Trees in the landscape provide goods and services that are important to the livelihoods, welfare and wellbeing of people in the landscape, and beyond it. Such services that benefit humankind are regulating water flow, preventing erosion, protecting biodiversity and even providing beautiful scenery.

However, decisions to cut, plant or otherwise manage these trees tend to be dominated by the direct benefits that the ‘owner’ expects. The environmental services are not considered, but they become more valuable as the trees and forests are destroyed.

Session 3.6 of the World Congress on Agroforestry 2014 will look at ways to put a value on the environmental services of trees in the landscape. Various approaches exist. Some rely on valuation in economic terms, to allow direct equivalence to traded goods that can be extracted from the landscape, with or without forest and/or trees.

Other studies have been designed to calculate the costs to land owners of not removing trees and forests as a basis for compensation, and/ to design co-investment programmes that support enhancement of environmental services.

Agroforestry landscape mosaics provide ecosystem services at levels substantially above those of intensified agriculture, yet there is no responsibility for them being lost.

The session will aim to provide a cross section of current research methods that involve economic valuation of the environmental services that trees provide in landscapes (in dependence of tree density, diversity, spatial pattern, management regime and other factors), but also of action research that seeks to change the (perceived) incentives for land managers to enhance tree roles in providing environmental services.