essay on ecosystem service

What Are Ecosystem Services, and How Do They Help Our Planet?

Protecting diverse ecosystems and the natural benefits that they provide is essential to the future of life on our planet and the well-being of humanity.

Those services, which are often called ecosystem services, include providing resources such as food and water, maintaining habitats that support biodiversity, offering opportunities for recreation, and helping to regulate human-caused impacts like climate change.

Healthy, diverse ecosystems are responsible for the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the natural places that we visit to nurture our bodies and minds. They support the species that, in turn, sustain human life. “Every morsel of food, every sip of water, the air we breathe is the result of work done by another species,” says Enric Sala , a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and the leader of National Geographic’s Pristine Seas Initiative. “Without them, there is no us.”

When it comes to mitigating the impacts of climate change, ecosystem services really shine. Studies have shown that the natural world can provide one-third of all climate mitigation efforts. Land and marine ecosystems currently absorb about half of the human-generated carbon dioxide emissions, with forests alone removing 2.6 billion tons of carbon from the atmosphere each year.

Ecosystems must stay intact and healthy to receive the myriad of benefits that they provide. Campaign for Nature is a global effort to raise awareness of the threats facing our natural world and inspire world leaders to take action to protect 30 percent of the planet by 2030.

The protection of 30 percent of the planet by 2030 is a critical milestone toward protecting 50 percent of the planet by 2050, a benchmark that scientists say will ensure the health and diversity of ecosystems across the globe. The goal is challenging yet attainable—and our future depends on it.

The National Geographic Society is a global nonprofit organization that uses the power of science, exploration, education and storytelling to illuminate and protect the wonder of our world. Since 1888, National Geographic has pushed the boundaries of exploration, investing in bold people and transformative ideas, providing more than 15,000 grants for work across all seven continents, reaching 3 million students each year through education offerings, and engaging audiences around the globe through signature experiences, stories and content.

To learn more, visit www.nationalgeographic.org or follow us on Instagram , LinkedIn, and Facebook .

Ecosystem Services and Their Main Types Essay

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Ecosystem services (ES) refer to all the benefits people receive from ecosystems. They differ from most other goods and services because they are much more complex in function, interaction, and impact. Ecosystem services enable people to obtain resources from the land itself through proper care and use of resources. Four types of ecosystem services are currently distinguished: providing, regulating, cultural, and supporting (Pearce, 2020). Each class allows humanity to sustain itself with vital resources such as food, firewood, water, etc.

The development of ecosystem services not only satisfies human life needs but also works for a sense of aesthetics. For example, cultural services have enabled people to breed new species of ornamental plants, which they use to decorate their homes and grounds. Many communities place a high value on preserving historically significant landscapes (“cultural landscapes”) or culturally notable species (animals or plants). Thus, the ecosystem influences human cultural development by identifying people with certain landscapes, forests, mountains, or fields.

Generally, the term “indigenous peoples” refers to peoples who have faced colonization or conquest and therefore find themselves a minority (or “non-dominant” part of the population) within a state formed by an incoming dominant group (Amnesty International, 2019). Indigenous peoples have inherent characteristics, such as Historical continuity with pre-colonial societies (societies before conquest) and strong ties to territories and adjacent natural resources. They are also characterized by different social, economic, or political systems and a rare language, culture, and beliefs.

The notion of unpopular indigenous peoples in society is considered a rudimentary phenomenon. Despite this, recently, young representatives of indigenous peoples, who are almost forgotten, have begun to remind themselves of their rights by standing up for them. For example, the story of Alba Veronica Yacabalcchia, who belongs to the Guatemalan indigenous Maya Kiche (United Nations, 2022). She has long defended the rights of her people through the recognition of her people’s language, the translation of necessary documentation for her fellow citizens, and the fight against discrimination based on the nationality of more “recognized” people. This is just one of the thousands of examples of young people drawing public attention to their people through news and government coverage.

Amnesty International. (2019). Indigenous peoples . Amnesty.org. Web.

Pearce, R. (2020). What are ecosystem services? Earth.org – Past | Present | Future. Web.

United Nations. (2022). Fighting for indigenous rights in guatemala . OHCHR.org. Web.

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• Introduction

History of concepts and methods

Identification, quantification, and valuation, role in policy and management.

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ecosystem services

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ecosystem services , outputs, conditions, or processes of natural systems that directly or indirectly benefit humans or enhance social welfare. Ecosystem services can benefit people in many ways, either directly or as inputs into the production of other goods and services. For example, the pollination of crops provided by bees and other organisms contributes to food production and is thus considered an ecosystem service. Another example is the attenuation of flooding in residential areas provided by riparian buffers and wetlands .

Because ecosystem services are not usually bought and sold directly in markets , market activities do not fully reflect the benefits provided by those services. Unregulated markets thus promote excessive depletion of natural capital (e.g., the biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems) and ecosystem services. The United Nations Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005), which evaluated the consequences of ecosystem change, concluded that humans have degraded the ability of Earth’s ecosystems to support social welfare. In response, ecosystem services analyses promote policy decisions that recognize the full range of benefits and costs associated with actions that affect those services. Most formal evaluations of ecosystem services examine the consequences of changes to specific services in certain geographical areas for particular beneficiary groups; very few analyses approach ecosystem services from universal perspectives (e.g., all the services provided by wetlands across the planet).

