Testing Extended Accounts in Scheduled Conservation of Open Woodlands with Permanent Livestock Grazing: Dehesa de la Luz Estate Case Study, Arroyo de la Luz, Spain

Abstract

Standard Economic Accounts for Agriculture and Forestry do not measure the ecosystem services and intermediate products embedded in the final products recorded, and omit the private non-commercial intermediate products and self-consumption of private amenities. These limitations of the standard accounts are addressed by the extended Agroforestry Accounting System, which is being tested at the publicly-owned Dehesa de la Luz agroforestry estate. The extended accounts simulate conservation forestry of holm oak and cork oak for the current as well as successive rotation cycles during which scheduled conservation of the cultural woodland landscape of the Dehesa de la Luz is carried out, improving the natural physical growth of the firewood and cork. The estimated results for 2014 reveal that private ecosystem services make up 50% of the firewood and grazing products consumed; the private environmental income accounts for 13% of the total private income; and the private environmental asset represents 53% of the total opening capital. The net value added is more than 2.3 times the amount estimated using the standard accounts. The landowner donates intermediate products of non-commercial services at a value of 85 €/ha, which are used to enhance the supply of public products.