ECOSYSTEM

SERVICES
LITERATURE REVIEW – 1
BY SHARVARI MULEY
WHAT ARE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES?
 Ecosystem services are any positive benefits that wildlife or
ecosystems provide to people.
 They are the direct and indirect contributions of ecosystems to
human well-being.
 They can benefit people in many ways, as inputs into the production
of other goods and services.
 Example, the pollination of crops provided by bees and other
organisms contributes to food production and is thus considered an
ecosystem service.
TYPES OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
 The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment – a four-year United Nations assessment of the
condition and trends of the world’s ecosystems - categorizes four types of ecosystem
services that contribute to human well-being, each underpinned by biodiversity.

o PROVISIONING SERVICES : The provision of food, fresh

water, fuel, fiber, and other goods;
o REGULATING SERVICES : Such as climate, water, and
disease regulation as well as pollination;
o SUPPORTING SERVICES : Such as soil formation and
nutrient cycling; and
o CULTURAL SERVICES : Such as educational, aesthetic,
and cultural heritage values as well as recreation and
tourism.
PROVISIONING SERVICES 1
Provisioning Services are ecosystem services that describe the material or
energy outputs from ecosystems. They include food, water, and other
resources.
 FOOD ▹ Ecosystems provide the conditions for growing food. Food comes principally from managed agro-
ecosystems but marine and freshwater systems or forests also provide food for human consumption. Wild
foods from forests are often underestimated.
 RAW MATERIALS ▹ Ecosystems provide a great diversity of materials for construction and fuel including
wood, biofuels, and plant oils that are directly derived from wild and cultivated plant species.
 FRESHWATER ▹ Ecosystems play a vital role in the global hydrological cycle, as they regulate the flow and
purification of water. Vegetation and forests influence the quantity of water available locally.
 MEDICINAL RESOURCES ▹ Ecosystems and biodiversity provide many plants used as traditional medicines as
well as providing the raw materials for the pharmaceutical industry. All ecosystems are a potential source of
medicinal resources.
REGULATING SERVICES 2
They are the services that ecosystems provide by acting as regulators eg.
regulating the quality of air and soil or by providing flood and disease control.
 LOCAL CLIMATE AND AIR QUALITY ▹ 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.
 CARBON SEQUESTRATION AND STORAGE ▹ Ecosystems regulate the global climate by storing and
sequestering greenhouse gases. As trees and plants grow, they remove carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere and effectively lock it away in their tissues. In this way, forest ecosystems are carbon
stores. Biodiversity also plays an important role by improving the capacity of ecosystems to adapt to
the effects of climate change.
 MODERATION OF EXTREME EVENTS ▹ Extreme weather events or natural hazards include floods,
storms, tsunamis, avalanches, and landslides. Ecosystems and living organisms create buffers against
natural disasters, thereby preventing possible damage. For example, wetlands can soak up flood
water whilst trees can stabilize slopes. Coral reefs and mangroves help protect coastlines from storm
damage.
 WASTE-WATER TREATMENT ▹ Ecosystems such as wetlands filter both human and animal waste and
act as a natural buffer to the surrounding environment. Through the biological activity of
microorganisms in the soil, most waste is broken down. Thereby pathogens (disease-causing
microbes) are eliminated, and the level of nutrients and pollution is reduced.
 EROSION PREVENTION AND MAINTENANCE OF SOIL FERTILITY ▹ Soil erosion is a key factor in the
2
process of land degradation and desertification. Vegetation cover provides a vital regulating
service by preventing soil erosion. Soil fertility is essential for plant growth and agriculture and well
functioning ecosystems supply the soil with nutrients required to support plant growth.

 POLLINATION ▹ Insects and wind pollinate plants and trees which is essential for the development
of fruits, vegetables, and seeds. Animal pollination is an ecosystem service mainly provided by
insects but also by some birds and bats. Some 87 out of the 115 leading global food crops
depend upon animal pollination including important cash crops such as cocoa and coffee (Klein
et al. 2007).

 BIOLOGICAL CONTROL ▹ Ecosystems are important for regulating pests and vector-borne
diseases that attack plants, animals, and people. Ecosystems regulate pests and diseases through
the activities of predators and parasites. Birds, bats, flies, wasps, frogs, and fungi all act as natural
controls.
HABITAT OR SUPPORTING SERVICES 3
They underpin almost all other services. Ecosystems provide living spaces for plants
or animals; they also maintain a diversity of different breeds of plants and animals.

 HABITATS FOR SPECIES ▹ Habitats provide everything that an individual plant or animal needs to survive:
food; water; and shelter. Each ecosystem provides different habitats that can be essential for a species’
lifecycle. Migratory species including birds, fish, mammals, and insects all depend upon different ecosystems
during their movements.