The concept of “ecosystem services” emerged during the 1970s and gained increasing recognition in the following decades. However, the idea that natural systems support human welfare is much older. Relationships between deforestation and water supply were documented by Plato as early as 400 bce . Economists in the 18th and 19th centuries recognized the value provided by land and other natural resources as productive assets. Man and Nature (1864) by George Perkins Marsh is recognized as one of the founding works of the U.S. conservation movement and was among the first writings to formally characterize relationships between natural and social systems. Marsh argued that extensive damage to natural systems by human actions would diminish human welfare.

Methods to characterize the structure and function of natural systems are grounded in centuries of work by natural scientists. Of particular relevance to ecosystem services analysis are modern ecological concepts, models, and methods developed during and after the 20th century. Quantification of ecosystem service values has its foundation in formal economic methods for nonmarket valuation, which have been refined extensively since their initial development by environmental and resource economists in the 1940s. By the early 21st century, ecosystem services analyses paid greater attention to issues such as the complex relationships between ecological and socioeconomic systems, how changes in those relationships affect human welfare, to what extent the values of different types of services can and should be quantified in monetary terms, and the most-suitable approaches to quantify the different types of services.

Two criteria distinguish ecosystem services from other ecosystem conditions or processes. First, an ecosystem service must be linked to an identifiable set of human beneficiaries. The service can be an aspect or consequence of an ecological condition and can directly or indirectly benefit or profit the beneficiaries. Second, physical and institutional access constraints must not prevent people from realizing those benefits. For example, increases in fish abundance can enhance the welfare of those engaged in commercial or recreational fishing, but only if those increases occur in areas where fishing occurs. Conditions or processes of ecosystems that cannot be linked to the welfare of identifiable beneficiary groups are not ecosystem services. For example, changes in fish abundance in areas not used by humans and that have no direct or indirect effect on human benefits are not ecosystem services.

The first step in most ecosystem services assessments is to identify the services to be evaluated. This requires an understanding of how beneficiaries are affected directly or indirectly by changes in ecological conditions and processes and can be assisted by the development of a conceptual causal chain. Such a chain clarifies the links between human actions and ecological effects and the subsequent changes to ecosystem services and the associated human benefits. For example, a causal chain related to mechanical forest thinning would first identify the primary effects of thinning on ecological conditions such as forest structure. Those changes are then linked to impacts on ecosystem outputs, conditions, or processes that affect the welfare of identifiable beneficiary groups; those are the ecosystem services. Forest thinning, for instance, could change forest structure in such a way that there is a reduction in fire risk to populated areas. Causal chains often include multiple steps between the original human action and the effects on final ecosystem services. One of the challenges of ecosystem services analysis is identifying the many ways that ecosystem services affect different beneficiary groups.

A common second step in an ecosystem service assessment is to quantify one or more of the services identified in the causal chain. Quantification requires an understanding of the measures of quantity, quality, or other biophysical features that are most directly relevant to human welfare, followed by the use of appropriate methods to obtain those measures. Some ecosystem services are easily quantified, such as the quantity of timber produced in a given forest area. Others are more difficult to measure, either because of limitations in biophysical models or data (e.g., fish produced by tidal wetlands) or because the service is inherently difficult to quantify (e.g., aesthetic features of natural landscapes).

The third step in an ecosystem service assessment is to determine the consequences for social welfare. This is often conducted by using formal economic valuation methods grounded in neoclassical economic theory, although noneconomic techniques may also be applied. Economic valuation quantifies the value of an ecosystem service in commensurable (typically monetary) units; that value is well-defined only for a specific quantity of the ecosystem service, measured from a particular baseline. Values calculated for services at a biome or planetary scale (for which changes and baselines are often poorly defined) are generally considered invalid—or at least highly inaccurate—by economists. The accuracy of valuation also depends on the ability of an analysis to account for factors that influence the contribution of ecosystem services to welfare. For example, all else equal, per-unit values often increase as a service becomes more scarce (reflecting diminishing marginal utility ) and are frequently affected by spatial factors such as the distance of beneficiaries from the service.

Valuation also requires analysts to distinguish between intermediate and final services. Final services affect welfare directly, whereas intermediate services underpin final services but are not valued directly. For example, biochemical processes in wetlands can reduce the delivery of excess nutrients such as nitrogen to nearby waters (an intermediate service), thereby reducing algae growth and improving water clarity (a final service to swimmers and others who prefer clear water). The economic value of a final service, if correctly measured, should incorporate the value of all intermediate inputs used in its production. Some ecosystem services serve as both final and intermediate services.

Additionally, ecosystem services can provide different types of values, some related to the use of the services by humans and others unrelated to human use; these are known to economists as use values and nonuse values, respectively. Use values are related to observable behaviours through which people directly or indirectly use or enjoy ecosystem services. Nonuse values are values unrelated to observed behaviours; these include values generated by the knowledge that something in nature exists, that it can be passed on to future generations, or that it is available to benefit other people (i.e., existence, bequest , and altruistic values).

There are increasing worldwide efforts to incorporate information on ecosystem services into public and private decisions. In the United States , for example, the President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) 1998 report, Teaming with Life: Investing in Science to Understand and Use America’s Living Capital , highlighted the value and decline of the country’s living capital and called for the government to develop sustainable strategies for conservation and management of biodiversity and ecosystems. A 2011 PCAST report, Sustaining Environmental Capital: Protecting Society and the Economy , recommended actions to integrate ecosystem services information into federal decisions, including increased use of ecosystem services valuation. Those initiatives accompany multiple agency-specific mandates and initiatives to consider ecosystem services.

