An economic valuation of pollination services in Georgia

Pollination is an ecosystem service and a production practice. As agriculture is confronted with pollinator decline, assessments of the potential consequential loss of economic value are critical. For Georgia, we calculate the economic value of pollination (EVP), a summation of the economic value of pollination over all crops studied; the crop vulnerability ratio (CVR), the ratio of EVP to the economic production value of the crops studied; and pollinations contribution to Total Farm Gate Value (PCV), the ratio of EVP to the economic production value of the agricultural sector. We estimate total EVP ($608 million), CVR (21.1 percent), and PCV (5.4 percent). GIS analysis reveals that counties with the highest EVP and PCV values are clustered in the southern part of the state. CVR values display less clustering, with the highest values in the north central parts of the state and in southern counties with lower EVP and PCV values.