Evaluation of ecosystem services

The State Data Agency (Statistics Lithuania) conducted the first ecosystem services assessment in Lithuania as part of the project “Implementation of the Classification of Environmental Purposes (CEP), evaluation of ecosystem services and estimation of quarterly greenhouse gas emission accounts”. This assessment was carried out in order to prepare for the compilation of ecosystem accounts starting from 2026 in accordance with the requirements of the European Union legislation.

The assessment revealed the contribution of various ecosystems – forests, grassland, cropland, water bodies and urban areas – to the well-being of society and economy. Ecosystem services include provisioning, climate regulation, air quality improvement and recreational opportunities. These experimental statistical results provide the prerequisites for a consistent assessment of the benefits provided by ecosystems and for making data-based decisions in the fields of environmental protection, climate policy and sustainable development.  

The evaluation of ecosystem services was carried out using a tool developed by Eurostat: INCA (Integrated system for Natural Capital Accounting). It is an integrated, standardized, model-based framework for the quantitative assessment of ecosystem services and their integration into ecosystem accounts, based on the System of Environmental Economic Accounts – Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA). The assessment uses geospatial-based models, as well as satellite and land-use data, and assesses potential, demand and actual use. This tool was used to assess the indicators for the reference year 2021.

About ecosystem services

Ecosystem services are the benefits nature provides to people and the economy. They include food and raw materials, improved air quality, temperature regulation in cities and recreational opportunities. The assessment results show that different ecosystems perform different functions: forests are particularly important for climate regulation, cropland for food production. Urbanized areas also have a positive impact on the quality of life. This confirms that the conservation of nature and the sustainable use of its resources are directly related to human well-being.

Types of ecosystem services:

1. Provisioning services:
   1. crop provision
   2. crop pollination
   3. wood provision
2. Regulating and maintaining services:
   1. air filtration
   2. global climate regulation
   3. local climate regulation
3. Recreational services:
   1. nature-based tourism.

Ecosystem service accounts record the actual flow of ecosystem services provided by ecosystems and their use within the territory of the state.

The supply of ecosystem services is divided according to the following 12 ecosystem types classified in Europe:

1. Settlements and other artificial areas
2. Cropland
3. Grassland (pastures, semi-natural and natural grassland)
4. Forest and woodland
5. Heathland and shrub
6. Sparsely vegetated ecosystems
7. Inland wetlands
8. Rivers and canals
9. Lakes and reservoirs
10. Marine inlets and transitional waters
11. Coastal beaches, dunes and wetlands
12. Marine ecosystems (coastal waters, shelf and open ocean).

In Lithuania, there are 11 types of ecosystems, as the 6^th type (sparsely vegetated ecosystems: bare rocks, glaciers, sand plains) is not found in Lithuania.

Consumption (the use) of ecosystem services is broken down by type of consumption in the European Economic Accounts:

• Intermediate consumption by industries
• Government final consumption
• Households’ final consumption
• Gross capital formation
• Exports

Types of ecosystem services

Crop provision – the contribution of ecosystems to plant growth, estimated based on the yield of crops for various purposes. This includes food and fiber production, feed and energy crop production, as well as pasture biomass.

In our country, this service is provided by cropland, the yield of crops is used for various purposes, pasture biomass is provided by meadows. Some vegetables are grown in greenhouses in settlements. The service is expressed as the amount of crops grown, expressed in thousands of tonnes.

Crop pollination – a regulatory ecosystem service defined as the pollination of plants by insects that ensures or increases crop yields. This service is measured by determining the importance of biodiversity, especially insect pollinators, to agriculture. The service is expressed as the proportion of crop yield (in thousands of tonnes) that depends on pollination. Models based on habitat suitability and pollinator abundance are commonly used to assess it. The indicator allows for an assessment of the potential consequences of biodiversity loss.

Most insect pollinators come from forests and crops, with a small proportion from freshwater wetlands and grasslands.

Wood provision – the contribution of ecosystems to the growth of trees and other woody biomass; data are presented as net annual increment of timber over-bark, expressed in thousand m³.