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) initiatives, which incentivize the provision of ecosystem services by private suppliers, are emerging worldwide, including national programs in countries such as China and Costa Rica . Many other countries have integrated ecosystem services information into governmental planning processes, including multiple examples in the European Union and Latin America . International initiatives include the World Bank’s Wealth Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (WAVES) program and The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) project. Despite progress in such efforts, many areas of ecosystem services analysis and policy integration remain at a proof-of-concept stage; systematic and formal use of information on ecosystem services to guide public and private decisions is not yet commonplace.

What Are Ecosystem Services?

How are ecosystem services defined, what are the unique services ecosystems provide.

Ecosystem services are all the processes and outputs that nature provides us with. These include provisioning services (food, water), regulating services (waste water treatment, pollution control), supporting services (shelter), and cultural services (recreation and tourism).

Our planet is blessed with many types of ecosystems, including terrestrial, marine, freshwater, forest and grassland. An ecosystem is a dynamic community that comprises living organisms, such as microorganisms, plants and animals, as well as non-living environments, each interacting with one another. Each ecosystem and its components (water, living organisms, soil) play a key role in maintaining our wellbeing and health.

Human societies have benefited both directly and indirectly from nature for centuries. From clean air to drinking water; weather and climate control to natural crop pollination, nature provides us with critical services for our wellbeing. As you can see, we cannot survive without these goods, outputs, and processes that natural and managed ecosystems provide for us.

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Over the years, we have defined ecosystem services in many ways. For instance, Costanza defined ecosystem services in 1997 as the processes and outputs provided to us during the transformation of natural resources. Similarly, in 2005, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) report defined ecosystem services as ‘the benefits people get from ecosystems.’ More recently , we have defined them as the contributions of ecosystem structure and function, along with a combination of other inputs, to human well-being.

Also Read: What Causes Biodiversity Loss?

Overall, there are four major types of ecosystem services: provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural.

Provisioning Services

Our environment provides us with raw materials, food, shelter, energy and other resources that are essential for our physical wellbeing and various economic activities. Together, these materialistic resources are known as provisioning services. Some examples of provisioning services are water, food, raw materials and medicinal resources.

Water: Freshwater ecosystems play a huge role in regulating and purifying water. Similarly, forests and vegetation help improve the quality of water by acting as filters.

Food: Ecosystems provide us with the right conditions and environments to grow vegetables, fruit, pulses, rice and other important food types. On the other hand, humans also rely on freshwater and marine resources, as well as wild animals living in forested ecosystems for meat.

Raw materials: We all need raw materials for construction, whether it is for our homes or offices. Ecosystems provide us with valuable resources, such as timber (from forests) and biofuels from plants, which are the primary materials used in construction activities.

Medicinal resources: Nature provides many resources, including plants and animals that we humans use as traditional medicines. For instance, if you have an upset stomach, you might immediately reach out for ginger from the fridge. When we feel the flu coming on, we immediately start making chicken soup! Such resources are all sourced from plants and animals are not only used in common households, but are also sourced by pharmaceutical companies as raw material for medicine.

Regulating Services

These are the many services that nature provides while acting as regulators. For instance, many natural resources, e.g., air, water, soil, flood and disease, require some regulation to ensure their quality, all of which are enabled by ecosystems.

Treatment of wastewater: Wetlands are classic examples of ecosystems that provide vital filtering services of animal and human waste, which purifies water.

Air quality and carbon sequestration: Trees and forests play a critical role in our lives. They provide shade, promote rainfall, influence the availability of water and help regulate air pollution. Forested ecosystems play a huge role in regulating climate and weather by storing carbon and other greenhouse gases. As trees grow older, they remove more carbon from the atmosphere, which helps keep our planet cool.

Prevent or moderate extreme events: Many ecosystems can regulate natural disasters, such as floods and storms, by acting as barriers. The most classic example is that of mangrove ecosystems, which help reduce the impact of tsunamis.

Pollination: Pollination is perhaps one of the most critical services that biodiversity provides. Two of nature’s key pollinators are insects (particularly bees) and wind; without these two pollinators, growing agricultural crops would be immensely challenging for us as humans. In fact, researchers have found that pollinators improve crop yields by approximately 75% worldwide!

Supporting Services

These are services that ecosystems provide besides those outlined above. For instance, ecosystems provide shelter and habitats for countless plant and animal species while also maintaining their diversity. Nature also provides them with food and water, which are vital for their survival. Ecosystems help maintain genetic diversity on our planet, which is why we have such a broad and spectacular variety of life forms on Earth.

Cultural Services

Our planet’s ecosystems provide us with many non-materialistic goods and services. For instance, nature provides us with green spaces that we use for walking and picnics, as well as land and seascapes that allow for tourism-related activities. Several communities across the world even consider forests sacred and, in many countries, they worship certain tree species.

As you can see, ecosystems provide humans and other life forms with several services that are necessary for survival. However, these critical services are under threat, as human populations have been proliferating over the past few centuries. The mindless abuse and overconsumption of nature’s resources have contributed to the rapid extinction of thousands of species, in addition to causing widespread deforestation, leading to climate change and air, water and soil pollution.

Unfortunately, it is hard to quantify or place a price tag on these services. However, in the past, researchers have been able to quantify how many humans depend on these provisioning services. For instance, a study revealed that forest provisioning ecosystem services accounted for 44% of the average household income of families in Zambia. So, as you can see, these services are immensely valuable, which is why we must ensure that we protect them at all costs. After all, humanity relies on these services to survive and thrive!

Also Read: How Vital Is The Ocean Ecosystem?

