Skip to main content
Contact Us

Our research explores the value of different tree and forest ecosystem services and uses innovative methods to identify and capture those values. For example:

1. Seven high-level cultural ecosystem benefits have been identified from 56 studies across different European countries: health, learning, social connections, connections to nature, sensory benefits, cultural and symbolic, and economic benefits.

2. Shared values bring a new perspective to forest management decision-making. These are values that people hold as a group, community or as a society, and are different from individual values.

3. The first study on the flood-risk reduction benefits of the UK woodland estate estimated a value of approximately £6.5 billion per year (£2,600 per ha) based upon a replacement cost approach. A review of evidence on water quality improvement associated with planting trees found that creation of woodland buffers reduced nitrate concentrations by over 70% on average in oceanic climates such as the UK’s. The strength of the effect is strongly related to the width of the buffer.

Wales .jpg

Publications, papers and information on valuing and governing tree and forest ecosystem services:

Cultural ecosystem services, values and benefits

Children and young people’s engagement with nature

Active forest programme evaluation

Evaluation of the Westonbirt Arboretum community inclusion programme and visitor experience

How nature is helping Swedish migrants integrate

Behavioural economics review

Policy ‘nudges’ to encourage woodland creation

Valuation of Welsh forest resources

I-Tree Eco

Valuing flood regulation services of existing forest cover to inform natural capital accounts

Payments for Ecosystem Services Forest for Water (PESFOR-W)

Treezilla

Harvested wood products and carbon substitution

Quantification and valuation of ecosystem service provision of urban trees

Funding & partners
  • Scottish Forestry, Forestry Commission England and Natural Resources Wales
Valuing and governing tree and forest ecosystem services
In this section
Valuing and governing tree and forest ecosystem services