Increment of timber is recorded only in forests available for wood supply (i.e. reserves and other protected forests are excluded).

Air filtration service – the ability of ecosystems (especially vegetation) to absorb and remove atmospheric pollutants. This mitigates harmful effects of pollutants and directly contributes to human health and quality of life. It is measured in terms of the amount of particulate matter absorbed, expressed in tonnes.

Crop and forest vegetation absorbs most particulate matter.

Global climate regulation – the contribution of ecosystems to reducing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere (through net sequestration) and storing carbon in ecosystems. Data are presented as the total amount of carbon dioxide sequestered in terrestrial ecosystems in tonnes, as well as the organic carbon stocks accumulated in ecosystems above ground and in soil, expressed in tonnes.

Forests and grasslands sequester carbon, but carbon stocks are stored in all terrestrial ecosystems, with forests accounting for the largest share.

Local climate regulation – the contribution of ecosystems to the regulation of ambient atmospheric conditions in cities. Vegetation improves people’s living environment and creates more favorable conditions for economic activity. The reduction in temperature in cities due to the impact of urban vegetation is assessed (in degrees Celsius, days when the temperature exceeds 25 ºC).

The service is especially significant in urbanized areas – ecosystems in them reduce the “heat island” effect.

This indicator was calculated for the following six largest cities in Lithuania: Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Panevėžys and Alytus. Forests, as well as green spaces and green spaces in settlements and cities, most effectively reduce urban temperatures.

Natural tourism-related services include the recreational and leisure opportunities provided by ecosystems. The biophysical characteristics and features of ecosystems enable people to use these services directly in their natural environment. The extent of service provision is assessed by the number of overnight stays in hotels, hostels, campsites and other accommodation facilities that can be associated with visits to ecosystems.

Forests, water bodies, coastal beaches and dunes, rural tourism homesteads near croplands attract visitors and generate tourism flows.

Ecosystem services help to reveal the value of natural diversity and include it in economic and statistical evaluation. Although the assessment of these services is important for decision-making, it is necessary to understand that the indicators used are often simplified, therefore, when assessing the results, it is necessary to take into account the structure of land use, the intensity of human activity, ecological status and biodiversity, and other related factors.

Consumption of ecosystem services

Consumers of ecosystem services can be households, industries or government sectors.

When the benefits provided by ecosystems are direct and felt by people in their environment (e.g. air filtration, urban cooling, tourism), households are considered primary consumers.

If the services are mainly used in economic activities (e.g. wood provision, crop provision, crop pollination), the industrial sector is considered the consumer.

When the benefits of a service are collective and cannot be attributed to specific users (e.g. global climate regulation), the user is the government sector.

It is recommended to divide the consumption of ecosystem services as follows:

The table shows how the INCA tool classifies services. It should be noted that the nature tourism service is classified as household consumption when used by domestic tourists, and as an export of services when used by foreign tourists.

Ecosystem services

Quarterly Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Air Emissions Accounts

Experimental quarterly greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions accounts have also been developed, which show how much greenhouse gas is emitted into the atmosphere by economic sectors during a given quarter. They help to monitor climate change trends in near real time and assess the impact of economic changes on these emissions.

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O) and fluorinated gases (F-gases), and their emissions are expressed in a common unit of measurement – ​​tonnes of CO₂ equivalent.

The methodology for compiling quarterly estimates can be described as an econometric-statistical method, often used in the preparation of quarterly national accounts.

The main methodological principle of compiling quarterly GHG accounts is that the time series of annual air emissions accounts are broken down into quarterly values ​​and those values ​​for which annual data are not yet available are forecasted.

Both stages – temporal decomposition and extrapolation – rely on supporting information provided by shorter-term forecast variables (indicators) that help to approximately reflect the quarterly dynamics of the target variable, i.e. greenhouse gas emissions.

Quarterly GHG emissions accounts

  The project is financed by the European Union

The content of this project reflects the views only of the author and is the sole responsibility of the author. The European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.