Modern areal biodiversity and richness of nature compared to the original pre-industrial situation is measured by ecobalance. In many cases, it is worthwhile to study the direction and rate in the change of areal ecobalance.

The ecobalance of Finland is estimated below. It is quite easy to see that ecobalance is a useful tool for studying the state of the environment. It can be used for updating environmental regulations, as well as for directing limited environmental investments to areas where they produce the most benefits.