A study of ecosystem services

Professors from Portland State and other Oregon universities have been awarded a $325,000 grant by the National Science Foundation [NSF] to conduct research on environmental conditions in the Willamette River watershed areas.

The five-year aim of the project is to determine the impact of development on the ecosystem’s ability to provide “ecosystem services,” or benefits that natural ecosystems provide to humans, said Professor Heejun Chang, one of the co-principle investigators of the project.

The natural environment provides various resources necessary to human life, including clean drinking water and the decomposition of waste and debris.

“Suppose that the upland forest is developed for residential development,” Chang said. “We lose what forests might provide us, such as food or timber production, carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling and human recreation.”

NSF is seeking to study the effects of urbanization and climate change on the Earth’s ability to provide these services. According to its abstract, the purpose of the grant is to determine which areas, if conserved, would prevent any expected declines in the value of ecosystem services.

Civil and Environmental Engineering Department Chair Scott Wells is the lead principle investigator for the research team. His primary task in the project is to build computer models of the Willamette River, Long Tom River and McKenzie River, as well as the coast fork and the middle fork of the Willamette, Tualatin, Clackamas and Santiam Rivers.

These models serve as mathematical representations of the water flow and temperature in each river system, Wells said. By looking at these models, the team will be able to understand the changes in the water caused by encroaching development.

“Other researchers will look at the economic and social impacts of water use in the Willamette basin,” Wells said. “We will examine climate change scenarios and develop a modeling framework to examine how these impacts are felt in the basin.”

According to Hamid Moradkhani, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and the hydrologic expert on the project, “no research team has conducted a comprehensive effort to identify the communities and ecosystems whose water systems are most vulnerable or to specify how these communities and ecosystems can best adapt.”

Under this grant, the research team will be evaluating water issues, among many other potential ecological problems that result from development of areas near water supply, such as change in water temperature and rainfall collection. Ultimately, NSF seeks to anticipate water shortages in the Willamette River tributaries.

While some knowledge of the impact of urbanization exists, the project will primarily focus on compiling data and developing analytic tools that will assist the ongoing effort to create a market for the moderated use or conservation of ecosystem services.

“We will consult land managers in the study area regularly to obtain feedback on our project and to make sure that our study is useful for them,” Chang said.

All three PSU professors are part of the faculty of the Institute for Sustainable Solutions. The grant is based on years of previous work conducted in the area of hydrology and environmental engineering. ?