Ecosystem Services

Defining Nature’s Value

Ecosystem services are the essential benefits that healthy ecosystems provide to society. At the Ecosystem Values Lab, we build models that link ecological processes to economic outcomes—quantifying how water, forests, and landscapes sustain communities and markets. Our work helps managers and policymakers assess tradeoffs, identify high-value ecosystem functions, and design nature-based solutions that deliver both environmental and financial returns.

  • Economic valuation tools: Approaches such as market pricing, benefit transfer, and natural capital accounting reveal the economic contributions of ecosystems and guide smarter investments in conservation and restoration.

    Ecosystem-based approach: Nature-based solutions—such as green infrastructure, watershed restoration, and forest management—offer cost-effective, resilient alternatives to built systems, strengthening community and climate resilience.

    Biodiversity’s role: Diverse, functioning ecosystems underpin the stability of services like water purification, carbon storage, and pollination—making biodiversity a cornerstone of both ecological and economic sustainability.

Why Ecosystem Services Matter

By integrating ecosystem science with economics and finance, we translate ecological benefits into decision-ready insights. Our tools support agencies, businesses, and investors seeking to align environmental stewardship with long-term economic performance.

Implications for Policy
and Management

Publications

Natural Capital Accounting on Forested Lands: An application to the Colorado River Basin (2025) by Warziniack, T., Collins, F., Bagstad, K., Knowles, M., Nehra, A., Rhodes, C., … & Sims, C. B.

Will ecosystem services attract investors? (2023) Charles Sims, Ben Blachly, Travis Warziniack

Vulnerability of ecosystem services along the Colorado Front Range (Chapter 11) (2020) Travis Warziniack, Elizabeth Cox, Pam Froemke, Delilah Jaworski, Josh Sidon