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National Atlas or Ecosystem Services
You are here: IPA Home » National Adas c" Ecosvstem Services
National Atlas of
Ecosystem Services
National Atlas of Ecosystem Services
The nation s ecosystems provide a vast array of services to humans from
clean and abundant water to recreational opportunities. The value of these
services in their entirety is often taken for granted and not considered in
environmental decision-making. In some cases, decisions about one ecosystem
service are made in isolation without consideration of impacts on other critical
services. EPA's Ecosystem Services Research Program (ESRP) is seeking to
effectively measure and communicate the type, quality, and magnitude of
services that humans receive from ecosystems in order that their true value is
considered in decision-making. This website introduces the National Atlas of
Ecosystem Services which provides an effective tool for visualizing and analyzing
multiple ecosystem services through the use of maps and graphs
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Last updated on Wednesday, May 19, 2010

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science in ACTION
BUILDING A SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION FOR SOUND ENVIRONMENTAL DECISIONS
&EPA
www.epa.gov/ecology
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
RESEARCH PROGRAM
RESEARCHERS MAP ECOSYSTEM SERVICES TO
PRODUCE NATIONAL ATLAS
Issue:
The nation's ecosystems provide
a vast array of services to humans
from clean and abundant water to
recreational opportunities. The
benefits of nature or "ecosystem
services" are often taken for
granted and not considered in
environmental decision-making.
In some cases, decisions about
one ecosystem service are made
in isolation without consideration
of impacts on other critical
services.
EPA's Ecosystem Services
Research Program (ESRP) is
seeking to effectively measure
and communicate the type,
quality, and magnitude of
services that humans receive from
ecosystems so that their true
value is considered in decision-
making. An effective tool for
visualizing and analyzing
multiple ecosystem services is
through the use of maps and
graphs.
EPA researchers are creating a
National Atlas of Ecosystem
Services, which will allow the
user to interact with a web-based,
easy-to-use, mapping application
to view and analyze multiple
ecosystem services for the
contiguous United States.
The challenges facing the Atlas
effort fall into three major
categories: 1) developing the
science necessary to quantify
ecosystem services across the
United States; 2) creating an
effective mapping application that
will appeal to a broad collection
of users, including decision-
makers ranging from the public to
national policy-makers and
researchers; and 3) developing
national data sets (e.g., soils or
crop type) that are critical to the
calculation of ecosystem servi ces.
The science necessary to quantify
ecosystem services draws from a
number of disciplines including
landscape ecology, hydrology,
zoology, forestry, agronomy, soil
science, demography and
ecological economics. The Atlas
will be a collaborative tool with
many types of contributors and
users from researchers to
government officials.
Collaborators currently
contributing to the Atlas include
the Natural Resources
Conservation Service, the United
States Geological Survey, the
National Geographic Society,
NatureServe, and City College of
New York.
Scientific Objective:
The overall goal of the Atlas is to
employ and develop the best
available science to map
indicators of ecosystem services
production, demand, and drivers
for the nation. The categories of
ecosystem services to be included
in the Atlas are:
• Clean water for drinking
Gonti n/led on back
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development

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oEPA
www.epa.gov/ecology
science in ACTION
BUILDING A SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION FOR SOUND ENVIRONMENTAL DECISIONS
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES RESEARCH PROGRAM
continued from front
•	Clean water for recreation and
aquatic habitat
•	Adequate water supply
•	Food, fuel and fiber
•	Recreation, cultural and
aesthetic amenities
•	Climate regulation
•	Protection from hazardous
weather
•	Habitat and the maintenance of
biodiversity
•	Clean air
The Atlas will present the data
summarized by 12 digit
hydrologic unit codes (HUCs) of
which there are about 83,000 in
the US. HUCs provide a
convenient reporting unit that
reflects drainage patterns and
allows users to navigate and
explore throughout an entire
watershed. The application also
will allow the user to
simultaneously view multiple
ecosystem services with the use
of graphing tools.
The Atlas will include more
detailed information for at least
150 communities across the
nation. Within the communities, a
suite of metrics, such as
availability of green space and
heat stress caused by the built
environment, will be explored
and related to vulnerable sectors
of the community's residents.
Application and Impact:
The Atlas will provide users with
a visual method for interpreting
the benefits of nature (ecosystem
services) and understanding how
they can be conserved and
enhanced for a sustainable future.
The maps will provide users with
an ability to assess choices in a
spatially explicit context. Where
possible, the Atlas will identify
the beneficiaries of services who
may reside locally, downstream,
or in an area remote from the
production site of the services.
The data will help guide newly
formulated methods for valuation
of, and payment for, ecosystem
services. The data presented in
the Atlas can also help to guide
where best to preserve or restore
ecosystems. In some cases, this
may be the restoration of natural
systems or it could also be
relevant constructed ecosystems,
such as wetlands.
An additional application of the
Atlas will be to raise awareness of
the importance, magnitude and
fragility of a natural system's
ability to provide ecosystem
services.
The first version of the Atlas will
be released in 2011 with
subsequent releases following as
more data becomes available.
REFERENCES
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA). 2005.
Ecosystems and Human Weil-Being: Wetlands and
Water Synthesis. World Resources Institute.
Washington. DC. 68p.
http://www.maweb.Org/documents/document.358.a
spx.pdf
CONTACT
Anne Neale. EPA's Office of Research and
Development, neale.anne@epa.gov.
919-541-3832.
JUNE 2010
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development

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