Lecture 1 - Ecosystem Services

why is biodiversity important?

(1) knowledge and economic benefits

(2) human health and psychological benefits

(3) cultural and spiritual benefits

(4) ecological benefits

biodiversity definition

the variety of life on earth at all its levels, from genes to ecosystems, and the ecological and evolutionary processes that sustain it

areas of study needed to understand and mitigate the biodiversity crisis

• biology and ecology

• conservation biology

• paleontology, macroevolution, mass extinctions, geochemistry, geology, physics, geography, economics, sociology, etc.

framework of ecosystem services

(1) provisioning

(2) regulating

(3) cultural

(4) supporting

provisioning/direct services

direct, material products from ecosystems

ex. food, water, renewable resources i.e. wood and textile fibers, medicines, genetic resources to improve crop yields

regulating services/indirect services

ecosystem processes that moderate hazards and sustain natural or cultivated ecological communities

• soil stabilization along coasts

• filtering of drinking water and air

• storm-surge regulation along coastlines

• pollination by wind and insects

• pest control by birds and other insects

• waste removal by decomposition

cultural/aesthetic services

non-material benefit, contributes to culture, well-being, and knowledge

• recreation

• improved mental health by interacting w nature

• ritual objects, locations, or deities

• creative inspiration

• engineering inspiration (biomimicry)

biomimicry

imitating or taking inspiration from nature to solve human engineering problems i.e. velcro

supporting / sustaining

cycles and buildups in the earth-life system that keep essential nutrients, substrate, air, and water available

• photosynthesis

• water cycle

• phosphorus and nitrogen cycles

• carbon storage and cycling

• soil formation

regulating vs. supporting/sustaining

supporting = fundamental base processes (basic cycles that sustain life)

regulating = balance (controls that keep the system stable and safe)

**remember that pollination is technically regulating

conservation biology

field of biology concerned with protecting and restoring taxonomic and functional diversity and ecosystem services

aims to stop the destruction of the living world before we lose parts of it forever

formed in late 1970s out of recognition of rapidly decliing biodiversity worldwide, concept of biodiversity started being used at same time

what does conserving biodiversity depend on?

it depends on how it’s defined

conserving taxonomic biodiversity

• protect as many individual species as possible

• i.e. captive breeiding programs for endangered species

• prioritizes richness

conserving functional biodiversity

• protect areas w/ most productivity i.e. tropical rainforests

• prioritizes community function from function biodiversity

conserving phylogenetic biodiversity

• protect areas w/ most evolutionarily unique species

• prioritizes preserving evidence of evolutionary processes and the history of life

conserving ecosystem services

• protect the areas thta have the most immediate food provision, hazard prevention, cultural use, or enjoyment for people

  • prioritizes human needs over other species