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.