View source for Ecosystem service

{{Short description|Benefits provided by intact ecosystems}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
[[File:Honeybee (Apis mellifera) pollinating Avocado cv.jpg|thumb|An example of an ecosystem service is [[pollination]], here by a [[honey bee]] on [[avocado]] crop.]]'''Ecosystem services''' are the various benefits that humans derive from [[Ecosystem|ecosystems]]. The interconnected [[Biotic_material|living]] and [[Abiotic|non-living]] components of the natural environment offer benefits such as [[pollination]] of crops, clean air and water, [[decomposition]] of wastes, and [[flood control]]. Ecosystem services are grouped into four broad categories of services. There are ''provisioning services'', such as the production of food and water; ''regulating services'', such as the control of climate and disease; ''supporting services'', such as [[nutrient cycles]] and [[oxygen]] production; and ''cultural services'', such as recreation, tourism, and spiritual gratification.<ref name="MEA2">{{cite book |last1=Millennium Ecosystem Assessment |url=https://www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.356.aspx.pdf |title=Ecosystems and human well-being : synthesis |date=2005 |publisher=Island Press |isbn=1-59726-040-1 |location=Washington, DC |access-date=7 August 2014}}</ref> Evaluations of ecosystem services may include assigning an economic value to them.

For example, [[Estuary|estuarine]] and coastal ecosystems are [[marine ecosystem]]s that perform the four categories of ecosystem services in several ways. Firstly, their provisioning services include [[marine resources]] and [[genetic resources]]. Secondly, their supporting services include [[Nutrient cycle|nutrient cycling]] and [[primary production]]. Thirdly, their regulating services include [[carbon sequestration]] (which helps with [[climate change mitigation]]) and flood control. Lastly, their cultural services include [[recreation]] and [[tourism]]. 

The [[Millennium Ecosystem Assessment]] (MA) initiative by the [[United Nations| United Nations]] in the early 2000s popularized this concept.<ref name="MEA">{{cite book |last1=Millennium Ecosystem Assessment |url=https://www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.356.aspx.pdf |title=Ecosystems and human well-being : synthesis |date=2005 |publisher=Island Press |isbn=1-59726-040-1 |location=Washington, DC |access-date=7 August 2014}}</ref>  

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==Definition==
Ecosystem services or eco-services are defined as the goods and services provided by [[ecosystem]]s to humans.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Austin |first=Troy |date=2009 |title=Estimating Ecosystem Services in Southern Ontario |url=https://alus.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/estimation-of-ecosystem.pdf |journal=}}</ref>  Per the 2006 [[Millennium Ecosystem Assessment]] (MA), ecosystem services are "the benefits people obtain from ecosystems". The MA also delineated the four categories of ecosystem services into provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural.<ref name="MEA" />

By 2010, there had evolved various working definitions and descriptions of ecosystem services in the literature.<ref>{{cite conference |last1=Ojea |first1=Elena |first2=Aline |last2=Chiabai |first3=Julia |last3=Martin-Ortega |title=Classifying Ecosystem Services for Economic Valuation: The case of forest water services |conference=BIOCON Conference |date=September 2010 |url=https://bioecon-network.org/pages/12th_2010/Ojea.pdf |hdl=10810/14215 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> To prevent double-counting in ecosystem services audits, for instance, [[The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity]] (TEEB) replaced "Supporting Services" in the MA with "Habitat Services" and "ecosystem functions", defined as "a subset of the interactions between ecosystem structure and processes that underpin the capacity of an ecosystem to provide goods and services".<ref>[http://www.teebtest.org/wp-content/uploads/Study%20and%20Reports/Reports/Ecological%20and%20Economic%20Foundations/TEEB%20Ecological%20and%20Economic%20Foundations%20report/TEEB%20Foundations.pdf The Ecological and Economic Foundation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203063434/http://www.teebtest.org/wp-content/uploads/Study |date=3 December 2013 }}, chapter 1, p.19, [[The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity|TEEB]], 2010</ref> 

While [[Gretchen Daily]]'s original definition distinguished between ''ecosystem goods'' and ''ecosystem services'', [[Robert Costanza]] and colleagues' later work and that of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment lumped all of these together as ''ecosystem services''.<ref name="Brown2007">{{cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=Thomas C. |author2=John C. Bergstrom |author3=John B. Loomis |year=2007 |title=Defining, valuing and providing ecosystem goods and services |url=http://lawlibrary.unm.edu/nrj/47/2/04_brown_goods.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Natural Resources Journal |volume=47 |issue=2 |pages=329–376 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525213257/http://lawlibrary.unm.edu/nrj/47/2/04_brown_goods.pdf |archive-date=2013-05-25}}</ref><ref name="Daily et al. 2000." />

==Categories==
[[File:Ecosystem_Services.png|thumb|Four categories of ecosystem services]]Four different types of ecosystem services have been distinguished by the scientific body: regulating services, provisioning services, cultural services and supporting services. An ecosystem does not necessarily offer all four types of services simultaneously; but given the intricate nature of any ecosystem, it is usually assumed that humans benefit from a combination of these services. The services offered by diverse types of ecosystems (forests, seas, coral reefs, mangroves, etc.) differ in nature and in consequence. In fact, some services directly affect the livelihood of neighboring human populations (such as fresh water, food or aesthetic value, etc.) while other services affect general environmental conditions by which humans are indirectly impacted (such as [[climate change]], [[erosion]] regulation or [[natural hazard]] regulation, etc.).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Barbier |first1=Edward B. |last2=Hacker |first2=Sally D. |last3=Kennedy |first3=Chris |last4=Koch |first4=Evamaria W. |last5=Stier |first5=Adrian C. |last6=Silliman |first6=Brian R. |title=The value of estuarine and coastal ecosystem services |journal=Ecological Monographs |date=May 2011 |volume=81 |issue=2 |pages=169–193 |doi=10.1890/10-1510.1 |bibcode=2011EcoM...81..169B |hdl=20.500.11919/920 |s2cid=86155063 |url=https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/13678900 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment report 2005 defined ecosystem services as benefits people obtain from ecosystems and distinguishes four categories of ecosystem services, where the so-called supporting services are regarded as the basis for the services of the other three categories.<ref name="Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005">{{cite web |title=Tunza Eco-generation Eco-generation |url=https://tunza.eco-generation.org/m/view.jsp?board=ourActions&viewID=44521&searchType=&searchName=&pageNumber=1}}</ref>

== Provisioning services ==
Provisioning services consist of all "the products obtained from ecosystems". The following services are also known as ''ecosystem goods'':<ref>Walter V. Reid, H. A. (2005). Ecosystems and Human Well-Being - A Report of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Washington DC: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Board. Retrieved from https://www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.356.aspx.pdf</ref>
* food (including [[seafood]] and [[Game (food)|game]]), crops, wild foods, and [[spice]]s
* raw materials (including lumber, skins, fuelwood, organic matter, fodder, and fertilizer)
* genetic resources (including crop improvement genes, and health care)
* [[biogenic minerals]]
* [[Medication|medicinal resources]] (including pharmaceuticals, chemical models, and test and assay organisms)
* [[energy]] ([[hydropower]], [[biofuel|biomass fuels]])
* ornamental resources (including fashion, handicrafts, jewelry, pets, worship, decoration, and souvenirs like furs, feathers, ivory, orchids, butterflies, aquarium fish, shells, etc.)

