The Architecture and Measurement of an Ecosystem Services Index

Abstract: This paper discusses the construction of an ecosystem services index (ESI) and the respective roles of ecology and economics in that effort. It extends the concept of an ESI, analogous to Gross Domestic Product, to other analogous indices, including an ecosystem price or value index, and a net ESI that accounts for interactions between ecosystem stocks and service flows. A central aim of this paper is to account for services in an economically and ecologically defensible manner. It thus also discusses the connection between ecological models and economic models in the construction of ecosystem services indices, the former on the quantity side and the latter on the price/value side of the index.