Ecosystem services: Foundations, opportunities, and challenges for the forest products sector

The ecosystem service concept has been proposed as a meaningful framework for natural resource management. In theory it holds concomitant benefit and consequence for the forest product sector. However, numerous barriers impede practitioners from developing concrete and enduring responses to emerging ecosystem service markets, policies, and initiatives. Principle among these barriers is that the ecosystem service concept has a complex history, numerous definitions in use, and an astounding diversity in rationale and application. This article provides a conceptual review of ecosystem services and its economic foundations, distinguishes among several current definitions of the term and their relatedness to strategies in practical application, discusses diverse approaches to valuation, and explores potential for future relevance in forest product and other sectors.