[[File: Mothugudem road near Chintoor.jpg|thumb|[[Social forestry in India|Social forestry]] in Andhra Pradesh, [[India]], providing fuel, soil protection, shade, and even well-being to travelers.]]Forests and [[forest management]] produce a large type and variety of timber products, including roundwood, sawnwood, panels, and engineered wood, e.g., cross-laminated timber, as well as pulp and paper.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 – Main report |publisher=FAO |year=2020 |isbn=978-92-5-132974-0 |location=Rome |doi=10.4060/ca9825en |s2cid=241774391}}</ref> Besides the production of timber, forestry activities may also result in products that undergo little processing, such as fire wood, charcoal, wood chips and roundwood used in an unprocessed form.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 – Key findings |publisher=FAO |year=2020 |isbn=978-92-5-132581-0 |doi=10.4060/ca8753en |s2cid=130116768}}</ref> Global production and trade of all major wood-based products recorded their highest ever values in 2018.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |url=https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/ca7415en |title=Global forest products facts and figures 2018 |publisher=FAO |year=2019}}</ref> Production, imports and exports of roundwood, sawnwood, wood-based panels, wood pulp, wood charcoal and pellets reached<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title=The State of the World's Forests 2020. Forests, biodiversity and people – In brief |publisher=FAO & UNEP |year=2020 |isbn=978-92-5-132707-4 |location=Rome |doi=10.4060/ca8985en |s2cid=241416114}}</ref> their maximum quantities since 1947 when [[Food and Agriculture Organization|FAO]] started reporting global forest product statistics.<ref name=":0" /> In 2018, growth in production of the main wood-based product groups ranged from 1 percent (woodbased panels) to 5 percent (industrial roundwood).<ref name=":0" /> The fastest growth occurred in the Asia-Pacific, Northern American and European regions, likely due to positive economic growth in these areas.<ref name=":0" /> Over 40% of the territory in the European Union is covered by forests. This region has grown via [[afforestation]] by roughly 0.4% year in recent decades. In the [[European Union]], just 60% of the yearly forest growth is harvested.<ref name=":158">{{Cite web |title=What is an ecosystem service? |url=https://www.eib.org/en/stories/ecosystem-service-nature |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=European Investment Bank |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-31 |title=The European Union and forests {{!}} Fact Sheets on the European Union {{!}} European Parliament |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/sheet/105/the-european-union-and-forests |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=www.europarl.europa.eu |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Over 40% of the EU covered with forests |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/edn-20180321-1 |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=ec.europa.eu |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Forests also provide non-wood forest products, including fodder, aromatic and medicinal plants, and wild foods. Worldwide, around 1 billion people depend to some extent on wild foods such as wild meat, edible insects, edible plant products, mushrooms and fish, which often contain high levels of key micronutrients.<ref name=":1" /> The value of forest foods as a nutritional resource is not limited to low- and middle-income countries; more than 100 million people in the European Union (EU) regularly consume wild food.<ref name=":1" /> Some 2.4 billion people – in both urban and rural settings – use wood-based energy for cooking.<ref name=":1" />

== Regulating services ==
[[File:Upland bog which forms the official source of the Severn - geograph.org.uk - 1126228.jpg|thumb|Upland [[bog]] in [[Wales]], forming the official source of the [[River Severn]]. Healthy bogs [[Carbon sequestration|sequester carbon]], hold back water thereby reducing [[flood]] risk, and supply cleaned water better than degraded habitats do.]]
Regulating services are the "benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes".<ref>{{cite web |title=Millennium Ecosystem Assessment |url=https://www.millenniumassessment.org/en/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180224041032/http://millenniumassessment.org/en/index.html |archive-date=24 February 2018 |access-date=28 April 2018 |website=www.millenniumassessment.org}}</ref> These include:

*Purification of [[water purification|water]] and [[air pollution|air]]
*[[Carbon sequestration]] (this contributes to [[climate change mitigation]])
* Waste [[decomposition]] and detoxification
* [[Predation]] regulates prey populations
* Biological control [[Pest (organism)|pest]] and [[disease]] control
* [[Pollination]]
* Disturbance regulation, i.e. flood protection<ref>{{Cite web |author=Basic Biology |date=2016 |title=Wetlands |url=https://basicbiology.net/environment/land/wetlands}}</ref>

=== Water purification ===
An example for water purification as an ecosystem service is as follows: In [[New York City]], where the quality of drinking water had fallen below standards required by the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)]], authorities opted to restore the polluted [[Catskill Park|Catskill Watershed]] that had previously provided the city with the ecosystem service of water purification. Once the input of sewage and pesticides to the [[Drainage basin|watershed]] area was reduced, natural [[abiotic]] processes such as soil [[absorption (chemistry)|absorption]] and [[filtration]] of chemicals, together with biotic recycling via root systems and soil [[microorganisms]], [[water quality]] improved to levels that met government standards. The cost of this investment in [[natural capital]] was estimated at $1–1.5 billion, which contrasted dramatically with the estimated $6–8 billion cost of constructing a [[water filtration]] plant plus the $300 million annual running costs.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chichilnisky |first1=Graciela |last2=Heal |first2=Geoffrey |date=February 1998 |title=Economic returns from the biosphere |journal=Nature |volume=391 |issue=6668 |pages=629–630 |bibcode=1998Natur.391..629C |doi=10.1038/35481 |s2cid=4322093}}</ref>

=== Pollination ===
Pollination of [[crops]] by bees is required for 15–30% of U.S. [[food production]]; most large-scale farmers import non-native honey bees to provide this service. A 2005 study<ref name="Kremen 2005">{{cite journal |last1=Kremen |first1=Claire |date=May 2005 |title=Managing ecosystem services: what do we need to know about their ecology?: Ecology of ecosystem services |journal=Ecology Letters |volume=8 |issue=5 |pages=468–479 |doi=10.1111/j.1461-0248.2005.00751.x |pmid=21352450}}</ref> reported that in California's agricultural region, it was found that wild bees alone could provide partial or complete pollination services or enhance the services provided by honey bees through behavioral interactions. However, [[Intensive farming|intensified agricultural practices]] can quickly erode pollination services through the loss of species. The remaining species are unable to compensate this. The results of this study also indicate that the proportion of [[chaparral]] and [[California oak woodland|oak-woodland habitat]] available for wild bees within 1–2&nbsp;km of a [[farm]] can stabilize and enhance the provision of pollination services. The presence of such ecosystem elements functions almost like an insurance policy for farmers.

