Ecosystem Services Questions and Answers.

Ecosystem Services Questions and
Answers.
Ecosystem services - Answer the benefits people obtain from ecosystems



Ecosystem functions - Answer ecological processes that control the fluxes of energy,
nutrients and organic matter through the environment



1. Supporting

2. Provisioning

3. Regulating

4. Cultural - Answer Four categories of ecosystem services



services necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services

Examples: soil formation, nutrient and biogeochemical cycling, primary productivity - Answer
Supporting



products obtained from ecosystems - Answer Provisioning



benefits obtained from regulation of ecosystem processes

Climate regulation (e.g. carbon dioxide cycle - Answer Regulating



nonmaterial benefits obtained from ecosystems

Examples: recreation and ecotourism, aesthetic and spiritual value - Answer Cultural



Water supply comes from the Catskill Mountains Watershed which until recently was purified by
the natural processes of root systems and soil microorganisms, by filtration in the soils and
sedimentation in streams. - Answer Purification of New York City's Water Supply



In 1992 the Canadian government declared a moratorium on the Northern Cod fishery, which
for the past 500 years had largely shaped the lives and communities of Canada's eastern coast.

In Newfoundland over 35,000 fishers and plant workers from over 400 coastal communities
became unemployed, costing ~$2 billion. - Answer Collapse of the Atlantic northwest cod
fishery



estimated the current economic value of 17 ecosystem services for 16 biomes,