Ecosystem Services Defintion Ecosystem services as defined by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2003) are: the benefits people obtain from ecosystems. These services are often critical for life and enhance human well-being. As such they are part of the global commons and are often considered to be free. An ecosystem services perspective is an explicit acknowledgement that nature has value and that the value can be measured and used to support environmental management decisions. For more information on how the EPA defines ecosystems services visit here.

A millennial report emphasizing the financial benefits provided by an ecosystem gave rise to an increase in Federal studies of what's known as ecosystem services. (See box for a complete definition of ecosystem services.) At the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Dr. Joel Hoffman works with chemists and economists as part of this national effort to characterize ecosystem services. His work focuses on the biological, using stable isotope ratios to analyze tissue and biological material for their chemical composition.

"Ecosystem services is a formal way to frame issues when a community is making decisions."

The Great Lakes clearly provide ecosystems services, which are defined as positive attributes that a particular ecosystem gives to a region, both economic and health-related. For example, the estuaries are important nurseries for varieties of fish and shellfish, and also provide nutrient cycling and absorb pollutants. These functions have an economic value, and Joel's work helps economists to be better able to provide accurate valuations using local data, a kind of cost benefit analysis. Joel's research investigates the hydrogeomorphic setting and how its quality affects services as the system becomes degraded. "The EPA is asking, 'When you degrade a wetland, how does that change? Does it function differently ecologically speaking?' This is a much more sophisticated way of understanding how humans are impacting the coastal environment."

Ultimately Joel's research will help policymakers to make good decisions, as they need to know the full range of costs and benefits. "If we can get more public information supported through databases then we can do a better job helping communities make environmental decisions," says Joel. A long term goal for Joel's research is to help produce a national atlas of ecosystem services as a resource for policymakers.