=== Buffer zones ===
{{Main|Coastal management}}

Coastal and estuarine ecosystems act as buffer zones against natural hazards and environmental disturbances, such as floods, cyclones, tidal surges and storms. The role they play is to "[absorb] a portion of the impact and thus [lessen] its effect on the land".<ref name="davidsuzuki.org">{{cite web |last1=Molnar |first1=Michelle |last2=Clarke-Murray |first2=Cathryn |last3=Whitworth |first3=John |last4=Tam |first4=Jordan |date=2009 |title=Marine and Coastal Ecosystem Services |url=http://www.davidsuzuki.org/publications/downloads/2009/marine_ecosystems_report_web.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230158/http://www.davidsuzuki.org/publications/downloads/2009/marine_ecosystems_report_web.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2016 |access-date=2014-12-01}}</ref> [[Wetland]]s (which include [[saltwater swamp]]s, [[salt marsh]]es, ...) and the vegetation it supports – trees, root mats, etc. – retain large amounts of water (surface water, snowmelt, rain, groundwater) and then slowly releases them back, decreasing the likeliness of floods.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Campos C. |first1=Adolfo |last2=Hernández |first2=María E. |last3=Moreno-Casasola |first3=Patricia |last4=Cejudo Espinosa |first4=Eduardo |last5=Robledo R. |first5=Alezandra |last6=Infante Mata |first6=Dulce |date=December 2011 |title=Soil water retention and carbon pools in tropical forested wetlands and marshes of the Gulf of Mexico |journal=Hydrological Sciences Journal |volume=56 |issue=8 |pages=1388–1406 |doi=10.1080/02626667.2011.629786 |s2cid=85551159 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2011HydSJ..56.1388C }}</ref> [[Mangrove]] forests protect coastal shorelines from tidal erosion or erosion by currents; a process that was studied after the 1999 cyclone that hit India. Villages that were surrounded with mangrove forests encountered less damages than other villages that were not protected by mangroves.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Badola |first1=Ruchi |last2=Hussain |first2=S. A. |date=March 2005 |title=Valuing ecosystem functions: an empirical study on the storm protection function of Bhitarkanika mangrove ecosystem, India |journal=Environmental Conservation |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=85–92 |doi=10.1017/S0376892905001967 |bibcode=2005EnvCo..32...85B |s2cid=54753792}}</ref>

== Supporting services ==
Supporting services are the services that allow for the other ecosystem services to be present. They have indirect impacts on humans that last over a long period of time. Several services can be considered as being both supporting services and regulating/cultural/provisioning services.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ecosystem Services |url=https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Understanding-Conservation/Ecosystem-Services |access-date=19 July 2021 |website=National Wildlife Federation |language=en}}</ref>

Supporting services include for example [[Nutrient cycle|nutrient cycling]], [[primary production]], [[soil formation]], [[habitat]] provision. These services make it possible for the ecosystems to continue providing services such as food supply, flood regulation, and water purification.

=== Nutrient cycling ===
[[Image:Dungbeetle.jpg|right|thumb|[[Detritivore]]s like this [[dung beetle]] help to turn animal wastes into organic material that can be reused by primary producers.]]
Nutrient cycling is the movement of nutrients through an ecosystem by biotic and abiotic processes.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Nutrient Cycles: Recycling in Ecosystems, The Carbon and Nitrogen Cycles – ScienceAid |url=https://scienceaid.net/biology/ecology/nutrient.html |access-date=2018-05-16 |work=ScienceAid |language=en}}</ref> The ocean is a vast storage pool for these nutrients, such as carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. The nutrients are absorbed by the basic organisms of the marine food web and are thus transferred from one organism to the other and from one ecosystem to the other. Nutrients are recycled through the life cycle of organisms as they die and decompose, releasing the nutrients into the neighboring environment. "The service of nutrient cycling eventually impacts all other ecosystem services as all living things require a constant supply of nutrients to survive".<ref name="davidsuzuki.org" />

=== Primary production ===
Primary production refers to the production of organic matter, i.e., chemically bound energy, through processes such as photosynthesis and chemosynthesis. The organic matter produced by primary producers forms the basis of all food webs. Further, it generates oxygen (O2), a molecule necessary to sustain animals and humans.<ref>{{cite web |title=ISBN1118506243 – Google zoeken |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1118506243 |access-date=28 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ecosystem Services |url=http://www.canr.msu.edu/nativeplants/ecosystem_services |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228161544/http://www.canr.msu.edu/nativeplants/ecosystem_services/ |archive-date=28 December 2017 |access-date=28 April 2018 |website=msu.edu}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Oxygen and Human Requirements |url=http://www.geography.hunter.cuny.edu/tbw/wc.notes/1.atmosphere/oxygen_and_human_requirements.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022082604/http://www.geography.hunter.cuny.edu/tbw/wc.notes/1.atmosphere/oxygen_and_human_requirements.htm |archive-date=22 October 2017 |access-date=28 April 2018 |website=www.geography.hunter.cuny.edu}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=BBC – GCSE Bitesize: Inhaled and exhaled air |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/pe/appliedanatomy/1_anatomy_respiratorysys_rev3.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026150605/http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/pe/appliedanatomy/1_anatomy_respiratorysys_rev3.shtml |archive-date=26 October 2017 |access-date=28 April 2018 |website=bbc.co.uk}}</ref> On average, a human consumes about 550 liter of oxygen per day, whereas plants produce 1,5 liter of oxygen per 10 grams of growth.<ref>New Scientist, June 2019{{full citation needed|date=October 2021}}</ref>

== Cultural services ==
Cultural services relate to the non-material world, as they benefit recreational, aesthetic, cognitive and spiritual activities, which are not easily quantifiable in monetary terms.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cultural services |url=https://www.fao.org/ecosystem-services-biodiversity/background/cultural-services/en/ |access-date=19 July 2021 |website=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |language=en}}</ref> They include:
* cultural (including use of nature as motif in books, film, painting, folklore, national symbols, advertising, etc.)
* spiritual and historical (including use of nature for religious or heritage value or natural)
* [[recreation]]al experiences (including [[ecotourism]], outdoor sports, and recreation)
* science and education (including use of natural systems for school excursions, and [[scientific discovery]])
* therapeutic (including eco-therapy, social forestry and animal assisted therapy)

