Ecosystem Services

Ecosystem Services: Definition, History, Importance, Types, Examples

Edited By Irshad Anwar | Updated on Nov 15, 2024 02:15 PM IST

Ecosystem services are the benefits humans receive from nature, such as food, water, oxygen, and climate regulation. These services are vital for life on Earth. For example, plants provide oxygen through photosynthesis, forests store carbon and prevent soil erosion, and wetlands purify water. In Class 9 and Class 10 environmental studies, students learn about the four types of ecosystem services such as provisioning services, regulating services, cultural services, and supporting services. This is one of the important topics in ecology Biology class 12th.

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Ecosystem Services: Definition, History, Importance, Types, Examples

What are Ecosystem Services?

Ecosystem services are defined as the assets that individuals obtain from ecosystems about the various biological structures and life processes of the earth. Some of the basic ecosystem services are discussed below:

The services are provisioning services food, water, and raw materials regulating services that include climate change, floods, and disease control cultural services.
It includes the aesthetic and religious values of the ecosystem and the supporting services are the nutrient cycling and formation of soils.
Ecological services contribute basic products, adjust biophysical conditions and buffer against disturbance, making them crucial to sustainable development and conservation in the world.

Types of Ecosystem Services

Ecosystem services are the benefits that humans receive from nature, such as food, water, and clean air. Ecosystem services are fundamental to life and fall into four types which are provisioning, regulating culture, and supporting services. This is an important topic of environmental study, including topics for UPSC.

Provisioning Services

These services provide us with resources we use each day. Some of the basic points are discussed below:

Food: Ecosystems provide food such as crops, fish, and forest materials. Agriculture and fisheries are sources of survival.
Water: Rivers, lakes, and wetlands help in supplying water for drinking, agriculture and industries. Water can also be purified and regulated.
Raw Materials: Forests provide timber, medicine, and other raw materials used in construction, industries, and health.

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Regulating Services

These services keep nature in balance and also restore the services in nature. Some of the points are discussed below:

Climate Regulation: Plants absorb CO2 through photosynthesis thus slowing climate change.
Water Purification: Wetlands and forests filter out pollutants, thus cleaning the water.
Pollination: Bees, birds, and insects pollinate crops thereby ensuring food production.
Pest and Disease Control: Predators and natural ecosystems reduce pests and lower the usage of pesticides.

Cultural Services

These are services that connect people to nature and have historical importance. Some of the cultural services are discussed below:

Ecotourism: National parks and natural areas offer hiking, camping, and wildlife watching therefore enhancing tourism and awareness.
Aesthetic and Spiritual Values: Mountains, rivers, and animals influence people and have cultural or spiritual value.
Educational Services: Ecosystems are used to promote scientific research and education, which teaches us about environments as a source of conservation and sustainability.

Supporting Services

These are crucial to maintaining ecosystem integrity. These supporting services are discussed below:

Nutrient Cycling: Organic decomposition provides nutrients to the soil, enhancing plant life
Soil Formation: The breakdown of rocks and organic material forms soils to support plants and farming.
Basic Production: This makes it the foundation of food chains, whereas CO2 is regulated by energy produced through the use of sunlight in plants.
Ecosystem services help in providing fundamental support to life, biodiversity, and human welfare. This means protecting these different services, which will continue to sustain us and the planet.

Also, read

Ecological Succession	Food Chain & Food Web
Acclimatization	Carbon Cycle
Phosphorous Cycle	Net Primary Productivity

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What are ecosystem services?

Services refer to the values that humans gain from ecosystems. They can be categorized into four main types: They can be categorized into four main types:

Provisioning services: Products ranging from food to water and raw materials that can be obtained from ecosystems.
Regulating services: Those that relate to the moderation of ecosystem processes in functions such as climate stabilization and water filtration.
Cultural services: Other values which may be referred to as use or instrumental values, are recreational, aesthetic, and spiritual values.

Supporting services: Supporting services that are required for producing all the other types of ecosystem services including provision of nutrients and soil development.

2. Why are ecosystem services important?

Ecosystem services play a critical role in supporting human health welfare as well as the sustainability of the natural surroundings. They offer resources needed for life, control climate, facilitate cultural and recreation activities and conserve species diversity. Knowledge about their significance aids in noticing that the preservation of ecosystems is related to sustainable development.

3. How do ecosystem services benefit humans?

Provisional services on the one hand enable clear support of human life in areas such as food security and water while regulating services on the other hand support people indirectly in aspects such as climate change regulation and disease moderation. For instance, a forest can directly supply timber which is used in construction, among other uses (provisioning service), and this has an influence on the economy; equally, the forest directly influences climate and this affects human lives (regulating service).

4. What are some examples of regulating ecosystem services?

Regulating services include:

Climate regulation: Organisms such as trees in forests act as stores for carbon dioxide, hence reducing the effects of climate change.
Water purification: Wetlands and forests exist to purify water through the removal of pollutants subjecting it to enhanced water purification.
Pollination: Two, insects and animals aid in pollination of crops and wild plants hence supporting agriculture and biological diversity.

5. How can we protect ecosystem services?

These are the set up of protected areas, sustainable use of resources (for example, organic farming, reduction in deforestation, etc), the restoration of damaged ecosystems, and the incorporation of ecosystem values into standard planning and management procedures. Promoting community participation of the locals and indigenous knowledge in the sustainability of ecosystem services is also important.