ASSIGNMENT NO.

By: Fritz R. Canaway

ES 401

Environmental Science & Engineering

Electrical Engineering Department

College of Engineering and Architecture (CEA)

USTP – CDO

Maria Noelyn S. Dano, PhD

Associate Professor

September 18, 2023

Assignment No.1

What are ecosystem functions and services? Differentiate and discuss these 2
key concepts (i.e., ecosystem functions and ecosystem services).

Ecosystems are the intricate tapestries of life on Earth, comprising a wide

array of organisms, their physical environment, and the complex interactions that
sustain life. Ecosystem functions and services are two related but distinct concepts
that describe the roles and benefits of natural systems. Within these ecosystems,
these two key concepts play a crucial role in understanding their importance to
human well-being. These concepts describe the processes and benefits that
ecosystems provide, respectively. Here is a discussion that explains each concept
and how they differ:

Ecosystems are complex and dynamic systems that consist of living

organisms and their physical environment, interacting with each other through
various processes and flows of energy and matter. Ecosystems provide a range of
functions and services that are essential for the maintenance of life on Earth and
the well-being of humans. However, these functions and services are often
undervalued or overlooked by society, leading to the degradation and loss of
ecosystems and their biodiversity. Therefore, it is important to understand what
ecosystem functions and services are, how they are related, and how they differ
from each other.

Ecosystem functions are the natural processes or characteristics exchanges

of energy and matter that take place in the various animal and plant communities
of the different biomes of the world. Ecosystem functions can be classified into
four categories: regulating, supporting, provisioning, and cultural.

Regulating functions are the processes that regulate the quality and
quantity of environmental resources, such as air, water, soil, and climate. For
example, ecosystems regulate the carbon cycle by absorbing carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere through photosynthesis and releasing oxygen as a by-product.
Ecosystems also regulate the water cycle by storing, filtering, and purifying water
through evapotranspiration, infiltration, and runoff. Ecosystems also regulate the
climate by influencing the albedo, humidity, temperature, and precipitation
patterns through vegetation cover, land use, and biogeochemical cycles.

Supporting functions are the processes that maintain the structure and
functioning of ecosystems, such as nutrient cycling, soil formation, primary
production, and biodiversity. For example, ecosystems cycle nutrients such as
nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and carbon through various biological, chemical,
and physical processes that transform them from one form to another. Ecosystems
also form soil by breaking down organic matter and rocks through weathering,
erosion, decomposition, and bioturbation. Ecosystems also produce biomass by
converting solar energy into chemical energy through photosynthesis. Ecosystems
also maintain biodiversity by providing habitats, niches, food webs, and
evolutionary pressures for a variety of species.
 Provisioning functions are the processes that provide goods or products
that can be directly used or consumed by humans or other organisms, such as
food, fiber, fuel, medicine, and genetic resources. For example, ecosystems provide
food by producing crops, livestock, fish, fruits, nuts, mushrooms, honey, and
insects. Ecosystems also provide fiber by producing wood, cotton, hemp, silk,
wool, leather, and feathers. Ecosystems also provide fuel by producing coal, oil,
gasoline ethanol biodiesel wood charcoal peat dung methane hydrogen.
Ecosystems also provide medicine by producing plants animals fungi bacteria
viruses that have medicinal properties or can be used to synthesize drugs.
Ecosystems also provide genetic resources by preserving genes chromosomes
DNA RNA proteins enzymes hormones antibodies antigens vaccines that can be
used for biotechnology breeding improvement and conservation-restoration.

Cultural functions are the processes that provide non-material benefits that
enhance the quality of life of humans or other organisms such as aesthetics,
spiritual, educational, recreational, ethical, historical, and cultural values. For
example, ecosystems provide aesthetic values by creating beautiful scenic
landscapes, sounds, smells, colors, textures, patterns, forms, and shapes that
appeal to human senses, emotions, preferences, and tastes. Ecosystems also
provide spiritual values like inspiration, awe, wonder, reverence, gratitude, faith,
belief, worship, ritual, ceremony, symbolism, mythology, folklore, religion,
philosophy, art, literature, music, dance, drama, and poetry. Ecosystems also
provide educational value by offering opportunities for learning, discovery,
exploration, experimentation, observation, demonstration, explanation,
understanding, knowledge, wisdom, skill, competence, intelligence, creativity,
innovation, and invention. Ecosystems also provide recreational values by
offering opportunities for fun, enjoyment, pleasure, relaxation, entertainment,
leisure, sports, games, adventure, challenges, thrill, excitement, satisfaction,
happiness, well-being, health, fitness, therapy, healing, and recovery. Ecosystems
also provide ethical values by fostering respect, responsibility, stewardship, care,
compassion, empathy, altruism, cooperation, solidarity, justice, equity, rights,
duties, obligations, norms, standards, rules, laws, codes, principles, guidelines,
improvement, adaptation, resilience and transformation. Ecosystems also provide
historical value by preserving traces, evidence, records, memories, stories such as
legends and myths, traditions, customs, heritage, identity, culture, and diversity,

Ecosystem services are the outputs conditions or outcomes of ecosystem

functions that directly or indirectly benefit humans or enhance social welfare.
Ecosystem services can be classified into four categories: provisioning regulating
supporting culture.