As of 2012, there was a discussion as to how the concept of cultural ecosystem services could be operationalized, how landscape aesthetics, cultural heritage, outdoor recreation, and spiritual significance to define can fit into the ecosystem services approach.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Daniel |first1=T. C. |last2=Muhar |first2=A. |last3=Arnberger |first3=A. |last4=Aznar |first4=O. |last5=Boyd |first5=J. W. |last6=Chan |first6=K. M. A. |last7=Costanza |first7=R. |last8=Elmqvist |first8=T. |last9=Flint |first9=C. G. |last10=Gobster |first10=P. H. |last11=Gret-Regamey |first11=A. |last12=Lave |first12=R. |last13=Muhar |first13=S. |last14=Penker |first14=M. |last15=Ribe |first15=R. G. |last16=Schauppenlehner |first16=T. |last17=Sikor |first17=T. |last18=Soloviy |first18=I. |last19=Spierenburg |first19=M. |last20=Taczanowska |first20=K. |last21=Tam |first21=J. |last22=von der Dunk |first22=A. |title=Contributions of cultural services to the ecosystem services agenda |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=5 June 2012 |volume=109 |issue=23 |pages=8812–8819 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1114773109 |pmid=22615401 |pmc=3384142 |bibcode=2012PNAS..109.8812D |doi-access=free }}</ref> who vote for models that explicitly link ecological structures and functions with cultural values and benefits.{{what?|date=March 2025|reason=stray sentence fragment?}} Likewise, there has been a fundamental critique of the concept of cultural ecosystem services that builds on three arguments:<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kirchhoff |first1=Thomas |title=Pivotal cultural values of nature cannot be integrated into the ecosystem services framework |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=13 November 2012 |volume=109 |issue=46 |pages=E3146 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1212409109 |pmid=23012476 |pmc=3503173 |bibcode=2012PNAS..109E3146K |doi-access=free }}</ref>

# Pivotal cultural values attaching to the natural/cultivated environment rely on an area's unique character that cannot be addressed by methods that use universal scientific parameters to determine ecological structures and functions.
# If a natural/cultivated environment has symbolic meanings and cultural values the object of these values are not ecosystems but shaped phenomena like mountains, lakes, forests, and, mainly, symbolic landscapes.<ref>Cf. Cosgrove, D.E. 1984: ''Social Formation and Symbolic Landscape'', London; Schama, S. 1995: ''Landscape and memory''. New York; Kirchhoff, T./Trepl, L./Vicenzotti, V. 2012:''What is landscape ecology? An analysis and evaluation of six different conceptions''. Landscape Research iFirst.</ref>
# Cultural values do result not from properties produced by ecosystems but are the product of a specific way of seeing within the given cultural framework of symbolic experience.<ref>Cf. Cosgrove, D.E. 1984: ''Social Formation and Symbolic Landscape'', London; Schama, S. 1995: ''Landscape and memory''. New York; Backhaus, G./Murungi, J. (eds.): ''Symbolic Landscapes''. Dordrecht 2009.</ref>

The Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) is a classification scheme developed to accounting systems (like National counts etc.), in order to avoid double-counting of Supporting Services with others Provisioning and Regulating Services.<ref>https://cices.eu/{{full citation needed|date=October 2021}}</ref>

=== Recreation and tourism ===
Sea sports are very popular among coastal populations: surfing, snorkeling, whale watching, kayaking, recreational fishing&nbsp;... a lot of tourists also travel to resorts close to the sea or rivers or lakes to be able to experience these activities, and relax near the water.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Westcott |first1=Morgan |last2=Wendy Anderson |first2=Eds |date=2021-06-04 |title=5.2 Recreation and Adventure Tourism in BC |url=https://opentextbc.ca/introtourism2e/chapter/recreation-and-adventure-tourism-in-bc/ |language=en}}</ref> The United Nations [[Sustainable Development Goal 14]] also has targets aimed at enhancing the use of ecosystem services for sustainable tourism especially in [[Small Island Developing States]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Goal 14 targets |url=https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-14-life-below-water/targets.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930060036/https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-14-life-below-water/targets.html |archive-date=30 September 2020 |access-date=2020-09-24 |website=UNDP |language=en}}</ref>

==Estuarine and coastal ecosystem services==
[[Estuary|Estuarine]] and [[marine coastal ecosystem]]s are both [[marine ecosystem]]s. Together, these ecosystems perform the four categories of ecosystem services in a variety of ways: The ''provisioning services'' include forest products, marine products, [[fresh water]], raw materials, biochemical and genetic resources. ''Regulating services'' include [[carbon sequestration]] (contributing to [[climate change mitigation]]) as well as [[waste treatment]] and disease regulation and buffer zones. ''Supporting services'' of coastal ecosystems include [[Nutrient cycle|nutrient cycling]], biologically mediated habitats and [[primary production]]. ''Cultural services'' of coastal ecosystems include inspirational aspects, [[recreation]] and [[tourism]], science and education. 

Coasts and their adjacent areas on and offshore are an important part of a local ecosystem. The mixture of fresh water and [[Seawater|salt water]] ([[brackish water]]) in estuaries provides many nutrients for [[marine life]]. [[Salt marsh]]es, [[mangroves]] and [[beach]]es also support a diversity of plants, animals and insects crucial to the [[food chain]]. The high level of [[biodiversity]] creates a high level of biological activity, which has attracted human activity for thousands of years. Coasts also create essential material for organisms to live by, including estuaries, [[wetland]], [[seagrass]], [[coral reef]]s, and mangroves. Coasts provide habitats for [[Bird migration|migratory birds]], sea turtles, marine mammals, and coral reefs.<ref>{{Cite web|last=US EPA|first=ORD|date=2017-11-02|title=Coastal Waters|url=https://www.epa.gov/report-environment/coastal-waters|access-date=2020-05-04|website=US EPA|language=en}}</ref>

== Economics ==
{{further|Environmental economics|Ecological economics|Economic analysis of climate change|The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity}}
[[File:Suds pond at Cromar Drive - geograph.org.uk - 1756832.jpg|thumb|[[Sustainable urban drainage system|Sustainable urban drainage pond]] near housing in Scotland. The filtering and cleaning of surface and waste water by natural vegetation is a form of ecosystem service.]]
There are questions regarding the environmental and economic values of ecosystem services.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Raudsepp-Hearne |first1=Ciara |last2=Peterson |first2=Garry D. |last3=Tengö |first3=Maria |last4=Bennett |first4=Elena M. |last5=Holland |first5=Tim |last6=Benessaiah |first6=Karina |last7=MacDonald |first7=Graham K. |last8=Pfeifer |first8=Laura |title=Untangling the Environmentalist's Paradox: Why Is Human Well-being Increasing as Ecosystem Services Degrade? |journal=BioScience |date=September 2010 |volume=60 |issue=8 |pages=576–589 |doi=10.1525/bio.2010.60.8.4 |s2cid=27270296 }}</ref> Some people may be unaware of the environment in general and humanity's interrelatedness with the natural environment, which may cause misconceptions. Although environmental awareness is rapidly improving in our contemporary world, ecosystem capital and its flow are still poorly understood, threats continue to impose, and we suffer from the so-called '[[tragedy of the commons]]'.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hardin |first1=Garrett |title=The Tragedy of the Commons: The population problem has no technical solution; it requires a fundamental extension in morality. |journal=Science |date=13 December 1968 |volume=162 |issue=3859 |pages=1243–1248 |doi=10.1126/science.162.3859.1243 |pmid=17756331 |doi-access=free |bibcode=1968Sci...162.1243H }}</ref> Many efforts to inform decision-makers of current versus future costs and benefits now involve organizing and translating scientific knowledge to [[economics]], which articulate the consequences of our choices in comparable units of impact on human well-being.<ref name="Daily et al. 2000.">{{cite journal |last1=Daily |first1=Gretchen C. |last2=Söderqvist |first2=Tore |last3=Aniyar |first3=Sara |last4=Arrow |first4=Kenneth |last5=Dasgupta |first5=Partha |last6=Ehrlich |first6=Paul R. |last7=Folke |first7=Carl |last8=Jansson |first8=AnnMari |last9=Jansson |first9=Bengt-Owe |last10=Kautsky |first10=Nils |last11=Levin |first11=Simon |last12=Lubchenco |first12=Jane |last13=Mäler |first13=Karl-Göran |last14=Simpson |first14=David |last15=Starrett |first15=David |last16=Tilman |first16=David |last17=Walker |first17=Brian |title=The Value of Nature and the Nature of Value |journal=Science |date=21 July 2000 |volume=289 |issue=5478 |pages=395–396 |doi=10.1126/science.289.5478.395 |pmid=10939949 |s2cid=27639803 }}</ref> An especially challenging aspect of this process is that interpreting ecological information collected from one spatial-temporal scale does not necessarily mean it can be applied at another; understanding the dynamics of ecological processes relative to ecosystem services is essential in aiding economic decisions.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=DeFries |first1=Ruth S. |last2=Foley |first2=Jonathan A. |last3=Asner |first3=Gregory P. |title=Land-use choices: balancing human needs and ecosystem function |journal=Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment |date=June 2004 |volume=2 |issue=5 |pages=249–257 |doi=10.1890/1540-9295(2004)002[0249:LCBHNA]2.0.CO;2 }}</ref> Weighting factors such as a service's irreplaceability or bundled services can also allocate economic value such that goal attainment becomes more efficient.

