# Avoided export and avoided erosion
**URL:** https://community.naturalcapitalalliance.org/t/avoided-export-and-avoided-erosion/4630
**Category:** Science, Research & Data
**Tags:** sdr
**Created:** [April 8, 2024, 6:41am UTC](https://community.naturalcapitalalliance.org/t/avoided-export-and-avoided-erosion/4630 "2024-04-08T06:41:39Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Atul](https://community.naturalcapitalalliance.org/u/Atul)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2024, 6:41am UTC](https://community.naturalcapitalalliance.org/t/avoided-export-and-avoided-erosion/4630/1 "2024-04-08T06:41:39Z")
Hello everyone,
I wanted to ask if adding avoided export and avoided erosion values is the right approach for quantifying total sediment retention service or if some other approach is better.
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### Author:  [@swolny](https://community.naturalcapitalalliance.org/u/swolny)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2024, 2:33pm UTC](https://community.naturalcapitalalliance.org/t/avoided-export-and-avoided-erosion/4630/2 "2024-04-08T14:33:09Z")
Hi @Atul -
Have you checked out the User Guide section [Evaluating Sediment Retention Services](https://storage.googleapis.com/releases.naturalcapitalproject.org/invest-userguide/latest/en/sdr.html#evaluating-sediment-retention-services)? Does it help answer your question?
~ Stacie
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### Author:  [@Atul](https://community.naturalcapitalalliance.org/u/Atul)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2024, 5:48am UTC](https://community.naturalcapitalalliance.org/t/avoided-export-and-avoided-erosion/4630/3 "2024-04-09T05:48:12Z")
I have gone through the user guide, and as per the user guide definition of avoided export (i.e., Vegetation’s contribution to avoided erosion from a pixel, as well as trapping of sediment originating upslope of the pixel, so that neither of these proceed downslope to enter a stream. This may also be thought of as the total sediment retained on the pixel) it provides the total sediment retention services. Am I interpreting it right, or both services are different? In my study area, avoided export is way less than avoided erosion (due to low SDR, I think). So I wondered if avoided export alone represents the actual sediment retention or if I should consider both services separately or as one (addition).
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### Author:  [@swolny](https://community.naturalcapitalalliance.org/u/swolny)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2024, 2:13pm UTC](https://community.naturalcapitalalliance.org/t/avoided-export-and-avoided-erosion/4630/4 "2024-04-09T14:13:46Z")
Yes, “avoided export” provides the total sediment retention services - retention on the pixel itself, plus retention from upslope pixels. Avoided export includes avoided erosion, as you can see in the User Guide section [Ecosystem service indicators](https://storage.googleapis.com/releases.naturalcapitalproject.org/invest-userguide/latest/en/sdr.html#ecosystem-service-indicators).
We provide both because they can be used for different purposes, depending on whether you’re concerned with the impacts of erosion at the source/on pixel (as farmers are concerned about erosion on their land) or you’re concerned with the impact of erosion downstream.
~ Stacie
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### Author:  [@Atul](https://community.naturalcapitalalliance.org/u/Atul)
#### Post date: [April 10, 2024, 5:45am UTC](https://community.naturalcapitalalliance.org/t/avoided-export-and-avoided-erosion/4630/5 "2024-04-10T05:45:09Z")
Thank you for the clarification @swolny
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### Author:  [@system](https://community.naturalcapitalalliance.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2024, 5:45am UTC](https://community.naturalcapitalalliance.org/t/avoided-export-and-avoided-erosion/4630/6 "2024-04-17T05:45:43Z")
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