Ecosystem Valuation Engine

Seven financial pipelines derived from satellite telemetry and published cost data. Every hectare produces or destroys measurable value. This engine makes it visible.

Ecosystem Valuation For
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Input Parameters

Carbon
Hydrology
Thermal & Energy
Land & Population
Ecology

Financial Pipeline — $/ha/yr

1. Carbon Sequestration $665
2. Water Yield $4,500
3. Cooling / Heat Island $1,200
4. Soil Retention $800
5. Biodiversity $1,260
6. Pollination $300
7. Public Health $500
Composite Ecosystem Service Value
$9,225
per hectare / per year
Spread vs opposite scenario: $80,725
Sources: Carbon at Social Cost of Carbon $190/ton (EPA 2024). Water at local treatment cost; stormwater via LA Measure W ($26,910/ha at 95% impervious). Cooling from LBNL urban heat research + LADWP rates. Soil retention from CA watershed protection studies (USLE C-factor). Biodiversity via PES benchmarks for CA oak woodland. Health costs from CA Dept of Insurance heat damage data ($200/person/yr conservative). Satellite inputs: Sentinel-2, MODIS, ECOSTRESS, SoilGrids, AmeriFlux Tonzi Ranch. Framework: Costanza et al. (2014), de Groot et al. (2012).

How Each Measurement Works

Twelve inputs from satellites, weather stations, and census data. Each one feeds into the financial pipelines above. Click any measurement to learn what it means and why it matters.

1
CO₂ Sequestration Rate Feeds → Carbon ▶
How many tons of carbon dioxide this land pulls out of the atmosphere each year. Trees, grasses, and soil microbes absorb CO₂ and lock it into organic matter. Healthy oak woodland sequesters about 3.5 tons per hectare per year. Pavement sequesters zero — and actually leaks carbon as buried soil slowly decomposes.
Value = sequestration rate × $190 (Social Cost of Carbon)
2
Precipitation Feeds → Water ▶
Total rainfall the land receives in a year, in millimeters. This is the raw water input. What matters financially is what happens to this rain — does the land filter it into clean groundwater, or does it bounce off pavement as toxic runoff? Precipitation minus evapotranspiration = net water yield. Same rain, completely different outcome depending on what the land surface is.
3
Evapotranspiration Feeds → Water, Cooling ▶
Water that plants breathe back into the air through their leaves. This is nature’s air conditioning — every liter evaporated absorbs heat energy and cools the surroundings. High ET means the land is actively cooling itself and filtering water through roots. Low ET (like pavement at 20 mm/yr) means almost all rain becomes runoff and there’s no cooling. This one number connects the water pipeline to the cooling pipeline.
4
Water Treatment Cost Feeds → Water ▶
What it costs your local utility to clean and deliver one cubic meter of water. This is the replacement cost — if the forest wasn’t filtering this water for free, someone would have to pay to do it artificially. Ranges from $0.50 in rural areas to $3+ near cities. In California it averages about $1.50/m³. When land is paved, the city instead pays to manage polluted stormwater — in LA that’s $26,910 per hectare per year (Measure W tax).
5
LST Delta (Land Surface Temperature) Feeds → Cooling, Health ▶
How much hotter or cooler this land is compared to the regional baseline, measured by satellite infrared sensors (MODIS, ECOSTRESS). Forests are typically 4°C cooler than bare ground. Downtown concrete can be 8°C hotter than surrounding countryside. This directly drives electricity costs (more AC) and health outcomes (heat stroke, respiratory illness). It’s the strongest visual proof that land cover choice has immediate physical consequences.
6
Building Footprint Feeds → Cooling ▶
The percentage of land covered by buildings with roofs and HVAC systems. This determines how much of the heat island penalty translates into actual electricity bills. A parking lot is hot but has no AC units. A downtown block at 60% building footprint means 60% of that heat is being fought with air conditioning.
Cooling cost = 0.7 kWh/m²/°C × heat delta × building % × electricity rate
7
Electricity Rate Feeds → Cooling ▶
Local price per kilowatt-hour. This multiplier turns excess heat into dollars. The same +8°C heat island costs more in California ($0.37/kWh, LADWP Tier 3) than in Texas ($0.12/kWh). It’s the bridge between a physical measurement and a financial liability.
8
Impervious Surface Feeds → Water, Soil, Bio, Health ▶
The single most important number. Percentage of land sealed by concrete, asphalt, or buildings. This is the master switch — it flips almost every pipeline from positive to negative. Above 50% impervious, water becomes a liability instead of an asset, biodiversity drops to zero, soil stops forming, and health costs appear. Downtown LA is 95% impervious. A forest is 0%. This one measurement explains most of the $80,000 gap between them.
9
Population Density Feeds → Cooling, Health ▶
People per square kilometer. This is the exposure multiplier. A hot parking lot in the desert hurts nobody. The same heat in downtown LA (15,490 people/km²) sends thousands to the ER. Population density doesn’t change what the land does — it changes how many people are affected by it. That’s why the health pipeline can reach -$31,000/ha in dense urban areas.
10
NDVI Variance (Biodiversity) Feeds → Biodiversity ▶
NDVI is a satellite index that measures how green and alive the land is (0 = bare, 1 = dense vegetation). Variance — how much the greenness changes through the seasons — is a proxy for biological diversity. A monoculture cornfield has high NDVI but low variance (all green at once, all brown at once). A mixed oak woodland has high variance because different species leaf out at different times, creating year-round habitat niches. More niches = more species = higher ecological value.
11
Soil Erosion C-Factor Feeds → Soil Retention ▶
From the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). Ranges from 0 (full cover, no erosion) to 1.0 (bare soil, maximum erosion). Dense forest cover = 0.01. Bare construction site = 1.0. This tells you how well the land holds its soil in place. Erosion isn’t just losing dirt — it’s losing the carbon, nutrients, and water-holding capacity that took centuries to build. It also silts up rivers and reservoirs downstream.
Soil value = (1 − C-factor) × $800/ha/yr
12
Pollination Service Value Feeds → Pollination ▶
The economic value of wild pollinators supported by this habitat to surrounding agriculture. This is a direct input rather than a formula because it depends entirely on what crops are nearby. Land next to almond orchards in California’s Central Valley could be worth $1,000+/ha in pollination alone. Sonoma oak woodland surrounded by vineyards and gardens contributes about $300/ha/yr. Downtown concrete contributes $0.

How They Connect

Impervious surface is the master switch. Push it past 50% and four pipelines flip from positive to negative simultaneously — water becomes a liability, biodiversity drops, soil stops forming, and health costs appear. This is why a single hectare of pavement can cost society $70,000/year.
Evapotranspiration links water and cooling. When plants breathe water into the air, they simultaneously filter groundwater (water pipeline) and cool the land (cooling pipeline). Pave the surface and you lose both services at once.
Population density is the damage multiplier. It doesn’t change what the land does — it changes how many people are harmed or helped by it. The same heat island costs almost nothing in the desert and $31,000/ha in downtown LA.
LST delta connects to electricity and health. A hotter surface drives up cooling costs (through building footprint × electricity rate) and drives up hospital visits (through population density). One physical measurement, two financial pipelines.
Carbon and soil work on different timescales. Carbon sequestration is annual flow — tons absorbed this year. Soil retention protects a stock that took centuries to build. Lose the soil and you lose the carbon capacity permanently.