of services they provide. Ecosystems on agricultural land have been deliberately modified to enhance their capacity to provide products desired by society. In the Signposts for Australian Agriculture (Signposts) framework, the value of natural capital associated with agricultural land is expressed in terms of its ‘capacity to produce food and fibre’ and its ‘capacity to provide other ecosystem services.’ Three ‘other’ ecosystem services are specifically identified: biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration and cultural services (non-material benefits). Others are likely to be added as our understanding of ecosystem services increases.

Signposts adopts the same classes of ecosystem services as the United Nations Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (UNEP 2004) with one notable addition. Signposts lists ‘capacity to provide biodiversity conservation services’ as a service in its own right because of its significance in Australia’s legislation and policies. Although Australia’s biodiversity policies recognise the functional role of biota in the provision of ecosystem services, the policies are generally implemented in terms of conservation of native biodiversity. Conservation of native biodiversity becomes the desired outcome in operational terms and therefore in signposts is elevated to the status of a major service.

Within the Millennium Assessment, the conservation of native biota for its intrinsic merit would logically sit as a sub-component of the provision of cultural or non-material services.

Water-related ecosystem services are currently included within the ‘effects on the water cycle’ rather than under ‘bio-physical assets.’ This is in acknowledgement of the large and complex interactions between agriculture and water. Some agricultural industries are major modifiers of the water cycle. They may extract water from systems beyond the boundaries of their agricultural land and redistribute it in time and space as well as influencing the quality and quantity of water that flows from their land. This decision on the location of water-related ecosystem services within the overall component tree structure can be revisited at any time.

By regarding an agricultural industry as accountable for a specific area of land, the ecosystems within it and hence the ecosystem services they provide, the Signposts framework provides a direct link between the evaluation of an industry’s contribution to ecologically sustainable development (ESD) and the assessment of ecosystem health by initiatives such as the United Nations Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (UN 2003, 2005). In theory, combining results for the ‘bio-physical assets’ component across all agricultural industries should provide the assessment sought by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment or State of Environment reporting.

References

UN (2005) Millenium ecosystem assessment - Global assessment reports. United Nations Millenium Assessment Working Group and Island Press, New York. Website- http://www.millenniumassessment.org/en/Global.aspx. Accessed 30/10/2007.