Ecosystem services

What are ecosystem services?

A wide range of conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems and the species that are part of them, help sustain and fulfill human system. Examples: Such ecosystems include, for example, agro ecosystems, forest ecosystems, grassland ecosystems and aquatic ecosystems. Collectively, these benefits are becoming known as 'ecosystem services', and are often integral to the provisioning of clean drinking water, the decomposition of wastes, and the natural pollination of crops and other plants. Ecosystem services are the direct and indirect contributions of ecosystems to human well-being (TEEB D0). They support directly or indirectly our survival and quality of life. ... Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital: So, a forest is a component of natural capital, while climate regulation or timber might be the ecosystem service it provides. Healthy soil is a component of natural capital, while food or energy production might be the ecosystem service Provisioning services are the products obtained from ecosystems such as food, fresh water, wood, fiber, genetic resources and medicines. There, ecosystem services are grouped into four broad categories:

1. Provisioning, such as the production of food and water.

2. Regulating, such as the control of climate and disease.

3. Supporting, such as nutrient cycles and oxygen production.

4. Cultural, such as spiritual and recreational benefits. Supporting services .

These include services such as nutrient recycling, primary production, soil formation, habitat provision and pollination. These services make it possible for the ecosystems to continue providing services such as food supply, flood regulation, and water purification. Provisioning services. • food (including seafood and game), crops, wild foods, and spices

Raw materials (including lumber, skins, fuel wood, organic matter, fodder, and fertilizer) • genetic resources (including crop improvement genes, and health care) • water • biogenic minerals • medicinal resources (including pharmaceuticals, chemical models, and test and assay organisms) • energy (hydropower, biomass fuels) • ornamental resources (including fashion, handicraft, jewelry, pets, worship, decoration and souvenirs like furs, feathers, ivory, orchids, butterflies, aquarium fish, shells, etc.) Regulating services . • Carbon sequestration and climate regulation • Predation regulates prey populations • Waste decomposition and detoxification • Purification of water and air • pest and disease control Cultural services . • cultural (including use of nature as motif in books, film, painting, folklore, national symbols, architect, advertising, etc.) • spiritual and historical (including use of nature for religious or heritage value or natural) • recreational experiences (including ecotourism, outdoor sports, and recreation) • science and education (including use of natural systems for school excursions, and scientific discovery) • Therapeutic (including Ecotherapy, social forestry and animal assisted therapy) There is discussion as to how the concept of cultural ecosystem services can be operationalized. A good review of approaches in landscape aesthetics, cultural heritage, outdoor recreation, and spiritual significance to define and assess cultural values of our environment so that they fit into the ecosystem services approach is given by Daniel et al.[17] who vote for models that explicitly link ecological structures and functions with cultural values and benefits. There also is a fundamental critique of the concept of cultural ecosystem services that builds on three arguments:[18] 1. Pivotal cultural values attaching to the natural/cultivated environment rely on an area's unique character that cannot be addressed by

Methods that use universal scientific parameters to determine ecological structures and functions. 2. If a natural/cultivated environment has symbolic meanings and cultural values the object of these values are not ecosystems but shaped phenomena like mountains, lakes, forests, and, mainly, symbolic landscapes. 3. Those cultural values do result not from properties produced by ecosystems but are the product of a specific way of seeing within the given cultural framework of symbolic experience. Estuarine and coastal ecosystem services . Ecosystem services are defined as the gains acquired by human kind from surroundings ecosystems. An ecosystem does not necessarily offer all four types of services simultaneously; but given the intricate nature of any ecosystem, it is usually assumed that humans benefit from a combination of these services. The services offered by diverse types of ecosystems (forests, seas, coral reefs, mangroves, etc.) differ in nature and in consequence. In fact, some services directly affect the livelihood of neighboring human populations (such as fresh water, food or aesthetic value, etc.) while other services affect general environmental conditions by which humans are indirectly impacted

5. (such as climate change, erosion regulation or natural hazard regulation, etc.). Estuarine and coastal ecosystems are both marine ecosystems. An estuary is defined as ‘the area in which a river meets the sea or the ocean’. The waters surrounding this area are predominantly salty waters or brackish waters; and the incoming river water is dynamically motioned by the tide. An estuary strip may be covered by populations of reed (or similar plants) and/or sandbanks (or similar form or land). A coastal ecosystem occurs in areas where the sea or ocean waters meet the land.

6. (such as climate change, erosion regulation or natural hazard regulation, etc.). Estuarine and coastal ecosystems are both marine ecosystems. An estuary is defined as ‘the area in which a river meets the sea or the ocean’. The waters surrounding this area are predominantly salty waters or brackish waters; and the incoming river water is dynamically motioned by the tide. An estuary strip may be covered by populations of reed (or similar plants) and/or sandbanks (or similar form or land). A coastal ecosystem occurs in areas where the sea or ocean waters meet the land.