• Costanza, R., d'Arge, R., de Groot, R., Farber, S., Grasso, M., Hannon, B., … van den Belt, M. (1997, May). The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
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• Klein, A.-M., Vaissière, B. E., Cane, J. H., Steffan-Dewenter, I., Cunningham, S. A., Kremen, C., & Tscharntke, T. (2006, October 27). Importance of pollinators in changing landscapes for world crops. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. The Royal Society.
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Tamanna holds a Master’s degree in Ecology and Environmental Sciences and has been working in the field of wildlife conservation for over six years now. She studies wild Asian elephants (their behavior and genetics, interactions with humans) for a living, and thinks it’s the coolest job in the world. She spends most of her free time soaking her feet in the cold waters of the Bay of Bengal.

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Ecosystem services in changing landscapes: An introduction

• Published: 07 February 2014
• Volume 29 , pages 181–186, ( 2014 )

Cite this article

• Louis Iverson 1 ,
• Cristian Echeverria 2 ,
• Laura Nahuelhual 3 , 4 &
• Sandra Luque 5 , 6  

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The concept of ecosystem services from landscapes is rapidly gaining momentum as a language to communicate values and benefits to scientists and lay alike. Landscape ecology has an enormous contribution to make to this field, and one could argue, uniquely so. Tools developed or adapted for landscape ecology are being increasingly used to assist with the quantification, modelling, mapping, and valuing of ecosystem services. Several of these tools and methods encased therein are described among the eleven papers presented in this special issue, and their application has the potential to facilitate the management and promotion of services within ecosystems. Papers are associated with each of the four key categories of services that ecosystems provide to humans: supporting, provisioning, regulating, and cultural. The papers represent work conducted in eleven different countries, especially from South America. Each carries a unique approach to address a particular question pertaining to a particular set of ecosystem services. These studies are designed to inform and improve the economic, environmental and social values of the ecosystem services. This knowledge should help to develop new management alternatives for sustaining and planning ecosystems and the services they provide at different scales in space and time. We believe that these papers will create interest and inform management of some potential methods to evaluate ecosystem services at the landscape level with an integrative approach, offering new tools for management and conservation.

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Acknowledgments

This special issue emerged from two conferences as mentioned in the text, in which the co-guest editors were involved as organizers. We thank the many people who organized, presented, or attended these conferences, as they provided many stimulating discussions and presentations. We thank the many reviewers who volunteered their time to review the articles in this special issue. We also thank the enthusiasm and continuing support from the IUFRO, IALE and ELI communities that make these outcomes possible. We especially want to thank the authors for their time and patience to participate in this volume. Thanks also to Stephen Matthews and Richard Birdsey for reviews of this paper.

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Louis Iverson

Laboratorio de Ecología de Paisaje, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad de Concepción, Victoria 631, Concepción, Chile

Cristian Echeverria

Instituto de Economía Agraria, Universidad Austral de Chile, Casilla #567, Valdivia, Chile

Laura Nahuelhual

Center for Climate and Resilience Research, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile

IRSTEA, National Research Institute of Science and Technology for Environment and Agriculture, Clermont-Ferrand, France

Sandra Luque

Department of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, St. Andrews, Scotland, UK

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Iverson, L., Echeverria, C., Nahuelhual, L. et al. Ecosystem services in changing landscapes: An introduction. Landscape Ecol 29 , 181–186 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-014-9993-2

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Published : 07 February 2014

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-014-9993-2

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Ecosystem Services

Did you know? National forests and grasslands provide an array of highly valuable ecosystem services including recreation, water (quality and quantity), carbon sequestration, food, air filtration, social and cultural values, timber and other forest products, as well as fish and wildlife habitat and biodiversity.

• Climate Change
• Environment and People
• Fish and Wildlife
• Forest and Plant Health
• Forest Products
• Inventory, Monitoring and Assessment
• Forest Management
• Range Management and Grazing
• Restoration and Recovery
• Water, Air and Soil
• Laboratories
• Centers and Groups
• Experimental Forests and Ranges
• Urban Field Stations

Ecosystem services, otherwise known as nature's benefits, are the multitude of benefits that come from healthy natural systems. They include tangible benefits like food, fiber, fresh water, and climate regulation as well as less tangible services like spiritual, recreational, and aesthetic benefits. Ecosystem services also cover the basic processes that underlie these benefits including oxygen production, soil formation, habitat creation, and nutrient cycling.

National forests and grasslands provide an array of highly valuable ecosystem services including recreation, water (quality and quantity), carbon sequestration and storage to help mitigate climate change, food, air filtration, social and cultural values, timber and other forest products, as well as fish and wildlife habitat and biodiversity. Defining and articulating the value of these ecosystem services enhances our appreciation of these benefits. The Forest Service advances the science and tools that help fully value ecosystem services and better evaluate the management decisions that impact them.

The Forest Service invests in ecosystem service research because:

• Following a consistent framework and set of metrics allows land managers across diverse landscapes to better communicate decisions and analyze trade-offs. By using an ecosystem services framework, the Forest Service can identify and implement models to inform balanced management decisions.
• Evaluating ecosystem services helps sustain benefits and improve forest and grassland management outcomes.
• Quantifying the economic value of ecosystem services can provide the basis for payments, markets, and partnerships to leverage investments in shared benefits from sustainable forest and grasslands management across multiple ownerships.
• Ecosystem service research helps facilitate connections between traditional and non-traditional stakeholders across the urban to rural continuum.

Featured Work

Integrating ecosystem services into national Forest Service policy and operations  is a Forest Service publication that identifies needs and opportunities to incorporate an ecosystem services approach into agency programs and activities.

Assessment and valuation of forest ecosystem services: State of the science review  focuses on the assessment and economic valuation of forest ecosystem services. It provides a reference for forest economists and land managers interested in developing the practice of integrated forest modeling and valuation.  

