2.2 vocab

• Ecosystem services: goods that come from natural resources or services/functions that ecosystems carry out that have measurable economic/financial value to humans
• Human activities disrupt the ability of ecosystems to function decreasing the value of the ecosystem's services
• Provisioning services: any type of benefit to people that can be extracted from nature

  • food, drinking water, timber, natural gas, plants that can be made into clothes/medicine
• regulating services: benefit provided by ecosystem processes that moderate natural phenomena

  • regulation of air/water quality
• supporting services: ecosystems themselves could not be sustained without the consistency of underlying natural processes; without supporting services, provisioning, cultural, and regulating services would not exist

  • photosynthesis, nutrient cycling, the creation of soil, and water cycling
• cultural services: non-material benefit that contributes to the development and cultural advancement of people