Economic value of Greater Montreal's non-market ecosystem services in a land use management and planning perspective

摘要

The Greater Montreal (Quebec, Canada) area is currently re-evaluating the future of its land use planning and development sector. One of the approaches being considered is the monetization of non-market goods and services provided by biodiversity and ecosystems in this region. This is in the interest of providing decision makers and stakeholders a tool for quantification and comparison. Herein we analyzed land use cover in 2010 and applied benefit transfer using 103 monetary observations from 62 studies. The value measured for the 11 non-market ecosystem services monetized for the Greater Montreal area reached $2.2 billion/year. More than three-quarters of this total value is provided by the services of air quality regulation, recreation, and habitat for biodiversity. Ecosystems providing the highest non-market values are urban forests, woodlands, and wetlands. We believe that the results of this ecosystem services value mapping could lead to better resource allocation and enable policy-makers to design more effective land use policies in southern Quebec.