Ecosystem services definition

  1. Ecosystem service
  2. Regulating services | Ecosystem Services & Biodiversity (ESB) | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
  3. Ecosystem services
  4. Cultural services | Ecosystem Services & Biodiversity (ESB) | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
  5. Ecosystem Service
  6. Evaluating conceptual definitions of ecosystem services and their implications
  7. Provisioning services | Ecosystem Services & Biodiversity (ESB) | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations


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Ecosystem service

• العربية • Bikol Central • Bosanski • Català • Čeština • Cymraeg • Dagbanli • Deutsch • Eesti • Español • Euskara • Farefare • فارسی • Français • Hrvatski • Igbo • Italiano • Latviešu • Lietuvių • മലയാളം • ꯃꯤꯇꯩ ꯂꯣꯟ • Nederlands • 日本語 • Norsk bokmål • پښتو • Polski • Português • Русский • Simple English • Slovenčina • Српски / srpski • Suomi • Svenska • ไทย • Türkçe • Українська • Tiếng Việt • 中文 Ecosystem services are the many and varied benefits to humans provided by the natural environment and healthy While scientists and provisioning, such as the production of food and water; regulating, such as the control of climate and disease; supporting, such as cultural, such as spiritual and recreational benefits. To help inform Four different types of ecosystem services have been distinguished by the scientific body: regulating services, provisioning services, cultural services and supporting services. 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 impacte...

Regulating services | Ecosystem Services & Biodiversity (ESB) | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Maintaining the quality of air and soil, providing flood and disease control, or pollinating crops are some of the‘ regulating services' provided by ecosystems. They are often invisible and therefore mostly taken for granted. When they are damaged, the resulting losses can be substantial and difficult to restore. Agriculture, forestry and fisheries are influenced and influence all types of ecosystem services. Below, we are looking at the interaction between the different production systems and the types of ecosystem services according to the typology of The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB). Local Climate Air Quality Ecosystems influence the local climate and air quality. For example, trees provide shade whilst forests influence rainfall and water availability both locally and regionally. Trees or other plants also play an important role in regulating air quality by removing pollutants from the atmosphere. Air pollutants have an effect on agricultural crops, including annual and perennial species as they may affect processes within individual plants that control or alter growth and reproduction, thereby influencing yield. Crops, as other plants, also have a potential to clean the air. For example, lines of coniferous trees on a field edge may shield a farmer's crop from pesticide drift from adjacent fields. Urban trees can affect air quality in the following ways: (i) converting carbon dioxide to oxygen through photosynthesis;(ii) intercepting particulate pol...

Ecosystem services

ecosystem services, outputs, conditions, or processes of natural systems that directly or indirectly benefit humans or Because ecosystem services are not usually bought and sold directly in Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005), which evaluated the History of concepts and methods The concept of “ecosystem services” emerged during the 1970s and gained increasing recognition in the following decades. However, the idea that natural systems support human bce. Economists in the 18th and 19th centuries recognized the value provided by land and other natural resources as productive assets. Man and Nature (1864) by Methods to characterize the structure and function of natural systems are grounded in centuries of work by natural scientists. Of particular relevance to ecosystem services analysis are modern ecological concepts, models, and methods developed during and after the 20th century. Quantification of ecosystem service values has its foundation in formal economic methods for nonmarket valuation, which have been refined extensively since their initial development by Identification, quantification, and valuation Two The first step in most ecosystem services Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. A common second step in an ecosystem service The third step in an ecosystem service assessment is to determine the consequences for social welfare. This is often conducted by using formal economic valuation methods grounded in neoclassical economic ...