Ecosystem Services as a Framework for Forest Stewardship: Deschutes National Forest Overview  describes a collaboration between the Deschutes National Forest and Pacific Northwest Research Station to explore how an ecosystem service approach can enhance forest stewardship in central Oregon.

Trees at work: Economic accounting for forest ecosystem services in the U.S. South  is a guide to quantifying annual flows of ecosystem services, developing a spatial catalog of the marginal values of changes in those flows, and accounting for the total value of ecosystem services lost or gained as a result of changes in forest ecosystems.

The " Effects of climate change on ecosystem services in the Northern Rockies Region " chapter of the report Climate change vulnerability and adaptation in the Northern Rocky Mountains explores the ecosystem services provided to people who visit, live adjacent to, or otherwise benefit from natural resources on public lands. 

Geography Notes

Essay on ecosystem: top 7 essays on ecosystem | geography.

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Here is a compilation of essays on ‘Ecosystem’ for class 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. Find paragraphs, long and short essays on ‘Ecosystem’ especially written for school and college students.

Essay on Ecosystem

Essay Contents:

• Essay o the Functioning of Ecosystems

Essay # 1. Meaning of Ecosystem :

The term ‘ecosystem’ was first used by A.G. Tansley in 1935 who defined ecosystem as ‘a particu­lar category of physical systems, consisting of organ­isms and inorganic components in a relatively stable equilibrium, open and of various sizes and kinds’.

According to Tansley the ecosystem is comprised of two major parts viz., biome (the whole complex of plants and animals of a particular spatial unit) and habitat (physical environment) and thus ‘all parts of such an ecosystem-organic and inorganic, biome and habitat-may be regarded as interacting factors which, in a mature ecosystem, are in approximate equilib­rium, it is through their interactions that the whole system is maintained’. F.R. Fosberg (1963) has defined ecosystem as ‘a function­ing, interacting system composed of one or more living organisms and their effective environment, both physical and biological’.

According to R.L. Linderman (1942) the term ecosystem applies to ‘any system composed of physical-chemical-biological processes, within a space-time unit of any magnitude’. In E.P. Odum’s view (1971)’living organisms and their non-living (aboitic) environment are inseparably interrelated and interact upon each other.

Any unit that includes all of the organisms (i.e., the community) in a given area interacting with the physical environment so that a flow of energy leads to clearly defined trophic struc­ture, biotic diversity and material cycle (i.e., exchange of materials between living and non-living parts) within the system is an ecological system or ecosystem’.

According to A.N. Strahler and A.H. Strahler (1976). “The total assemblage of components interacting with a group of organisms is known as ecological system or more simply, an ecosystem. Ecosystems have inputs of matter and energy, used to build biological structure (the biomass), to produce and to maintain necessary internal energy levels. Matter and energy are also exported from an ecosystem. An ecosystem tends to achieve a balance of the various processes and activi­ties within it”.

Based on the contents of above definitions of ecosystem provided by various scientists it may be pointed out that ‘ecosystems are, therefore, unities of organisms connected to one another and to their envi­ronment’ and the ecosystem is, thus, the sum of all natural organisms and substances within an area, and it can be viewed as a basic example of an open system in physical geogra­phy’. Stressing the importance of ecosystem C. C. Park further says that ‘ecosystems are regarded by many ecologists to be the basic units of ecology because they are complex, interdependent and highly organized systems and because they are the basic building blocks of the biosphere’.

In a more lucid style and simple term an ecosys­tem may be defined as a fundamental functional unit occupying spatial dimension of ‘earth space ship’ characterised by total assemblage of biotic community and abiotic components and their mutual interactions within a given time unit.

Essay # 2. Concept of Ecosystem:

According to Eugene P. Odum (1983), “any unit (a bio-system) that includes all the organisms that function together (the biotic com­munity) in a given area interacting with the physical environment so that a flow of energy leads to clearly defined biotic structures and cycling of materials between living and non-living parts is an ecological system or ecosystem”. Thus, ecosystem is the basic functional unit in ecology, as it includes both organisms and biotic environment, each influencing the properties of the other and both are neces­sary for the maintenance of life.

Ecosystems have both structure and function.

The structure part comprises of:

(i) The composition of all the biological com­munities,

(ii) The distribution and quantity of all the non-living materials (nutrients, water etc.) and

(iii) The conditions of existence (temperature, light etc.).

The functional part consists of:

(i) The energy flow in the community,

(ii) The nutrient cycles, and

(iii) Ecologi­cal and biological regulations (photoperiodism, nitrogen fixing organisms etc.).

ADVERTISEMENTS: (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Essay # 3. Types of Ecosystem :

Ecosystems may be identified and classified on various bases, with different purposes and objectives as outlined below:

(1) On The Basis of Habitats :

The habitats ex­hibit physical environmental conditions of a particular spatial unit of the biosphere. These physical conditions determine the nature and characteristics of biotic communities and therefore there are spatial variations in the biotic communities.

Based on this premise the world ecosystems are divided into two major categories viz.:

(A) Terrestrial ecosystems, and

(B) Aquatic ecosystems.

There are further variations in the terrestrial ecosystems in terms of physical conditions and their responses to biotic communities.

Therefore, the terrestrial ecosys­tems are further divided into sub-categories of:

(i) Upland or mountain ecosystems,

(ii) Lowland ecosystems,

(iii) Warm desert ecosystems, and

(iv) Cold desert ecosys­tems.

These sub-ecosystems may be further divided into descending orders depending on specific purposes and objectives of studies.