The economic valuation of ecosystem services also involves social communication and information, areas that remain particularly challenging and are the focus of many researchers.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Górriz-Mifsud |first1=Elena |last2=Varela |first2=Elsa |last3=Piqué |first3=Míriam |last4=Prokofieva |first4=Irina |title=Demand and supply of ecosystem services in a Mediterranean forest: Computing payment boundaries |journal=Ecosystem Services |date=February 2016 |volume=17 |pages=53–63 |doi=10.1016/j.ecoser.2015.11.006 |bibcode=2016EcoSv..17...53G }}</ref> In general, the idea is that although individuals make decisions for any variety of reasons, trends reveal the aggregated preferences of a society, from which the economic value of services can be inferred and assigned. The six major methods for valuing ecosystem services in monetary terms are:<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Farber |first1=Stephen C. |last2=Costanza |first2=Robert |last3=Wilson |first3=Matthew A. |title=Economic and ecological concepts for valuing ecosystem services |journal=Ecological Economics |date=June 2002 |volume=41 |issue=3 |pages=375–392 |doi=10.1016/S0921-8009(02)00088-5 |bibcode=2002EcoEc..41..375F }}</ref>
* Avoided cost: Services allow society to avoid costs that would have been incurred in the absence of those services (e.g. waste treatment by [[wetland]] habitats avoids health costs)
* Replacement cost: Services could be replaced with human-made systems (e.g. [[Restoration Ecology|restoration]] of the [[Catskill Watershed]] cost less than the construction of a [[water purification]] plant)
* Factor income: Services provide for the enhancement of incomes (e.g. improved [[water quality]] increases the commercial take of a [[fishery]] and improves the income of fishers)
* Travel cost: Service demand may require travel, whose costs can reflect the implied value of the service (e.g. value of [[ecotourism]] experience is at least what a visitor is willing to pay to get there)
* Hedonic pricing: Service demand may be reflected in the prices people will pay for associated goods (e.g. coastal housing prices exceed that of inland homes)
* Contingent valuation: Service demand may be elicited by posing hypothetical scenarios that involve some valuation of alternatives (e.g. visitors willing to pay for increased access to national parks)

A peer-reviewed study published in 1997 estimated the value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital to be between US$16 and $54 trillion per year, with an average of US$33 trillion per year.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Costanza |first1=Robert |last2=d'Arge |first2=Ralph |last3=de Groot |first3=Rudolf |last4=Farber |first4=Stephen |last5=Grasso |first5=Monica |last6=Hannon |first6=Bruce |last7=Limburg |first7=Karin |last8=Naeem |first8=Shahid |last9=O'Neill |first9=Robert V. |last10=Paruelo |first10=Jose |last11=Raskin |first11=Robert G. |last12=Sutton |first12=Paul |last13=van den Belt |first13=Marjan |title=The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital |journal=Nature |date=May 1997 |volume=387 |issue=6630 |pages=253–260 |doi=10.1038/387253a0 |bibcode=1997Natur.387..253C |s2cid=672256 |url=http://condesan.org/mtnforum/sites/default/files/publication/files/constanza_et_al._1997_value_ecosystem_services_0.pdf |access-date=26 October 2021 |archive-date=22 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922004908/http://condesan.org/mtnforum/sites/default/files/publication/files/constanza_et_al._1997_value_ecosystem_services_0.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, Salles (2011) indicated 'The total value of biodiversity is infinite, so having debate about what is the total value of nature is actually pointless because we can't live without it'.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Salles |first1=Jean-Michel |title=Valuing biodiversity and ecosystem services: Why put economic values on Nature? |journal=Comptes Rendus Biologies |date=May 2011 |volume=334 |issue=5–6 |pages=469–482 |doi=10.1016/j.crvi.2011.03.008 |pmid=21640956 |url=https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/biologies/articles/10.1016/j.crvi.2011.03.008/ }}</ref>

As of 2012, many companies were not fully aware of the extent of their dependence and impact on ecosystems and the possible ramifications. Likewise, environmental management systems and environmental due diligence tools are more suited to handle "traditional" issues of pollution and natural [[resource consumption]]. Most focus on [[environmental impacts]], not dependence. Several tools and methodologies can help the private sector value and assess ecosystem services, including Our Ecosystem,<ref>{{cite web|title=Our Ecosystem – Mapping & Data Sharing Software|url=http://ecometrica.com/products/our-ecosystem/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617100654/http://ecometrica.com/products/our-ecosystem/|archive-date=17 June 2013|access-date=2012-07-09|publisher=Ecometrica}}</ref> the 2008 Corporate Ecosystem Services Review,<ref>Hanson, C, J Ranganathan, C Iceland, and J Finisdore. (2008) The Corporate Ecosystem Services Review (Version 1.0). [[World Resources Institute]]. {{cite web|title=Ecosystem Services Review &#124; World Resources Institute|url=http://www.wri.org/project/ecosystem-services-review|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090401203436/http://www.wri.org/project/ecosystem-services-review|archive-date=1 April 2009|access-date=2009-03-17}}
</ref> the Artificial Intelligence for Environment & Sustainability (ARIES) project from 2007,<ref>{{cite web|title=ARIES :: ARtificial Intelligence for Environment & Sustainability|url=https://aries.integratedmodelling.org/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120607044742/https://aries.integratedmodelling.org/|archive-date=7 June 2012|access-date=2012-07-09|publisher=aries.integratedmodelling.org/}}</ref> the Natural Value Initiative (2012)<ref>{{cite web|title=Welcome|url=http://www.naturalvalueinitiative.org/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160516073119/http://www.naturalvalueinitiative.org/|archive-date=16 May 2016|access-date=2012-07-09|publisher=Natural Value Initiative}}</ref> and InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services & Tradeoffs, 2012)<ref>{{cite web|title=Home|url=http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120628223946/http://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/|archive-date=28 June 2012|access-date=2012-07-09|publisher=Natural Capital Project}}</ref>

