Topic 2.2 Ecosystem services in urban neighbourhoods
Why are urban neighbourhoods regarded as ecosystems?
An ecosystem is a geographic area where living communities and non-living environments interact with each other to form a bubble of life
Ecosystems vary in size e.g corridor plants are small ecosystems
Every aspect in ecosystems depends on one another, directly or indirectly.
People are integral parts of ecosystems and dynamic interactions exist between people and other parts of the ecosystem.
Activities carried out by people may directly and/or indirectly change the ecosystems in both positive and negative ways.
e.g A man-made concrete canal in Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park was transformed into a naturalised river allowing more organisms to thrive in this aquatic ecosystem → improved water quality
What are ecosystem services?
Refers to the benefits brought about by nature to people.
These services are produced by the living communities and non-living environment of ecosystems.
These services are critical to our survival and their benefits are optimised when we have a healthy and thriving natural environment.
These ecosystem services consist of
Provisioning services
Regulating services
Cultural Services
Supporting services
What are provisioning ecosystem services?
Provisioning ecosystem services refer to the tangible resources that people can get from ecosystem such as food, water and wood
food and nutrition
drinking water
fuel (firewood, coal and oil)
Food is one of the most important provisioning services provided by nature to people and it can be obtained through means such as agricultural activities and fisheries.
They can also be found in an urban neighbourhood ecosystem.
e.g Food is grown in urban community gardens focused on planting edibles on rooftops at tampines hdb blocks
What are regulating ecosystem services?
Regulating ecosystem services refer to the benefits obtained from the regulation of various ecosystem processes.
Include services such as climate regulation, disease outbreak regulation and flood regulation
These ecosystem processes work together to ensure that the ecosystems are functional, clean, sustainable and resilient to changes.
In an urban neighbourhood, these include microclimate regulation, flood mitigation as well as air and water quality control.
e.g trees regulate climate by providing shade and cooling surrounding air
mainly processes non tangible
e.g in bishan ang mo kio park
| Regulating the local climate | • Trees in Bishan-Ang mo kio park can lower surface temperature through evapotranspiration • On a larger scale, forests can help to cool areas generating rainfall increasing waterfall through evapotranspiration | | --- | --- | | Regulating water flows | The vegetation cover in Bishan-Ang mo kio park can reduce surface runoff by retaining water in the soil. This is also known as water flow regulation. It is a key service provided by natural land cover Promote infitration | | Regulating local air quality | The trees or other plants in the park play an important role in regulating air quality by removing pollutants from the atmosphere |
Trees roots bind soil particles together and prevent soil erosion → move different terrian.
Regulating ecosystem services help maintain environmental conditions that are favourable for life and include the regulation of climate water and air quality, flood mitigation and disease.
What are cultural ecosystem services?
Culture ecosystem services refer to the intangible benefits people obtain from ecosystems, including aesthetic experiences, educational opportunities and recreational activities.
In an urban neighbourhood, the presence of green spaces can provide many cultural ecosystem services such as aesthetic appreciation and opportunities for stress-relieving activities.
These activities may improve people’s physical and mental health and foster social belonging and group identity, thus strengthening their sense of place.
e.g The Bukit Timah Nature Reserve is a site for residents to engage in recreational activities such as hiking. It is also a space that provides educational opportunities, such as when students learn about tropical rainforests through their visits.
Residents may also gain aesthetic experiences from natural objects, educational opportunities and recreational activities
What are supporting ecosystem services?
Supporting ecosystem services refer to services that are necessary for functioning of all other ecosystem services, including soil formation, pollination and photosynthesis.
For instance, soil is formed when micro-organisms and physical processes decompose organic matter and break them down into smaller particles.
Soil is essential for the health of all terrestrial ecosystems as it provide a habitat for billions of organisms, contributes to biodiversity, and acts as a water filter.
Soil formation, as a supporting ecosystem service, ensures that human activities such as agriculture can take place.
In urban neighbourhoods, animals like wild bees play a significant role in crop pollination. which is vital as it ensures that crops are able to reproduce to provide food for animals and humans.
During photosynthesis, plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, and this maintains the oxygen content of the earth’s atmosphere. This ensures that all other ecosystem services can function.
Usually processes e.g
evapotranspiration
precipitation
infiltration
photosynthesis
provide shade → under regulating not supported