Holistic aboveground ecological productivity efficiency modeling using data envelopment analysis in the southeastern U.S.

Aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) of an ecosystem is among the most important metrics of valued ecosystem services. Measuring the efficiency scores of ecological production (ESEP) based on ANPP using relevant variables is valuable for identifying inefficient sites. The efficiency scores computed by the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) may be influenced by the number of input variables incorporated into the models and two DEA settings-orientations and returns-to-scales (RTSs).