Introduction
An ecosystem is a group or community composed of living and non-living
things and their interactions with each other. It is a dynamic complex of biotic
components and abiotic components. These biotic and abiotic interactions
maintain equilibrium in the ecosystem. We as humans are an integral part of
it. The numerous benefits we obtain from the ecosystem are known by the
term ecosystem services.
Ecosystem Services
The earth is home to millions of species. Every organism depends on one or
another organism for energy, survival, and other life processes. This
dependence of organisms on one another and their surroundings forge an
interacting system called ecosystems. The interactions among different
components of ecosystems are fundamental to a well-defined environment.
As a part of an ecosystem, humans derive lots of benefits from the biotic and
abiotic components. These benefits are collectively termed as ecosystem
services. Life and biodiversity on earth depend on these services.
Ecosystem services are classified into four types:
1. Provisioning Services
When people are asked to identify a service provided by nature, most think of
food. Fruits, vegetables, trees, fish, and livestock are available to us as direct
products of ecosystems. A provisioning service is any type of benefit to people
that can be extracted from nature. Along with food, other types of provisioning
services include drinking water, timber, wood fuel, natural gas, oils, plants that
can be made into clothes and other materials, and medicinal benefits.
2. Regulating Services
Ecosystems provide many of the basic services that make life possible for
people. Plants clean air and filter water, bacteria decompose wastes, bees
pollinate flowers, and tree roots hold soil in place to prevent erosion. All these
processes work together to make ecosystems clean, sustainable, functional,
and resilient to change. A regulating service is the benefit provided by
ecosystem processes that moderate natural phenomena. Regulating services
include pollination, decomposition, water purification, erosion and flood
control, and carbon storage and climate regulation.
3. Supporting services
Supporting services form the basis for other services. They provide habitat for
different life forms, retain biodiversity, nutrient cycling, and other services for
supporting life on the earth.
4. Cultural services
It includes tourism; provides recreational, aesthetic, cultural and spiritual
services, etc. Most natural elements such as landscapes, mountains, caves, are
used as a place for cultural and artistic purposes. Even a few of them are
considered sacred. Walking and playing sports in green space is not only a
good form of physical exercise but also lets people relax. Moreover, ecosystems
provide enormous economic benefits in the name of tourism.