(B) The aquatic ecosystems are subdivided into two broad categories:

(i) freshwater (on continents) ecosystems and

(ii) marine ecosystems. Freshwater ecosystems (Bi) are further divided into (Bia) river ecosystems, (Bib) marsh and bog ecosystems while (Bii) marine ecosystems are divided into (Biia) open ocean ecosystems, (Biib) coastal estuarine ecosys­tem, (Biic) coral reef ecosystem, or can be alternatively divided into (Biia) ocean surface ecosystems, (Biib) ocean bottom ecosystems.

(2) On the basis of spatial scales:

Ecosystems are divided into different types of various orders on the basis of spatial dimensions required for specific pur­poses.

The largest ecosystem is the whole biosphere which is subdivided into two major types:

(A) Continen­tal ecosystems, and

(B) Oceanic or marine ecosystems.

The spatial scales may be brought down from a conti­nent to a single biotic life (plant or animal).

(3) On The Basis of Uses:

E.P. Odum (1959) has divided the world ecosystems on the basis of use of harvest methods and net primary production into two broad categories viz.:

(A) cultivated ecosystems and

(B) non-cultivated or natural ecosystems.

Cultivated eco­systems may be further subdivided into several catego­ries on the basis of cultivation of dominant crops e.g., wheat field ecosystem, rice field ecosystem, sugarcane field ecosystem, fodder field ecosystem etc. Similarly, non-cultivated ecosystems can be subdivided into forest ecosystem, tall grass ecosystem, short grass ecosystem, desert ecosystem, see-weeds ecosystem etc.

Essay # 4. Structure of Ecosystem :

Interaction of biotic and abiotic components results in physical structure that is the characteristic of each type of ecosystem.

The two important structural features of an ecosystem are:

(i) Species composition:

It is the identification and enumeration of plant and animal species of an ecosystem.

(ii) Stratification:

It is the vertical distribution of different species occupying different levels in ecosystem, e.g., trees occupy top vertical strata or layer of the forest, shrubs occupies the second and herbs and grasses occupy the bottom layers.

Essay # 5. Components of Ecosystem :

Ecosystem has two major components (Table 4.1):

I. Abiotic Component :

The abiotic components of an ecosystem comprises of all the non-living factors. It includes light; temperature; climate; pressure; all the inorganic substances (Phosphorus, Sulfur, Carbon, Nitrogen, Hydrogen etc.) present in water, soil and air involved in mate­rial cycles; organic compounds (proteins, car­bohydrates, lipids etc.) that link the abiotic and biotic components of the ecosystem.

II. Biotic Component :

The biotic factors include the living organisms of the environment. They form the trophic structure (trophe, nourishment) of any ecosystem, where living organisms are dis­tinguished on the basis of their nutritional relationships. From this standpoint, an ecosystem is two-layered:

(a) Autotrophic (self-nourishing) compo­nent:

This is the upper stratum and is often referred to as the “green belt”. It comprises of the chlorophyll-containing plants, photosynthetic bacteria, chemosynthetic microbes, etc. They use simple inorganic substances along with the fixation of light energy, for the buildup of complex organic substances and are thus known as producers.

(b) Heterotrophic (other-nourishing) com­ponent:

This is the lower stratum or ‘brown belt” of soils and sediments, decaying matter, roots etc. Here utilisation, rearrangement and decomposition of complex materials are the main features. As these organisms eat or con­sume other organisms, they are known as consumers.

The consumers are categorized into:

(i) Macro-consumers:

Macro-consumers or phagotrophs (phago, to eat) are chiefly ani­mals that consume other organisms or partic­ulate organic matter. These organisms are further divided into primary, secondary and tertiary consumers. Herbivores that depend upon plant food are known as primary con­sumers. Secondary and tertiary consumers, when present, are either carnivores or omnivores.

(ii) Micro-consumers:

Micro-consumers or saprotrophs (sapro, to decompose) or decomposers or osmotrophs (osmo, to pass through a membrane) are chiefly bacteria and fungi, that obtain their food (energy) either by break-down of dead tissues or by absorbing dissolved organic matter extruded by or extracted from plants or other orga­nisms.

The saprotrophs by their decomposing activity:

1. Release inorganic nutrients that can be used by the producers.

2. Provide food for the macro-consu­mers.

3. Excrete hormone-like substances that inhibit or stimulate other biotic components of the ecosystem.

Essay # 6. Properties of Ecosystem :

The following are the basic properties of an ecosystem:

(i) Ecosystem of any given space-time-unit rep­resents the sum of all living organisms and physical environment.

(ii) It is composed of three basic components viz., energy, biotic (biome) and abiotic (habitat) com­ponents.

(iii) It occupies certain well defined area on the earth-space ship (spatial dimension).

(iv) It is viewed in terms of time-unit (temporal dimension).

(v) There are complex sets of interactions be­tween biotic and abiotic components (including en­ergy component) on the one hand and between and among the organisms on the other hand.

(vi) It is an open system which is charaterised by continuous input and output of matter and energy.

(vii) It tends to be in relatively stable equilib­rium unless there is disturbance in one or more control­ling factors (limiting factors).

(viii) It is powered by energy of various sorts but the solar energy is the most significant.

(ix) It is a functional unit wherein the biotic components (plants, animals including man and mi­cro-organisms) and abiotic (physical environment) components (including energy component) are inti­mately related to each other through a series of large- scale cyclic mechanisms viz. energy flow, water cycle, biogeochemical cycle, mineral cycle, sediment cycle etc.

(x) Ecosystem has its own productivity which is the process of building organic matter based on the availability and amount of energy passing through the ecosystem. The productivity refers to the rate of growth of organic matter in an areal unit per time-unit.

