Creating Value Through Ecosystem Service Management in Urban and Suburban Landscapes

The document argues that conventional landscaping practices in the United States fail to leverage the full range of ecosystem services provided by managed landscapes, such as residential lawns and golf courses. It proposes a conceptual framework to quantify and value seven specific ecosystem services—including carbon sequestration and water retention—to guide design and management decisions.

• Managed landscapes, including parks, golf courses, and residential lawns, provide critical ecosystem services such as air quality improvement, climate moderation, and stormwater retention that impact community health, yet these values are largely untapped because conventional business practices and sustainability initiatives rarely account for them.
• The landscape management industry in the United States is valued at $40 billion, and there is an opportunity to apply emerging measurement and economic valuation tools—already used in forestry and agriculture—to guide vegetative cover and management choices in urban landscapes.
• The authors identify seven specific ecosystem services derived from managed landscapes that can be quantified and economically valued: soil retention, water retention, local climate control, carbon sequestration, air quality, water quality, and aesthetic and recreation opportunities.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Creating Value Through Ecosystem Service Management in Urban and Suburban Landscapes. https://www.wri.org/research/creating-value-through-ecosystem-service-management-urban-and-suburban-landscapes

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Creating Value Through Ecosystem Service Management in Urban and Suburban Landscapes. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/creating-value-through-ecosystem-service-management-urban-and-suburban-landscapes.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Creating Value Through Ecosystem Service Management in Urban and Suburban Landscapes |url=https://www.wri.org/research/creating-value-through-ecosystem-service-management-urban-and-suburban-landscapes |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendcreating, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Creating Value Through Ecosystem Service Management in Urban and Suburban Landscapes}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/creating-value-through-ecosystem-service-management-urban-and-suburban-landscapes}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }