Ecosystem Services

When drinking mountain water, or while eating wild blueberries, you probably don't think about how these things came about. Actually, a natural ecosystem is usually responsible for the water you drink or food you eat. Ecosystems provide "ecosystem services" that are the main cause of agricultural growth and many other processes that benefit humans.

Each ecosystem provides unique services to the environments in their area. Without a properly functioning ecosystem, some environmental processes necessary for the continuation of plant and animal life in each ecosystem would be impossible. Without the services that an ecosystem provides, it would be nearly impossible for a life cycle to function. If ecosystems are so necessary, then what are some ecosystem services that ecosystems provide? These services are what the ecosystem does in order to give humans resources, such as clean water and air, habits for fish, and other such services. An ecosystem can aide in the process for moderation of weather, pollinate vegetation and crops, fertilize soil, protect coasts from erosion, help stabilize climates, detoxify waste, move nutrients, scatter seeds from one place to another, and many more. As you can see, these services that each ecosystem provides for the world are vital to the survival of plants and animals everywhere, and consequently, humans as well.

When ecosystems, such as ocean ecosystems, a desert ecosystem, a natural ecosystem, or marine ecosystems are aggravated, then it would not be possible for life as we know it to function. One of the greatest factors in the destruction of ecosystems is humans. Things such as urban sprawl, deforestation, pesticide and toxic chemical wastelands, over harvesting of sea life in freshwater ecosystems and ocean ecosystems and pollution of the life around humans, all contribute to the death of ecosystem services. It has become very important to try and rebuild the lost ecosystems around the world. For example, without proper ecosystem functions, it would be much harder to make medicines because many of them have plant bases. Pollination would also be impossible without bees and other insects to pollinate plants. For these reasons and more, it is important to safeguard the ecosystems of the world.

There are a lot of reasons to keep ecosystem services running smoothly. Not the least of these is the fact that humans would probably die out without natural ecosystems to keep nature in order. We should remember how important ecosystems are to our world. It's not like we all have somewhere else to go if things don't work out here on earth.