To provide an example of a cost comparison: The land of the [[United States Department of Defense]] is said to provide substantial ecosystem services to local communities, including benefits to carbon storage, resiliency to climate, and [[endangered species]] habitat.<ref name="duke">{{Cite web |last=James Kagan |first=Mark Borsuk |date=2019-09-18 |title=Assessing Ecosystem Service Benefits from Military Installations |url=https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/publications/assessing-ecosystem-service-benefits-military-installations |access-date=2020-05-19 |website=Nicholas Institute, Duke University |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-05-19 |title=RC18-1605 Project Overview. Value and Resiliency of Ecosystem Services on Department of Defense (DoD) Lands |url=https://www.serdp-estcp.org/Program-Areas/Resource-Conservation-and-Resiliency/Infrastructure-Resiliency/Vulnerability-and-Impact-Assessment/RC18-1605 |access-date=2020-05-19 |website=www.serdp-estcp.org Pacific Northwest National Laboratory}}</ref> As of 2020, the [[Eglin Air Force Base]] is said to provide about $110 million in ecosystem services per year, $40 million more than if no base was present.<ref name="duke" />

===Payments===
{{excerpt|Payment for ecosystem services}}

== Management and policy ==

[[File:City-Region-Landscape withsource.jpg|thumb|Ecosystem services in urban and rural areas]]

Although monetary pricing continues with respect to the valuation of ecosystem services, the challenges in policy implementation and management are significant and considerable. The administration of [[common pool resources]] has been a subject of extensive academic pursuit.<ref name="Ostrom 1990">{{cite book |last1=Ostrom |first1=Elinor |title=Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action |date=1990 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-40599-7 }}{{page needed|date=October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dietz |first1=Thomas |last2=Ostrom |first2=Elinor |last3=Stern |first3=Paul C. |title=The Struggle to Govern the Commons |journal=Science |date=12 December 2003 |volume=302 |issue=5652 |pages=1907–1912 |doi=10.1126/science.1091015 |pmid=14671286 |bibcode=2003Sci...302.1907D |s2cid=2373413 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pretty |first1=Jules |title=Social Capital and the Collective Management of Resources |journal=Science |date=12 December 2003 |volume=302 |issue=5652 |pages=1912–1914 |doi=10.1126/science.1090847 |pmid=14671287 |bibcode=2003Sci...302.1912P |hdl=10919/65915 |s2cid=25070261 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Heikkila |first1=Tanya |title=Institutional boundaries and common-pool resource management: A comparative analysis of water management programs in California |journal=Journal of Policy Analysis and Management |date=2004 |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=97–117 |doi=10.1002/pam.10181 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gibson |first1=Clark C. |last2=Williams |first2=John T. |last3=Ostrom |first3=Elinor |title=Local Enforcement and Better Forests |journal=World Development |date=February 2005 |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=273–284 |doi=10.1016/j.worlddev.2004.07.013 |s2cid=13025667 }}</ref> From defining the problems to finding solutions that can be applied in practical and sustainable ways, there is much to overcome. Considering options must balance present and future human needs, and decision-makers must frequently work from valid but incomplete information. Existing legal policies are often considered insufficient since they typically pertain to human health-based standards that are mismatched with necessary means to protect [[ecosystem health]] and services. In 2000, to improve the information available, the implementation of an ''Ecosystem Services Framework'' has been suggested (ESF<ref name="Daily 2000">{{cite journal |last1=Daily |first1=Gretchen C. |title=Management objectives for the protection of ecosystem services |journal=Environmental Science & Policy |date=December 2000 |volume=3 |issue=6 |pages=333–339 |doi=10.1016/S1462-9011(00)00102-7 |bibcode=2000ESPol...3..333D |citeseerx=10.1.1.463.824 }}</ref>), which integrates the biophysical and [[socio-economic]] dimensions of protecting the environment and is designed to guide institutions through multidisciplinary information and jargon, helping to direct strategic choices.

As of 2005 Local to regional collective management efforts were considered appropriate for services like crop [[pollination]] or resources like water.<ref name="Kremen 2005" /><ref name="Ostrom 1990" /> Another approach that has become increasingly popular during the 1990s is the marketing of ecosystem services protection. Payment and trading of services is an emerging worldwide small-scale solution where one can acquire credits for activities such as sponsoring the protection of carbon sequestration sources or the [[Restoration ecology|restoration]] of ecosystem service providers. In some cases, banks for handling such credits have been established and conservation companies have even gone public on stock exchanges, defining an evermore parallel link with economic endeavors and opportunities for tying into social perceptions.<ref name="Daily et al. 2000." /> However, crucial for implementation are clearly defined [[land rights]], which are often lacking in many [[developing countries]].<ref name="ODI1">Jessica Brown and Neil Bird 2010. [http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=5049&title=costa-rica-sustainable-resource-management-successfully-tackling-tropical-deforestation Costa Rica sustainable resource management: Successfully tackling tropical deforestation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514083601/http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=5049&title=costa-rica-sustainable-resource-management-successfully-tackling-tropical-deforestation|date=14 May 2011}}. London: [[Overseas Development Institute]]</ref> In particular, many forest-rich developing countries suffering [[deforestation]] experience conflict between different forest stakeholders.<ref name="ODI1" /> In addition, concerns for such global transactions include inconsistent compensation for services or resources sacrificed elsewhere and misconceived warrants for irresponsible use. As of 2001, another approach focused on protecting ecosystem service [[biodiversity hotspot]]s. Recognition that the conservation of many ecosystem services aligns with more traditional conservation goals (i.e. [[biodiversity]]) has led to the suggested merging of objectives for maximizing their mutual success. This may be particularly strategic when employing networks that permit the flow of services across [[landscapes]], and might also facilitate securing the financial means to protect services through a diversification of investors.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Balvanera |first1=Patricia |last2=Daily |first2=Gretchen C. |last3=Ehrlich |first3=Paul R. |last4=Ricketts |first4=Taylor H. |last5=Bailey |first5=Sallie-Anne |last6=Kark |first6=Salit |last7=Kremen |first7=Claire |last8=Pereira |first8=Henrique |title=Conserving Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services |journal=Science |date=16 March 2001 |volume=291 |issue=5511 |pages=2047 |doi=10.1126/science.291.5511.2047 |pmid=11256386 |s2cid=20296413 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chan |first1=Kai M. A. |last2=Shaw |first2=M. Rebecca |last3=Cameron |first3=David R. |last4=Underwood |first4=Emma C. |last5=Daily |first5=Gretchen C. |title=Conservation Planning for Ecosystem Services |journal=PLOS Biology |date=31 October 2006 |volume=4 |issue=11 |pages=e379 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0040379 |pmid=17076586 |pmc=1629036 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