(xi) Ecosystem has scale dimension i.e., it varies in spatial coverage. It may be as small as a cowshed, a tree or even a part of a tree having certain micro­organisms. The largest unit is the whole biosphere. Thus, the ecosystems may be divided into several orders on the basis of spatial dimension. It is clear that ‘the ecosystem is a convenient scale at which to con­sider plants and animals and their interaction because it is more localised and thus more specific than the biosphere in its entirety, and it includes a sufficient wide range of individual organisms to make regional generalizations feasible and valuable’.

(xii) There are different sequences of ecosystem development. The sequence of ecosystem develop­ment in terms of a particular suite of physical and chemical conditions is called as ‘sere’. A ‘sere’ repre­sents the development of a series of sequential successions starting from primary succession and cul­minating into the last succession in a sere as ‘climax’ or ‘climatic climax’ which is the most stable situation of an ecosystem. Thus, the study of ecosystem devel­opment may help in environmental planning from ecological point of view.

(xiii) Ecosystems are natural resource systems.

(xiv) Ecosystem concept is monistic in that envi­ronment (abiotic component), man, animals, plants and micro-organisms (biotic component) are put together in a single formwork so that it becomes easy to study the patterns of interactions among these components.

(xv) It is structured and well organised system.

(xvi) Ecosystem, for convenience, may be stud­ied as a ‘black box model’ by concentrating on the study of input variables and related output variables while the internal variables may be-ignored to reduce the complexity.

Essay # 7. Functioning of Ecosystems :

The functioning of an ecosystem depends on the pattern of energy flow because all aspects of living components of an ecosystem depend on energy flow which also helps in the distribution and circulation of organic and inorganic matter within the ecosystem. While the energy flow follows unidirectional path, the circulation of matter follows cyclic paths.

Here, only a brief discussion is presented so as to have a general idea of the functioning of ecosystem.

The energy pattern and flow are governed by first and second laws of thermodynamics. The first law states that in any system of constant mass, energy is neither created nor destroyed but it can be transformed from one type to another type (example, electrical energy can be converted into mechanical energy). In terms of ecosystem energy inflow or energy input into the system will be balanced by energy outflow from the system.

The second law of thermodynamics states that when work is done, energy is dissipated and the work is done when one form of energy is transformed into another form. In the context of ecosystem there is dissipation of energy from each transfer point (trophic level) and thus the dissipated or lost energy is not again available to the ecosystem.

Solar radiation is the basic input of energy entering the ecosystem. The radiant solar energy is received by the green plants. Most of the received solar energy is converted into heat energy and is lost from the ecosystem to the atmosphere through plant com­munities. Only a small proportion of radiant solar energy is used by plants to make food through the process of photosynthesis.

Thus, green plants trans­form a part of solar energy into food energy or chemi­cal energy which is used by the green plants to develop their tissues and thus is stored in the primary producers or autotrophs at the bottom of trophic levels. The chemical energy stored at trophic level one becomes the source of energy to the herbivorous animals at trophic level two of the food chain.

Some portion of energy is lost from trophic level one through respira­tion and some portion is transferred to plant-eating animals (herbivores) at trophic level two. The transfer of energy from trophic level one (green plants) to trophic level two (herbivores) is performed through the intake of organic tissues (which contain potential chemical energy) of green plants by the herbivores.

Thus, the chemical energy consumed by herbivores helps in the building of their own tissues and is stored at trophic level two and becomes the source of energy for carnivores at trophic level three. A substantial portion of chemical energy is released by carnivores at trophic level three through respiration because more energy is required for the work to be done by carni­vores at trophic level three (building of tissues, grow­ing, movement for grazing, catching prey, reproduc­tion of their off-springs etc.).

Some portion of potential chemical energy is transferred from trophic level three to trophic level four or top trophic level represented by omnivores (those animals which eat both plants and animals, man is the most important example of omni­vores). The animals at trophic level four mainly man also take energy from trophic levels one and two. Again some portion of energy is released by omnivores through respiration.

The remaining stored chemical energy in the plants and animals is transferred to decomposers when they (plants and animals) become dead. The decomposers release substantial amount of energy through respiration to the atmosphere. It may be pointed out that at each trophic level the available potential chemical energy to be transferred to the next higher trophic level decreases as more energy is re­leased through respiration to the atmosphere from each trophic level.

Respiration means chemical breakdown of food in the body and thus respiration releases heat which is transferred to the atmosphere. Based on above statement it may be summarized that apart from the energy released to the atmosphere through respiration, the remaining energy is transferred in successive con­sumer stages known as trophic (literally nourishment) levels from autotrophs to heterotrophs (meaning that they derive their nourishment from others). Ultimately all the energy is passed on the detrivores, or decomposer organisms’

The circulation of elements or matter or nutri­ents (organic and inorganic both) is made possible through energy flow. In other words, energy flow is the main driving force of nutrient circulation in the various biotic components of the ecosystem.

The organic and inorganic substances are moved reversibly in the bio­sphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere through various closed system of cycles in such a way that total mass of these substances remain almost the same and are always available to biotic communities.

‘In other words, the materials that make up the biosphere are distributed and redistributed by means of an infinite series of cyclic pathways motored by the continuous input of energy’ .

The materials or nutrients involved in the circulation within an ecosystem are grouped into three categories viz.:

(i) Macro-elements (which are required in large quantity by plants, e.g., oxygen, car­bon and hydrogen),

(ii) Minor or micro- elements (which are required by plants in relatively large amounts e.g., nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, calcium, mag­ nesium and sulphur) and

(iii) Trace elements (plants require very small amounts of about 100 elements, important being iron, zinc, manganese and cobalt).

