Valuing insect pollination services with cost of replacement.

ABSTRACT: Value estimates of ecosystem goods and services are useful to justify the allocation of resources towards conservation, but inconclusive estimates risk unsustainable resource allocations. Here we present replacement costs as a more accurate value estimate of insect pollination as an ecosystem service, although this method could also be applied to other services. The importance of insect pollination to agriculture is unequivocal. However, whether this service is largely provided by wild pollinators (genuine ecosystem service) or managed pollinators (commercial service), and which of these requires immediate action amidst reports of pollinator decline, remains contested. If crop pollination is used to argue for biodiversity conservation, clear distinction should be made between values of man

SUBMITTER: Allsopp MH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2519790 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature