The
following description of ecosystem services is taken from the Millennium
Ecosystem Assessment Synthesis Report
http://www.millenniumassessment.org//en/Products.Synthesis.aspx
Ecosystem services are the
benefits people obtain from ecosystems. These include provisioning, regulating,
and cultural services that directly affect people and the supporting services
needed to maintain other services.
Provisioning services. These are the products obtained from ecosystems,
including:
Food. This includes the vast range of food products
derived from plants, animals, and microbes.
Fiber. Materials included here are wood, jute, cotton,
hemp, silk, and wool.
Fuel. Wood, dung, and other biological materials serve
as sources of energy.
Genetic resources. This includes the genes and genetic information
used for animal and plant breeding and biotechnology.
Biochemicals, natural medicines, and
pharmaceuticals. Many medicines, biocides, food additives such as
alginates, and biological materials are derived from ecosystems.
Ornamental resources. Animal and plant products, such as skins, shells,
and flowers, are used as ornaments, and whole plants are used for landscaping
and ornaments.
Fresh water. People obtain fresh water from ecosystems and thus
the supply of fresh water can be considered a provisioning service. Fresh water
in rivers is also a source of energy. Because water is required for other life
to exist, however, it could also be considered a supporting service.
Regulating Services. These are benefits obtained
from the regulation of ecosystem processes, including:
Air quality regulation. Ecosystems both contribute chemicals to and extract
chemicals from the atmosphere, influencing many aspects of air quality.
Climate regulation. Ecosystems influence climate both locally and
globally. At a local scale, for example, changes in land cover can affect both
temperature and precipitation. At the global scale, ecosystems play an
important role in climate by either sequestering or emitting greenhouse gases.
Water regulation. The timing and magnitude of runoff, flooding, and
aquifer recharge can be strongly influenced by changes in land cover,
including, in particular, alterations that change the water storage potential
of the system, such as the conversion of wetlands or the replacement of forests
with croplands or croplands with urban areas.
Erosion regulation. Vegetative cover plays an important role in soil
retention and the prevention of landslides.
Water purification and waste treatment.
Ecosystems can be a source of impurities (for instance, in fresh water) but
also can help filter out and decompose organic wastes introduced into inland
waters and coastal and marine ecosystems and can assimilate and detoxify
compounds through soil and subsoil processes.
Disease regulation. Changes in ecosystems can directly change the
abundance of human pathogens, such as cholera, and can alter the abundance of
disease vectors, such as mosquitoes.
Pollination. Ecosystem changes affect the distribution, abundance,
and effectiveness of pollinators.
Natural hazard regulation. The presence of coastal ecosystems such as mangroves
and coral reefs can reduce the damage caused by hurricanes and large waves.
Cultural Services. These are the nonmaterial benefits people obtain from
ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection,
recreation, and aesthetic experiences, including:
Cultural diversity. The
diversity of ecosystems is one factor influencing the diversity of cultures.
Spiritual and religious values. Many religions attach spiritual and religious values
to ecosystems or their components.
Knowledge systems (traditional and formal). Ecosystems influence the types of knowledge systems
developed by different cultures.
Educational values.
Ecosystems and their components and processes provide the basis for both formal
and informal education in many societies.
Inspiration.
Ecosystems provide a rich source of inspiration for art, folklore, national
symbols, architecture, and advertising.
Aesthetic values.
Many people find beauty or aesthetic value in various aspects of ecosystems, as
reflected in the support for parks, scenic drives, and the selection of housing
locations.
Social relations.
Ecosystems influence the types of social relations that are established in
particular cultures. Fishing societies, for example, differ in many respects in
their social relations from nomadic herding or agricultural societies.
Sense of place.
Many people value the “sense of place” that is associated with recognized
features of their environment, including aspects of the ecosystem.
Cultural heritage values. Many societies place high value on the maintenance of
either historically important landscapes (“cultural landscapes”) or culturally
significant species.
Recreation and ecotourism. People often choose where to spend their leisure time
based in part on the characteristics of the natural or cultivated landscapes in
a particular area.
Supporting Services. Supporting
services are those that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem
services. They differ from provisioning, regulating, and cultural services in
that their impacts on people are often indirect or occur over a very long time,
whereas changes in the other categories have relatively direct and short-term
impacts on people. (Some services, like erosion regulation, can be categorized
as both a supporting and a regulating service, depending on the time scale and
immediacy of their impact on people.) These services include:
Soil formation. Because
many provisioning services depend on soil fertility, the rate of soil formation
influences human well-being in many ways.
Photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis produces oxygen necessary for most living organisms.
Primary production.
The assimilation of accumulation of energy and nutrients by
organisms.
Nutrient cycling.
Approximately 20 nutrients essential for life, including nitrogen and
phosphorous, cycle through ecosystems and are maintained at different
concentrations in different parts of ecosystems.
Water cycling. Water cycles through ecosystems and is essential for living organisms.nd is essential for living organisms.