Title:

Ownership Scale Ecosystem Services Evaluation in a New England Suburban Woodland and Wetland

The ecosystem services of a private woodlot in Massachusetts are examined with an eye to incentivizing their maintenance. Services provided include wood, water filtration, carbon sequestration potential, flood mitigation, recreation, and food. Specifically, the woodlot provides firewood for sale and consumption by the landowner in addition to personal Christmas trees and some lumber; water flowing from uphill housing developments is filtered through the property's wetlands before reaching the Ipswich River; continued management as a woodlot constitutes avoidance of carbon emissions that would occur if it were developed (though small acreage may prevent monetization); the wetlands are across the Ipswich from a school that could experience more severe flooding if the wetlands were encroached upon; the lot is visited by many locals for walking, cross country skiing, and horse riding, used for fox hunts; and the lot is used by bow hunters. In addition, the Beverly-Salem Water District holds an easement on a portion the land in case water from the Ipswich River is needed by the district. A timber inventory was performed to determine wood production and carbon sequestration potential. Stream flow was measured for two streams (one permanent) flowing through the lot to estimate the amount of water filtered through the wetlands over the span of a year. USGS LiDAR data was used to estimate the volume of water diverted by the wetlands during a 100-year flood event. Value of food provided by the lot is estimated by the price of comparable products. Value as a recreational area is difficult to compute but can be estimated based on the town budget.

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