Economic valuation of three ecosystem services before the establishment of agreenbelt of Quebec City forest, Canada

Introduction: Forest ecosystem services provide benefits to human beings. However, it is afteran economic assessment, when such services become more relevant. Objective: To estimate the values of three ecosystem services in the forestland around QuebecCity and compare these values with those obtained in other studies. Materials and methods: The total cost of three ecosystem services (water supply and quality, airquality and forest habitat) was estimated to represent the value of a green belt around QuebecCity. For  this, four  valuation  methods   were used:  replacement cost  for water   supply, cost-effectiveness for water quality, avoided cost for air quality and market price for forest habitat. Results and   discussion:  The economic value corresponding to the three ecosystem services(water supply and quality, air quality and habitat) was USD 4 539.48·ha-1. Therefore, the totaleconomic value for 15,998.96 ha of the forest area around Quebec City was 72 627 025.00USD·year-1. The variation between the estimates and the values reported in other studies were theresult of different valuation methods, systems created by man as a replacement for the function ofthe forest ecosystem, the level of efficiency among the forest systems and the price sources ofmarket used for the valuation of the ecosystem. Conclusion: The type of forest mass, the valuation method and the study context were relevantcriteria determining the ecosystem’s economic value.