Besides these inorganic chemical elements, there are organic materials as well which comprise:

(i) Decom­posed parts of either alive or dead plants and animals, and

(ii) Waste materials released by animals.

A few of the chemical elements act as organic catalysts or en­zymes because they help chemical reactions but sel­dom undergo chemical change themselves.

Such chemi­cal elements are hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen which belong to gaseous phase (that is they are found in the atmosphere in gaseous state-atmospheric reservoir or pool) and phosphate, calcium or sulphur which belong to sedimentary phase (that is they are found in weath­ered rocks and soils-sedimentary reservoirs or pool).

Thus, these elements, derived from atmospheric and sedimentary reservoirs, are pooled into soils from where these are taken by plants in solution form though the process of root osmosis. The plants then convert these elements into such forms which are easily used in the development of plant tissues and plant growth by biochemical processes (generally photosynthesis). Thus, the nutrients driven by energy flow pass into various components of biotic communities through the process known as ‘biogeochemical cycles’.

In a generalised form the biogeochemical cycles include the uptake of nutrients or inorganic elements by the plants through their roots in solution form from the soils where these inorganic elements, derived from sedimentary phase, are stored. The nutrients are transported to various trophic levels through energy flow. Here, the nutrients become organic matter and are stored in the biotic reservoirs of organic phase.

The organic elements of plants and animals are released in a variety of ways i.e.:

(i) Decomposition of leaf falls from the plants, dead plants and animals by decomposers and their conversion into soluble inor­ganic form.

(ii) Burning of vegetation by lightning, accidental forest fire or deliberate action of man. The portions of organic matter on burning are released to the atmosphere and these again fall down, under the impact of precipitation, on the ground and become soluble inorganic form of element to join soil storage, while some portions in the form of ashes are decom­posed by bacterial activity and join solid storage.

(iii) The waste materials released by animals are decom­posed by bacteria and find their way in soluble inor­ganic form to soil storage. Thus, biogeochemical cy­cles involve the movement and circulation of soluble inorganic substances (nutrients) derived from sedi­mentary and atmospheric phases of inorganic sub­stances (the two basic components of inorganic phase) through biotic phase and finally their return to inor­ganic state.

The study of biogeochemical cycles may be approached on two scales:

(i) The cycling of all the elements together, or

(ii) Cycling of individual elements e.g., carbon cycle, oxygen cycle, nitrogen cycle, phos­phorous cycle, sulphur cycle etc.

Besides, hydrological cycle and mineral cycles are also included in the broader biogeochemical cycles.

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Supporting sustainable development goals through regulation and maintenance ecosystem services.

1. Introduction

2. materials and methods, 4. discussion, 5. conclusions, author contributions, informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

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Falasca, F.; Marucci, A. Supporting Sustainable Development Goals through Regulation and Maintenance Ecosystem Services. Sustainability 2024 , 16 , 6744. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16166744

Falasca F, Marucci A. Supporting Sustainable Development Goals through Regulation and Maintenance Ecosystem Services. Sustainability . 2024; 16(16):6744. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16166744

Falasca, Federico, and Alessandro Marucci. 2024. "Supporting Sustainable Development Goals through Regulation and Maintenance Ecosystem Services" Sustainability 16, no. 16: 6744. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16166744

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Ecosystem Service Issues - Essay Example

• Subject: Biology
• Type: Essay
• Level: Undergraduate
• Pages: 1 (250 words)
• Downloads: 12
• Author: aufderhargreg

Extract of sample "Ecosystem Service Issues"

If we allow the natural resources to exhaust so will do the benefits. If we protect our ecosystem then we will reap greater benefits.

Examples of ecosystem services: - Providing pure air and water. - Preservation of soil which enhances its fertility. - Mitigate floods and droughts. - Decomposing of waste. - Dispersal of seeds. - Protection from harmful sun rays. - Providing stability in climatic conditions. - Protecting coastal shores and river channels from erosion. - Regulation of organisms that cause diseases. - Pollinating vegetation and crops.

Human societies highly depend upon ecosystem services for their day-to-day survival. Without benefits from the ecosystem human existence is impossible. So human societies have high regard for ecosystem services. They understand the value of oxygen, water, sunlight, vegetation, and living organisms as these very natural assets contribute to their existence.

Though human societies understand the ecosystem service they need to completely understand the importance of biodiversity and the linkage it has to the ecosystem services. Biodiversity is the close interaction of the various species of living beings to capture light, nutrients water to contribute to the well-being of society. Human society should understand how changes in biodiversity impact ecosystem services. Frankly speaking, these living organisms which interact with each other are the life support system of the human race. Unfortunately, humans do not have much idea about how much of the ecosystem services are utilized by the ever-exploding population. Human societies do have ideas and knowledge about the value of ecosystem services but they do not have deeper knowledge of its exploitation which is being happening currently on the planet.

When it comes to the action of human societies it is visible that the human beings are ignorantly reacting to nature. The main aspect is how they pollute the natural resources with no second thoughts. However, a small percentage of humans in the form of scientists, corporate bodies, and social activists work toward the protection of ecosystem services. From a scientific point, the scientist and ecologists are trying to protect the ecosystem from getting polluted and exhausted. From an ethical view, human beings have an obligation and responsibility to protect and save ecosystem services from diminishing. From an economic stand, economists and ecologists put a value on ecosystem service as it supports an economy. In total human societies understand the importance of ecosystem services but their action does not justify their knowledge.

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