Video - Assessing the Provisioning of Water Purification in Alberta

Ecosystem services are the benefits provided by natural systems that contribute to human wellbeing.  Despite recent efforts at mapping the supply of these services, the use of this information in decision-making has been limited. A data-rich, dynamic, spatial modelling platform is needed to better understand how ecosystems deliver benefits to people, and how those benefits change with land-use management. ABMI, Green Analytics and AITF have been collaborating on a multi-year initiative to develop tools to support the assessment of water purification and other ecosystem services across Alberta, including carbon storage, timber production, forage production, and pollination, as well as tracking biodiversity. Using an agent-based model, we are modeling water purification as the ability of a landscape to absorb flows of three common pollutants (phosphorus, nitrogen, and sediment), which is highly influenced by vegetation cover and land-use patterns. In addition to tracking where pollutants are generated and absorbed, the model also maps where and to whom the benefits of water purification accrue. This model structure allows users to manipulate land-use patterns and explore how changes in land-use management may influence water purification services and their beneficiaries.