For example, as of 2013, there had been interest in the valuation of ecosystem services provided by [[shellfish]] production and restoration.<ref>{{cite web|last=Northern Economics Inc|title=Valuation of Ecosystem Services from Shellfish Restoration, Enhancement and Management: A Review of the Literature|url=http://www.pacshell.org/pdf/ShellfishEcoServices.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203085756/http://www.pacshell.org/pdf/ShellfishEcoServices.pdf|archive-date=3 December 2013|publisher=Prepared for Pacific Shellfish Institute}}</ref> A keystone species, low in the food chain, bivalve shellfish such as oysters support a complex community of species by performing a number of functions essential to the diverse array of species that surround them. There is also increasing recognition that some shellfish species may impact or control many ecological processes; so much so that they are included on the list of "ecosystem engineers"—organisms that physically, biologically or chemically modify the environment around them in ways that influence the health of other organisms.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Jones|author2=Lawton, and Shachak|year=1994|title=Organisms as Ecosystem Engineers|journal=Oikos|volume=69|issue=3|pages=373–386|doi=10.2307/3545850|jstor=3545850|bibcode=1994Oikos..69..373J }}</ref> Many of the ecological functions and processes performed or affected by shellfish contribute to human well-being by providing a stream of valuable ecosystem services over time by filtering out particulate materials and potentially mitigating water quality issues by controlling [[nutrient pollution|excess nutrients]] in the water.
As of 2018, the concept of ecosystem services had not been properly implemented into international and regional legislation yet.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kistenkas |first1=Frederik H. |last2=Bouwma |first2=Irene M. |title=Barriers for the ecosystem services concept in European water and nature conservation law |journal=Ecosystem Services |date=February 2018 |volume=29 |pages=223–227 |doi=10.1016/j.ecoser.2017.02.013 |bibcode=2018EcoSv..29..223K }}</ref>

Notwithstanding, the United Nations [[Sustainable Development Goal 15]] has a target to ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of ecosystem services.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Goal 15 targets|url=https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-15-life-on-land/targets.html|access-date=2020-09-24|website=UNDP|language=en|archive-date=4 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904001634/https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-15-life-on-land/targets.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

An estimated $125 trillion to $140 trillion is added to the economy each year by all ecosystem services.<ref>{{Cite web |last=US EPA |first=OAR |date=2022-10-18 |title=Climate Change Impacts on Ecosystems |url=https://www.epa.gov/climateimpacts/climate-change-impacts-ecosystems |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=www.epa.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1582">{{Cite web |title=What is an ecosystem service? |url=https://www.eib.org/en/stories/ecosystem-service-nature |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=European Investment Bank |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-10-30 |title=How much is nature worth? $125 trillion, according to this report |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/10/this-is-why-putting-a-price-on-the-value-of-nature-could-help-the-environment/ |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=World Economic Forum |language=en}}</ref> However, many of these services are at risk due to climate and other anthropogenic impacts. Climate-driven shifts in biome ranges is expected to cause a 9% decline in ecosystem services on average at global scale by 2100<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bastien-Olvera |first1=B. A. |last2=Conte |first2=M. N. |last3=Dong |first3=X. |last4=Briceno |first4=T. |last5=Batker |first5=D. |last6=Emmerling |first6=J. |last7=Tavoni |first7=M. |last8=Granella |first8=F. |last9=Moore |first9=F. C. |date=2023-12-18 |title=Unequal climate impacts on global values of natural capital |journal=Nature |volume=625 |issue=7996 |language=en |pages=722–727 |doi=10.1038/s41586-023-06769-z |issn=1476-4687|doi-access=free |pmid=38110573 |pmc=10808060 }}</ref>

===Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA)===
{{excerpt|Ecosystem-based adaptation|paragraphs=1-2}}

=== Land use change decisions ===

Ecosystem services decisions require making complex choices at the intersection of [[ecology]], [[technology]], [[society]], and the [[economy]]. The process of making ecosystem services decisions must consider the interaction of many types of information, honor all [[project stakeholder|stakeholder]] viewpoints, including [[regulatory agencies]], proposal proponents, decision makers, residents, [[non-governmental organization|NGO]]s, and measure the impacts on all four parts of the intersection. These decisions are usually [[spatial planning|spatial]], always [[multi-objective optimization|multi-objective]], and based on uncertain data, models, and estimates. Often it is the combination of the best science combined with the stakeholder values, estimates and opinions that drive the process.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gorriz-Misfud|first1=Elena|last2=Secco|first2=L|last3=Pisani|first3=E|title=Exploring the interlinkages between governance and social capital: A dynamic model for forestry.|journal=Forest Policy and Economics|volume=65|pages=25–36|date=2016|doi=10.1016/j.forpol.2016.01.006|bibcode=2016ForPE..65...25G }}</ref>

One analytical study modeled the stakeholders as [[software agent|agents]] to support water resource management decisions in the Middle Rio Grande basin of New Mexico.  This study focused on modeling the stakeholder inputs across a spatial decision, but ignored uncertainty.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Siirola |first1=John |last2=Tidwell |first2=Vincent |last3=Benz |first3=Zachary |last4=Stansbury |first4=Melanie |last5=Richards |first5=Elizabeth |last6=Turnley |first6=Jessica |last7=Warrender |first7=Christina |last8=Morrow |first8=James |title=Decision insight into stakeholder conflict for ERN. |date=1 February 2012 |doi=10.2172/1035334 |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc845905/ |doi-access=free }}</ref> Another study used [[Monte Carlo method|Monte Carlo]] methods to exercise econometric models of landowner decisions in a study of the effects of [[land-use change]].  Here the stakeholder inputs were modeled as random effects to reflect the uncertainty.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lewis |first1=David |last2=Alig |first2=Ralph |title=Empirical methods for modeling landscape change, ecosystem services, and biodiversity |journal=Western Economics Forum |date=2009 |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=29–39 |url=https://research.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/34933 }}</ref> A third study used a Bayesian [[decision support system]] to both model the uncertainty in the scientific information [[Bayes network|Bayes Nets]] and to assist collecting and fusing the input from stakeholders.  This study was about siting wave energy devices off the Oregon Coast, but presents a general method for managing uncertain spatial science and stakeholder information in a decision making environment.<ref>{{ cite web |url=https://davidullman.com/uploads/Managing_Eco.pdf |author1=Ullman D. G. |author2=K. Halsey |author3=C. Goldfinger |title=Managing Eco-System Services Decisions |year=2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606201318/https://davidullman.com/uploads/Managing_Eco.pdf |archive-date=6 June 2013}}</ref> [[Remote sensing]] data and analyses can be used to assess the health and extent of land cover classes that provide ecosystem services, which aids in planning, management, monitoring of stakeholders' actions, and communication between stakeholders.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Quoc Vo |first1=Tuan |last2=Kuenzer |first2=C. |last3=Oppelt |first3=N. |title=How remote sensing supports mangrove ecosystem service valuation: A case study in Ca Mau province, Vietnam |journal=Ecosystem Services |date=August 2015 |volume=14 |pages=67–75 |doi=10.1016/j.ecoser.2015.04.007 |bibcode=2015EcoSv..14...67Q }}</ref>

