**5. Conclusion**

Grasslands have a multi-functional role, providing food for herbivores as well as other goods and services such as carbon sequestration, nature conservation, and recreation. The goods and services provided by grasslands have direct and indirect monetary value. This study was conducted to a) provide a strategy for assessing the economic value of goods and services from grasslands, b) identify variables that influence the value of grassland goods and services, and c) identify gaps in knowledge which require more information to improve the valuation process. The study was conducted in three stages. Firstly, information regarding grasslands in the Province of Manitoba, Canada was collected based on grass type (native, naturalized or tame/seeded), land use (hay, pasture and other) and ownership (private, crown and nongovernmental organizations). This was followed by identification of goods and services that could be expected from these grasslands. The identified goods and services were then valuated. Market prices were utilized to value grassland goods and services where transactions occur in the marketplace while the benefit transfer method was used to infer monetary values of those goods and services that are not typically sold through the marketplace. Sensitivity analysis was performed to account for market price fluctuation or uncertainties in benefit transfer. The total economic value of Manitoba grasslands was derived by summing economic values of goods and services for which supporting data was available.

Although the study identified 21 goods and services provided by Manitoba grasslands, only perennial forage production, carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, water regulation, waste treatment, soil erosion control, soil formation, recreation, and wildlife habitat were included in the valuation. Genetic, medicinal, and ornamental resources, water supply, nursery function, biological value, and cultural services, while important, could not be assigned monetary value due to lack of data. The total economic value of Manitoba grasslands was estimated to be approximately \$1,436 million/yr (\$630 ha/yr), with a range of \$1,203 million/yr (\$527 ha/yr) to \$1,880 million/yr (\$810 ha/yr). The two most highly valued goods and services in Manitoba grasslands were perennial forage production and carbon sequestra‐ tion. Multidisciplinary research, focusing on economic valuation of non-market goods and services will provide more relevant transfer values than those obtained from other ecosystems and will greatly improve estimates of grassland value.

This study shows that goods and services in complex ecosystems such as temperate grasslands can be valued using market and non-market based valuation methods. Improvements in market-based valuation can be accomplished by local research that will more precisely quantify goods and services such as carbon sequestration and assess forage value based on forage quality. The major challenge in valuation of grasslands lies in the development and use of methods to improve valuation of non-market goods and services. While benefit transfer, as utilized in this study, gives estimates of the value of non-market goods and services, local grassland research will be required to ground truth benefit transfer values. The limited number of studies reporting values of non-market goods and services in North America made use of benefit transfer in the current study somewhat complex. This study could not access informa‐ tion on the value of goods and services such as genetic, medicinal, and ornamental resources, water supply, and cultural services, which will be required for a complete valuation of grasslands. Ultimately, the valuation of grasslands will require economic values of goods and services obtained directly from grasslands. In this respect, investment into multidisciplinary research focusing on the economic valuation of grassland goods and services will provide more relevant transfer values than those obtained from other ecosystems and will greatly improve grassland valuation.
