Eco$y$tem $ervices 2.2

Ecosystem Services

Goods and services provided by natural ecosystems that are beneficial to humans, often monetarily or life-sustaining.

Provisioning Services

Goods taken directly from ecosystems or made from natural resources, such as food, wood, and paper.

Regulating Services

Benefits provided by ecosystem processes that moderate natural conditions, like climate and air quality.

Supporting Services

Natural ecosystem processes that support human activities, making them less costly and easier, such as pollination and water filtration.

Cultural Services

Revenue generated from recreational activities and scientific discoveries related to ecosystems, including tourism and research.

Anthropogenic Disruptions

Human activities that disrupt the ability of ecosystems to function, leading to decreased value of ecosystem services.

Overfishing

A practice that leads to the collapse of fish populations, resulting in economic consequences like lost jobs and lower sales.

Deforestation

The clearing of forests that disrupts regulating services, such as CO2 sequestration and air quality improvement.

Pollinator Habitat Loss

The destruction of habitats for pollinators, which disrupts supporting services like crop pollination.

Water Pollution

Contamination of water bodies that disrupts provisioning services by affecting the availability of clean resources.

Urbanization

The expansion of urban areas that can lead to habitat loss and disruption of ecosystem services.

Climate Change

A result of increased CO2 in the atmosphere due to anthropogenic activities, affecting regulating services and leading to more storm damage.

Economic Consequences

Financial impacts resulting from the disruption of ecosystem services, such as increased healthcare costs and loss of jobs.