Provisioning services are the goods or products that are directly obtained
from ecosystems such as food fiber fuel medicine genetic resources. Provisioning
services are often tangible measurable marketable tradable consumable depletable
substitutable scarce valuable costly beneficial profitable. For example, humans
obtain food from ecosystems by harvesting crops livestock fish fruits nuts
mushrooms honey insects that provide calories protein fat carbohydrates vitamin
mineral fiber water that are essential for human nutrition and health survival.

Regulating services are the benefits that are obtained from the regulation of
ecosystem processes such as air quality water quality soil quality climate
regulation flood control disease control pest control pollination seed dispersal.
Regulating services are often intangible indirect diffuse non-marketable non-
tradable non-consumable non-depletable non-substitutable abundant invaluable
priceless beneficial priceless. For example, humans benefit from the regulation of
air quality by ecosystems that filter purify, and renew the air by removing
pollutants such as dust smoke soot ash particulate matter carbon monoxide sulfur
dioxide nitrogen oxide ozone volatile organic compounds heavy metals radon that
can cause respiratory diseases such as asthma bronchitis emphysema lung cancer.

Supporting services are the benefits that are obtained from the maintenance
of ecosystem conditions such as nutrient cycling soil formation primary
production biodiversity. Supporting services are often indirect long-term diffuse
non-marketable non-tradable non-consumable non-depletable non-substitutable
abundant invaluable priceless beneficial priceless. For example, humans benefit
from the maintenance of nutrient cycling by ecosystems that recycle nutrients such
as nitrogen phosphorus sulfur carbon through various biological chemical, and
physical processes that transform them from one form to another and make them
available for plant growth and animal nutrition.

Cultural services are the non-material benefits that are obtained from
human-environment interactions such as aesthetic spiritual educational
recreational ethical historical cultural values. Cultural services are often subjective
personal variables context-dependent preference-dependent perception-
dependent valuation-dependent non-marketable non-tradable non-consumable
non-depletable non-substitutable abundant invaluable priceless beneficial
priceless. For example, humans benefit from the aesthetic values of ecosystems
that create beautiful scenic landscapes sounds smells colors textures patterns
forms shapes that appeal to human senses emotions preferences tastes, and
enhance human well-being happiness satisfaction quality of life.

The main difference between ecosystem functions and services is that the
former are intrinsic to the ecosystems themselves while the latter are dependent
on human perception and valuation. Ecosystem functions exist regardless of
whether humans recognize or appreciate them whereas ecosystem services are
only meaningful in relation to human needs and preferences. Therefore ecosystem
services can be seen as a subset of ecosystem functions that have economic or social
value for humans.

Another difference between ecosystem functions and services is that the

former are more stable and resilient while the latter are more vulnerable and
fragile. Ecosystem functions have evolved over millions of years and are regulated
by natural feedback and adaptations whereas ecosystem services are influenced
by human interventions and disturbances. Therefore ecosystem functions can
withstand or recover from environmental changes and shocks whereas ecosystem
services can be degraded or lost due to human actions or inactions.

A third difference between ecosystem functions and services is that the former are
more difficult to measure and monitor while the latter are easier to quantify and
evaluate. Ecosystem functions involve complex and dynamic processes and flows
of energy and matter that are often invisible or inaccessible to human observation
whereas ecosystem services involve outputs conditions or outcomes that are often
visible or accessible to human measurement. Therefore ecosystem functions
require more sophisticated and comprehensive methods and indicators to assess
their status and trends whereas ecosystem services can be estimated using simpler
and more specific methods and indicators to value their benefits and costs.

Ecosystem functions and services are two related but distinct concepts that
describe the roles and benefits of natural systems. Ecosystem functions are the
natural processes or characteristics exchanges of energy and matter that occur in
the various animal and plant communities of the world's different biomes.
Ecosystem services are the outputs conditions or outcomes of ecosystem functions
that directly or indirectly benefit humans or enhance social welfare. The main
difference between ecosystem functions and services is that the former are intrinsic
to the ecosystems themselves while the latter are dependent on human perception
and valuation. Another difference is that the former are more stable and resilient
while the latter are more vulnerable and fragile. A third difference is that the
former are more difficult to measure and monitor while the latter are easier to
quantify and evaluate. Understanding these concepts and differences is important
for the conservation management restoration enhancement valuation
communication education awareness advocacy policy action of ecosystems and
their biodiversity.

References:

Lamarque, P., Tappeiner, U., Turner, C., Steinbacher, M., Bardgett, R. D., Szukics,
U., ... & Lavorel, S. (2011). Stakeholder perceptions of grassland ecosystem services
in relation to knowledge on soil fertility and biodiversity. Regional Environmental
Change, 11, 791-804.

Liu, S., Costanza, R., Farber, S., & Troy, A. (2010). Valuing ecosystem services:
theory, practice, and the need for a transdisciplinary synthesis. Annals of the New
York Academy of Sciences, 1185(1), 54-78.

Balvanera, P., Pfisterer, A. B., Buchmann, N., He, J. S., Nakashizuka, T., Raffaelli,
D., & Schmid, B. (2006). Quantifying the evidence for biodiversity effects on
ecosystem functioning and services. Ecology Letters, 9(10), 1146-1156.

Nichols, E., Spector, S., Louzada, J., Larsen, T., Amezquita, S., Favila, M. E., &
Network, T. S. R. (2008). Ecological functions and ecosystem services provided by
Scarabaeinae dung beetles. Biological Conservation, 141(6), 1461-1474.