Cultural services | Ecosystem Services & Biodiversity (ESB) | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

The non-material benefits people obtain from ecosystems are called ‘ cultural services'. They include aesthetic inspiration, cultural identity, sense of home, and spiritual experience related to the natural environment. Typically, opportunities for tourism and for recreation are also considered within the group. Cultural services are deeply interconnected with each other and often connected to provisioning and regulating services: Small scale fishing is not only about food and income, but also about fishers’ way of life. In many situations, cultural services are among the most important values people associate with Nature – it is therefore critical to understand them. Agriculture, forestry and fisheries are influenced and influence all types of ecosystem services. Below, we are looking at the interaction between the different production systems and the types of ecosystem services according to the typology of The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB). Tourism in aquatic protected area or to fishing villages are examples of tourism services from the aquatic systems. The demand for tourism and recreation opportunities has grown steadily over the last 50 years, with a particular emphasis on marine and costal zones. Coral reefs are particularly important for tourism and have a high value associated with them. Recreational fishing is a growing tourism sector with an estimated 118 million fishers in the industrialised world. Some agro-pastoral systems have resulted not ...

Ecosystem Service

To understand an ecosystem service we need to understand how we define ecosystems. An ecosystem is a community of animals and plants interacting with one another and with their physical environment. Ecosystems include physical and chemical components, such as soils, water, and nutrients that support the organisms living within them. These organisms may range from large animals and plants to microscopic bacteria. Ecosystems include the interactions among all organisms in a given habitat. People are part of ecosystems. The health and well being of human populations depends upon the services provided by ecosystems and their components - organisms, soil, water, and nutrients. These are called ecosystem services. We often take them for granted but a healthy ecosystem provides things like clean water, timber, and habitat for fisheries, and pollination of native and agricultural plants. Find more information, visit the To learn more about ecosystems, try this link. • Bibliographic details: • Article: What is an Ecosystem Service? • Author(s): Dr. Biology • Publisher: Arizona State University School of Life Sciences Ask A Biologist • Site name: ASU - Ask A Biologist • Date published: May 16, 2017 • Date accessed: June 15, 2023 • Link: https://askabiologist.asu.edu/questions/what-ecosystem-service APA Style Dr. Biology. (2017, May 16). What is an Ecosystem Service?. ASU - Ask A Biologist. Retrieved June 15, 2023 from https://askabiologist.asu.edu/questions/what-ecosystem-service

Evaluating conceptual definitions of ecosystem services and their implications

“Ecosystem services” is a phrase with many meanings, yet very few studies have primarily focused on comparing different definitions of the term. Ecosystem services are now generally used in identifying an appropriately wide range of environmental variables for policy and management as well as better understanding the benefits provided by those aspects of the environment. A review of the dominant definitions of ecosystem services reveals the term is comprehensive in its scope and requires further specification for most purposes. Analysis further reveals that there are four main categories of conceptual definitions. The paper concludes that ecosystem services can be identified at various points along the spectrum of nature-human interaction depending on which specific definition is chosen and that the term was not created to identify a novel set of environmental objects or processes. Introduction Culminating in the watershed UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), ecosystem services (ES) has been embraced as a title for research in the academic community that can connect science with policy and practice in a way that makes a compelling case for urgent environmental action (MESAB, 2005). Having been identified for large-scale, nation-wide evaluation in a variety of countries (Brouwer et al., 2013), ES has become an important topic for policy as well as academic purposes. While the MA defines ES as “the benefits people obtain from ecosystems” (Millenium Ecosystem Assessment, ...

Provisioning services | Ecosystem Services & Biodiversity (ESB) | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Water, food, wood and other goods are some of the material benefits people obtain from ecosystems called ´ provisioning services´. Many provisioning services are traded in markets. However, in many regions, rural households also directly depend on provisioning services for their livelihoods. In this case, the services value may be much more important than is reflected in the prices they fetch on local markets. Agriculture, forestry and fisheries are influenced and influence all types of ecosystem services. Below, we are looking at the interaction between the different production systems and the types of ecosystem services according to the typology of The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB). The world currently produces enough to feed the global population of 7 billion people. Today, the world produces 17% more food per person than 30 years ago, with the rate of production having increased faster than the population over the last 2 decades. Of all ecosystem services, food productionis one that has shown consistently upward trend in recent history. Nevertheless, it is now recognized that the gains in agricultural production and productivity were often accompanied by negative effects on agriculture's natural resource base jeopardizing its productive potential in the future. Ecosystem approaches to agriculture intensification have emerged over the past two decades as farmers began to adopt sustainable practices, critical to realizing the benefits of ecosystem servi...