 MAINTENANCE OF GENETIC DIVERSITY ▹ Genetic diversity is the variety of genes between and within species
populations. Genetic diversity distinguishes different breeds or races from each other thus providing the basis
for locally well-adapted cultivars and a gene pool for further developing commercial crops and livestock.
Some habitats have an exceptionally high number of species which makes them more genetically diverse
than others and are known as ‘biodiversity hotspots’.
CULTURAL SERVICES 4
They include the non-material benefits people obtain from contact with
ecosystems. They ́include aesthetic, spiritual and psychological benefits.
 RECREATION AND MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH ▹ Walking and playing sports in green space is not only a
good form of physical exercise but also lets people relax. The role that green space plays in maintaining
mental and physical health is increasingly being recognized, despite difficulties of measurement.
 TOURISM ▹ Ecosystems and biodiversity play an important role in many kinds of tourism which in turn provides
considerable economic benefits and is a vital source of income for many countries. In 2008 global earnings
from tourism summed up to US$ 944 billion. Cultural and eco-tourism can also educate people about the
importance of biological diversity.
 AESTHETIC APPRECIATION AND INSPIRATION FOR CULTURE, ART, AND DESIGN ▹ Language, knowledge, and
the natural environment have been intimately related throughout human history. Biodiversity, ecosystems
and natural landscapes have been the source of inspiration for much of our art, culture and increasingly for
science.
 SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE AND SENSE OF PLACE ▹ In many parts of the world natural features such as specific
forests, caves or mountains are considered sacred or have a religious meaning. Nature is a common
element of all major religions and traditional knowledge, and associated customs are important for creating
a sense of belonging.
ES ASSESSMENT METHODS
URBAN ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
1. PROVISIONAL SERVICES: 3. CULTURAL SERVICES:

 Food Supply  Recreation

 Water Supply  Aesthetic Benefits

2. REGULATING SERVICES:  Cognitive Development

 Place Values and Social Cohesion
 Urban Temperature Regulation
2. SUPPORTING/HABITAT SERVICES:
 Noise Reduction
 Habitat for Biodiversity
 Air Purification
 Air Purification
 Moderation of Climate Extremes
 Moderation of Climate Extremes
 Runoff Mitigation
 Runoff Mitigation
 Waste Treatment
 Waste Treatment
 Pollination, Pest Regulation and Seed Dispersal  Pollination, Pest Regulation and Seed Dispersal
 Global Climate Regulation  Global Climate Regulation
 URBAN ECOSYSTEM SERVICES – CLASSIFICATION AND EXAMPLES.

Ecosystem functions Ecosystem service type Examples Key references

Energy conversion into edible plants through Food supply Vegetables produced by urban allotments and peri-urban areas Altieri et al. (1999)
photosynthesis

Percolation and regulation of runoff and river discharge Runoff mitigation Soil and vegetation percolate water during heavy and/or prolonged Villarreal and Bengtsson (2005)
precipitation events

Photosynthesis, shading, and evapotranspiration Urban temperature regulation Trees and other urban vegetation provide shade, create humidity Bolund and Hunhammar (1999)
and block wind

Absorption of sound waves by vegetation and water Noise reduction Absorption of sound waves by vegetation barriers, specially thick Aylor (1972); Ishii (1994); Kragh (1981)
vegetation

Dry deposition of gases and particulate matter Air purification Absorption of pollutants by urban vegetation in leaves, stems and Escobedo and Nowak (2009); Jim and Chen (2009); Chaparro and
roots Terradas (2009); Escobedo et al. (2011)

Physical barrier and absorption of kinetic energy Moderation of environmental Storm, flood, and wave buffering by vegetation barriers; heat Danielsen et al. (2005); Costanza et al. (2006b)
extremes absorption during severe heat waves; intact wetland areas buffer
river flooding

Removal or breakdown of xenic nutrients Waste treatment Effluent filtering and nutrient fixation by urban wetlands Vauramo and Setälä (2010)

Carbon sequestration and storage by fixation in Global climate regulation Carbon sequestration and storage by the biomass of urban shrubs Nowak (1994b); McPherson (1998)
photosynthesis and threes

Movement of floral gametes by biota Pollination and seed dispersal Urban ecosystem provides habitat for birds, insects, and pollinators Hougner et al. (2006); Andersson et al. (2007)

Ecosystems with recreational values Recreation Urban green areas provide opportunities for recreation, meditation, Chiesura (2004); Maas et al. (2006)
and relaxation

Human experience of ecosystems Cognitive development Allotment gardening as preservation of socio-ecological knowledge Barthel et al. (2010); Groening (1995); Tyrväinen et al. (2005)

Ecosystems with aesthetic values Aesthetic benefits Urban parks in sight from houses Tyrväinen (1997); Cho et al. (2008); Troy and Grove (2008)

Habitat provision Habitat for biodiversity Urban green spaces provide habitat for birds and other animals that Blair (1996); Blair and Launer (1997)
people like watching
REFERENCES

 https://www.fs.fed.us/ecosystemservices/About_ES/
 https://www.earthwiseaware.org/what-are-ecosystem-services/
 https://www.britannica.com/science/ecosystem-services
 https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-
Guide/Understanding-Conservation/Ecosystem-Services
 https://vivagrass.eu/ecosystem-services/valuation-of-ecosystem-
services/

 https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/JIST/article/view/22146
 https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-007-7088-1_11