In Baltic countries scientists, nature conservationists and local authorities are implementing integrated planning approach for grassland ecosystems.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vivagrass.eu/about-the-project/|title = About the project &#124; LIFE Viva Grass}}</ref> They are developing an integrated planning tool based on [[GIS]] (geographic information system) technology and put online that will help for planners to choose the best grassland management solution for concrete grassland. It will look holistically at the processes in the countryside and help to find best grassland management solutions by taking into account both natural and socioeconomic factors of the particular site.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sustainable grassland management efforts in the Baltics: interview with Žymantas Morkvėnas – GO-GRASS |url=https://www.go-grass.eu/sustainable-grassland-management-efforts-in-the-baltics-interview-with-zymantas-morkvenas/ |website=www.go-grass.eu |date=8 September 2020 |access-date=1 August 2021}}</ref>

== History ==
While the notion of human dependence on Earth's ecosystems reaches to the start of ''[[Homo sapiens]]''{{'}} existence, the term 'natural capital' was first coined by [[E. F. Schumacher]] in 1973 in his book ''[[Small Is Beautiful|Small is Beautiful]]''.<ref>Schumacher, E. F. (1973). ''Small is Beautiful: A Study of Economics As If People Mattered''.</ref>  Recognition of how ecosystems could provide complex services to humankind date back to at least [[Plato]] (c. 400 BC) who understood that [[deforestation]] could lead to soil [[erosion]] and the drying of springs.<ref name="Daily1997">Daily, G. C. 1997. Nature's Services: Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems. Island Press, Washington. 392pp.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hughes |first1=J. Donald |last2=Thirgood |first2=J. V. |date=1982-04-01 |title=Deforestation, Erosion, and Forest Management in Ancient Greece and Rome |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.2307/4004530 |journal=Journal of Forest History |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=60–75 |doi=10.2307/4004530 |jstor=4004530 |s2cid=130391537 |issn=0094-5080}}</ref>  Modern ideas of ecosystem services probably began when Marsh challenged in 1864 the idea that Earth's natural resources are unbounded by pointing out changes in [[soil fertility]] in the Mediterranean.<ref>Marsh, G. P. 1864 (1965). Man and Nature. [[Charles Scribner's Sons]], New York. 472pp.</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2015}} It was not until the late 1940s that three key authors—[[Henry Fairfield Osborn, Jr]],<ref>Osborn, F. 1948. [[Our Plundered Planet]]. Little, Brown and Company: Boston. 217pp.</ref> [[William Vogt]],<ref>Vogt, W. 1948. Road to Survival. William Sloan: New York. 335pp.</ref> and [[Aldo Leopold]]<ref>Leopold, A. 1949. A Sand County Almanac and Sketches from Here and There. [[Oxford University Press]], New York. 226pp.</ref>—promoted recognition of human dependence on the environment.

In 1956, [[Paul Sears]] drew attention to the critical role of the ecosystem in processing wastes and recycling nutrients.<ref>Sears, P. B. 1956. "The processes of environmental change by man." ''In'': W. L. Thomas, editor. Man's Role in Changing the Face of the Earth (Volume 2). [[University of Chicago Press]], Chicago. 1193pp.</ref> In 1970, [[Paul R. Ehrlich|Paul Ehrlich]] and Rosa Weigert called attention to "ecological systems" in their environmental science textbook<ref>Ehrlich, P. R., and A. Ehrlich. 1970. Population, Resources, Environment: Issues in Human Ecology. [[W. H. Freeman and Company|W. H. Freeman]], San Francisco. 383pp. – see p.157</ref> and "the most subtle and dangerous threat to man's existence&nbsp;... the potential destruction, by man's own activities, of those ecological systems upon which the very existence of the human species depends".

The term ''environmental services'' was introduced in a 1970 report of the ''Study of Critical Environmental Problems'',<ref>Study of Critical Environmental Problems (SCEP). 1970. Man's Impact on the Global Environment. MIT Press, Cambridge. 319pp.</ref> which listed services including insect pollination, [[fisheries]], [[climate]] regulation and [[flood]] control. In following years, variations of the term were used, but eventually 'ecosystem services' became the standard in scientific literature.<ref>Ehrlich, P. R., and A. Ehrlich. 1981. Extinction: The Causes and Consequences of the Disappearance of Species. [[Random House]], New York. 305pp.</ref>

The ecosystem services concept has continued to expand and includes [[socio-economic]] and [[Conservation ethic|conservation]] objectives.<ref name="Daily1997" /> 

== See also ==
{{Portal|Environment|Ecology|Earth sciences}}
{{Div col}}
* [[Blue carbon]]
* [[Diversity-function debate]]
* [[Earth Economics]]
* [[Ecological goods and services]]
* [[Ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction]]
* [[Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]]
* [[Natural capital]]
* [[Soil functions]]
* [[Nature Based Solutions]]
{{Div col end}}

==References==

{{Reflist|30em}}

=== Sources ===
{{Free-content attribution
| title = The State of the World’s Forests 2020. Forests, biodiversity and people – In brief
| author = FAO & UNEP
| publisher = FAO & UNEP
| page numbers =
| source =
| documentURL = https://doi.org/10.4060/ca8985en
| license statement URL = https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_State_of_the_World%E2%80%99s_Forests_2020._In_brief.pdf
| license = CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
}}

{{Free-content attribution
| title = Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 – Key findings
| author = FAO
| publisher = FAO
| page numbers =
| source =
| documentURL = https://doi.org/10.4060/ca8753en
| license statement URL = https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Global_Forest_Resources_Assessment_2020_%E2%80%93_Key_findings.pdf
| license = CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.millenniumassessment.org Millennium Ecosystem Assessment]
* [http://www.eartheconomics.org/  Earth Economics]
* [https://www.weap21.org/ Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) system] for modeling impacts on aquatic ecosystem services
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110402061510/http://www.gecoserv.org/ GecoServ]}} – Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Services Valuation Database (includes studies from all over the world, but only coastal ecosystems relevant to the Gulf of Mexico)


{{Sustainability}}
{{Environmental social science}}
{{Natural resources}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ecosystem Services}}
[[Category:Ecological restoration]]
[[Category:Ecological economics]]
[[Category:Systems ecology]]
[[Category:Social ecology]]
[[Category:Human ecology]]
[[Category:Forestry and the environment]]
[[Category:Environmental social science concepts]]
[[Category:Ecological economics concepts]]