Valuing Ecosystem Services
Protecting today’s resources for tomorrow!
Ecosystem Services
A red-headed woodpecker at the Indiana Dunes State Park (Dan Bovino)
What is an ecosystem service? Nature provides ecosystem services that are beneficial to people, communities, and economies. These can include clean air and water, nutrient recycling, storm and flood protection, climate regulation, and water supply maintenance. Recognizing and valuing these services encourages decision-makers to take action to ensure these benefits continue to be available.
Services
A variety of plant and animal life in an ecosystem is essential for maintaining balance and providing valuable services, like pollination and nutrient cycling. Coastal marshes support biodiversity by providing food sources, habitats for fish breeding, and stopover sites for migratory birds. Additionally, rich biodiversity supports recreational activities, benefiting nearby residents as well as visitors.
Ecosystems play a role in regulating the climate by balancing and maintaining the Earth’s air and atmosphere. Forests help mitigate climate change by sequestering and storing carbon dioxide. Plants release oxygen into the atmosphere through the process of photosynthesis and release water into the air through transpiration.
Ecosystems help maintain productive and healthy soils, thereby providing erosion control, carbon sequestration, and nutrient cycling. Conservation strategies like habitat preservation, tree planting, and sustainable agriculture can help to maintain soil and soil substrate health. For example, tree roots help prevent erosion by stabilizing soil.
Aquatic ecosystems, such as rivers, lakes, and wetlands, provide water purification through natural filtration processes. Riparian vegetation, wetlands, and aquatic plants can filter nutrients and pollutants from water. Terrestrial ecosystems also slow down the movement of water and facilitate filtration, resulting in water quality benefits.
Ecosystems provide water by influencing precipitation, regulating water movement, promoting groundwater recharge, and maintaining water levels and water flow. Because ecosystems are connected to the water cycle, the health of an ecosystem influences the amount of available water.
Ecosystems provide a wide range of recreation opportunities such as fishing, birdwatching, boating, hunting, hiking, and camping. Recreation, in turn, promotes physical and mental health well-being, as well as providing tourism and economic benefits. Ecosystems also provide aesthetic, scenic, cultural, and spiritual values.