Introduction of Ecosystem services
Nature has been serving mankind for a very long period in almost all fields. The immense products that we obtain from the environment are priceless. These various products and services that mankind obtains from the environment are known as ecosystem services. The ecosystem services include the agroecosystem, forest ecosystem, grassland ecosystems, and aquatic ecosystems.
To maintain human health and stability, the ecosystem provides clean air, extreme weather mitigation, crops and many more. Apart from these, this also includes the provisioning of clean drinking water, the decomposition of wastes and the resilience and productivity of food ecosystems.
In the year 2006, according to Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), ecosystem services are categorised into four major criteria. They are supporting, provisioning, regulating, and cultural.
These are widely discussed below:
Regulating Ecosystem Services:
The regulating services provided by the ecosystem are listed as:
The purified water and air by the environment.
Availability of the most important compound,i.e., carbon and the climatic regulations.
The process of predation occurring in the environment regulates the prey population.
The process to control biological pests and disease control.
Pollination is involved in the environment.
Regulated the disturbance of the environment which includes flood protection.
Provisioning Ecosystem Services:
The provisioning services of the ecosystem include the following mentioned points:
Food, crops, wild foods, and spices. This also includes seafood and game.
Different raw materials include lumber, skins, fuelwood, organic matter, etc.
Medicinal resources including pharmaceuticals, chemical models, etc.
The energy which includes hydropower, biomass fuels
Ornamental resources include fashion, handicrafts, jewellery, pets, etc.
Cultural Ecosystem Services:
The cultural services of the ecosystem include:
Recreational experiences include ecotourism, outdoor sports and recreation.
Therapeutics include ecotherapy, social forestry and animal-assisted therapy.
Spiritual and historical includes the religious or heritage value or nature.
Cultural services include books, film, painting, folklore, national symbols, advertising, etc.
Supporting Ecosystem Services:
These are also considered redundant services. These services provided ecosystem includes nutrients, cycling, primary production, soil formation, habitat Provision. These are not only limited to these services but also includes services that help the ecosystem to keep on supplying the other services also which includes food supply, flood regulation and water purification.
The relationship between humans and ecosystems is of great value. With the growing need for survival in the environment, people are harassing the environment. It is high time to get proper concentration on the environmental issues and use them in a proper manner.
FAQs on Ecosystem Services
1. What is meant by the term 'Ecosystem Services' in Biology?
Ecosystem services are the many and varied benefits that humans freely gain from the natural environment and from properly-functioning ecosystems. Coined by Robert Costanza and his colleagues, these services are essential for human well-being and survival. They include tangible products like food and water, as well as less visible benefits like climate regulation and pollination.
2. What are the four main categories of ecosystem services as per the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment?
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) classifies the benefits people obtain from ecosystems into four major categories. These are:
- Provisioning Services: The products obtained from ecosystems, such as food, fresh water, wood, and fibre.
- Regulating Services: The benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes, such as climate regulation, flood regulation, and water purification.
- Cultural Services: The non-material benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, recreation, and aesthetic experiences.
- Supporting Services: Services that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services, such as soil formation, nutrient cycling, and primary production.
3. Can you provide specific examples for each of the four types of ecosystem services?
Certainly. Here are some common examples for each category:
- Provisioning: Crops, livestock, and fish for food; timber for raw materials; and plants used for creating medicinal resources.
- Regulating: Forests absorbing carbon dioxide to regulate the climate; wetlands filtering pollutants for water purification; and pollination of crops by bees.
- Cultural: The intellectual and spiritual inspiration drawn from nature, opportunities for recreation and ecotourism, and the scientific knowledge gained from studying ecosystems.
- Supporting: The process of photosynthesis that creates biomass, the cycling of nutrients like nitrogen and carbon, and the natural formation of fertile soil over time.
4. Why are supporting services considered the foundation for all other ecosystem services?
Supporting services are considered foundational because they create the basic conditions necessary for the other three types of services to exist. Without processes like nutrient cycling, soil formation, and primary production, ecosystems would not be able to provide food (provisioning), regulate the climate (regulating), or offer recreational opportunities (cultural). For instance, without soil formation, there would be no agriculture, and without photosynthesis, there would be no oxygen or organic matter to sustain life.
5. What is the key difference between provisioning and regulating services?
The key difference lies in what we receive. Provisioning services provide tangible, physical products that we can harvest and consume, such as timber, food, and fresh water. In contrast, regulating services provide benefits through the management of natural processes. We don't 'harvest' climate regulation, but we benefit from its stabilising effect. Essentially, provisioning is about 'goods', while regulating is about 'processes'.
6. How does a human activity like large-scale deforestation negatively impact all four types of ecosystem services?
Large-scale deforestation severely degrades all categories of ecosystem services simultaneously:
- Provisioning: The supply of timber, medicinal plants, and wild foods is lost.
- Regulating: Carbon absorption decreases, leading to worsened climate change. Loss of tree cover disrupts the water cycle and increases the risk of flooding and soil erosion.
- Cultural: Areas of natural beauty are destroyed, eliminating opportunities for recreation, tourism, and spiritual connection.
- Supporting: The ability of the forest to form new soil and cycle nutrients is compromised, undermining the entire ecosystem's health and productivity.
7. Why is it important, yet difficult, to assign a price tag to the benefits we get from nature?
Assigning a monetary value to ecosystem services is important because it helps policymakers and businesses understand the significant economic consequences of environmental damage. It makes the 'invisible' benefits of nature visible in economic terms. However, it is extremely difficult because many services, like the spiritual value of a landscape (cultural service) or the long-term process of soil formation (supporting service), do not have a direct market price. Their value is immense but hard to quantify, leading to their frequent neglect in economic planning.
