System value

The ecological value of a landscape element or set of elements when assessed as part of the larger ecological system in which they function. System value includes both the stand-alone contributions of component elements and the consequences of relationships among them, including connectivity, spatial configuration, complementation, supplementation, ecological flows, and other network interactions. Because these relationships can alter what the component elements collectively enable, system value cannot necessarily be determined by summing their stand-alone values; the difference is explained by emergent network value.