ECOSYSTEM SERVICES: Benefits Supplied to Human Societies by Natural Ecosystems

摘要: Human societies derive many essential goods from natural ecosystems, including seafood, game animals, fodder, fuelwood, timber, and pharmaceutical products. These represent important familiar parts of the economy. What has been less appreciated until recently is that ecosystems also perform fundamental life-support services without which human civilizations would cease to thrive. include purification air water, detoxification decomposition wastes, regulation climate, regeneration soil fertility, production maintenance biodiversity, key ingredients our agricultural, pharmaceutical, industrial enterprises are derived. This array generated by a complex interplay cycles powered solar energy operating across wide range space time scales. The process waste disposal, for example, involves life bacteria as well planet-wide major chemical elements such carbon nitrogen. Such processes worth trillions dollars annually. Yet because most these benefits not traded in economic markets, they carry no price tags could alert society changes their supply or deterioration underlying ecological systems generate them. Because threats increasing, there critical need identification monitoring ecosystem both locally globally, incorporation value into decision-making processes.