Ecosystem Services

Ecosystem Services

Middle School

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Learning Objectives

• Define ecosystem services and name the four main categories.

• Explain how biodiversity and healthy food webs make services more reliable.

• Give examples of ecosystem services in forests, wetlands, and oceans.

• Analyze the trade-offs that happen when human activities change ecosystems.

Key Vocabulary

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Ecosystem Services

The many benefits that nature provides to people, such as clean water and food.

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Provisioning

A category of ecosystem services that describes the material goods people get from nature.

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Regulating

A category of services that describes the processes that keep environmental conditions stable.

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Cultural

The non-material benefits that enrich life, such as recreation, inspiration, and sense of place.

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Supporting

The foundational ecosystem functions that make all other services possible for us.

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Biodiversity

The variety of life at all levels, from genes to species to entire habitats.

Key Vocabulary

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Keystone Species

A species that has a very large effect on its ecosystem despite its small population.

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Carbon Sequestration

The process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide in natural systems like forests and oceans.

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Trade-off

A situation where improving one ecosystem service results in the decline of another important service.

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Green Infrastructure

Using natural systems like parks to provide important ecosystem services within our cities and towns.

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What Are Ecosystem Services?

• An ecosystem is a community of living and nonliving things interacting together.

• The benefits that people get from ecosystems are called ecosystem services.

• These services are grouped into four types: Provisioning, Regulating, Cultural, and Supporting.

• These are essential for our health, communities, and economies.

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Multiple Choice

What is the definition of ecosystem services?

• The benefits that people get from ecosystems

• A community of living and nonliving things

• The four main types of environmental groups

• The nonliving parts of a specific habitat

Multiple Choice

What is the relationship between ecosystems and the four service types: Provisioning, Regulating, Cultural, and Supporting?

• They are the categories used to group the benefits provided by ecosystems.

• They are the different types of communities that exist in nature.

• They are the essential components required to build an ecosystem.

• They are the stages of development for a new ecosystem.

Multiple Choice

Based on the information provided, what conclusion can be drawn if a major ecosystem is damaged?

• The well-being of human communities would be at risk.

• The ecosystem would no longer contain nonliving things.

• It would have no effect on people's health or economies.

• The number of different ecosystem types would increase.

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Provisioning Services: Nature's Goods

• Provisioning services are tangible goods that come directly from ecosystems.

• Examples are food like fish, fresh water, and raw materials.

• Medicinal resources and energy sources like firewood are also key examples.

• Coral reefs and forests provide habitats supporting these goods for our use.

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Multiple Choice

Which statement best defines provisioning services?

• Tangible goods that come directly from ecosystems.

• Processes that regulate environmental conditions.

• Non-material benefits like recreation and beauty.

• Services created by human technology in nature.

Multiple Choice

What is the primary role of ecosystems like coral reefs and forests in providing nature's goods?

• They are the raw materials themselves.

• They provide the environment where resources like fish and wood can be found.

• They transform finished goods into natural resources.

• They are man-made structures that store fresh water.

Multiple Choice

If a large forest that provides raw materials and firewood to a community is cleared, what is the most likely consequence?

• The availability of firewood and raw materials would likely decrease.

• The amount of fresh water would increase due to less consumption by trees.

• The supply of fish from nearby lakes would automatically increase.

• There would be no significant impact on the goods available to people.

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Regulating Services: Nature's Life-Support

• Regulating services are nature's processes that keep environmental conditions stable and safe.

• ​Examples include water filtration, air purification, and pollination of important crops.

• Forests and oceans regulate climate by storing carbon from the atmosphere.

• Wetlands prevent floods, while mangroves protect coastlines from powerful storm waves.

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Multiple Choice

What is the primary function of nature's regulating services?

• To keep environmental conditions stable and safe

• To provide humans with resources like wood and food

• To create beautiful landscapes for people to enjoy

• To increase the number of animal species in an area

Multiple Choice

What do processes like air purification, crop pollination, and flood prevention have in common?

• They all help maintain a stable and safe environment.

• They are all processes that only occur in oceans.

• They all directly involve the storage of carbon.

• They are all related to the creation of new soil.

Multiple Choice

A coastal community is protected by a large mangrove forest. If this forest were removed to build houses, what would be the most likely environmental impact on the community?

• The community would be at a higher risk of damage from storm waves.

• The amount of carbon stored in the local atmosphere would increase.

• The amount of fresh water filtered for the community would decrease.

• The pollination of local crops would be significantly reduced.

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Cultural and Supporting Services

Cultural Services

• These are non-material benefits that improve our well-being through activities like recreation and connecting with nature.

• They provide inspiration for art and science, fostering creativity and a deeper understanding of the world.

• These services help create a sense of place and cultural identity tied to specific natural landscapes.

Supporting Services

• These foundational processes, like photosynthesis, are necessary for all other ecosystem services to exist and function.

• They involve the recycling of essential nutrients like nitrogen and carbon throughout the ecosystem to support life.

• These services also include the slow process of soil formation and providing habitats where species can live.

Multiple Choice

Which category of ecosystem services is defined by the non-material benefits people get from nature, such as recreation and artistic inspiration?

• Cultural services

• Supporting services

• Primary services

• Secondary services

Multiple Choice

What is the relationship between supporting services and cultural services?

• Supporting services are foundational processes that enable cultural services to exist.

• Cultural services are required for supporting services like photosynthesis to occur.

• Supporting services and cultural services are entirely separate and do not affect each other.

• Cultural services recycle essential nutrients for supporting services.

Multiple Choice

If an ecosystem's ability to form soil and recycle nutrients were to stop, what would be the most likely long-term impact on its cultural services?

• The landscape's ability to provide a sense of place and inspiration would be reduced.

• The area would become more popular for recreational activities.

• The need for nutrient recycling would decrease on its own.

• There would be no effect on the non-material benefits of the landscape.

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Biodiversity Makes Services Resilient

• Biodiversity is the variety of life, ensuring reliable and resilient ecosystem services.

• Greater species diversity creates redundancy, so other species can perform similar roles.

• Keystone species, like sea otters, have a very large effect on services.

• Diverse habitats spread risk, protecting ecosystems from disturbances like droughts or pests.

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Multiple Choice

What is the main role of biodiversity in an ecosystem?

• It ensures ecosystem services are reliable and resilient.

• It makes sure that keystone species are the most common.

• It prevents any changes from ever happening in an ecosystem.

• It increases the number of habitats available for one species.

Multiple Choice

How does having greater species diversity help an ecosystem handle the loss of one species?

• All other species will immediately go extinct.

• The ecosystem will rely only on keystone species.

• Other species can perform a similar role, creating redundancy.

• The number of different habitats will automatically increase.

Multiple Choice

A new pest attacks one specific type of plant. Which of the following is the most likely prediction for an ecosystem with diverse habitats compared to one with a single type of habitat?

• The forest with diverse habitats is more likely to survive because the risk from the pest is spread out.

• The forest with a single habitat is more likely to survive because it is less complex.

• Both forests will be equally affected because pests are a major disturbance.

• Only the survival of the keystone species matters in determining the outcome.

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Trade-Offs and Measuring Services

Ecosystem Trade-Offs

• ​Changing an ecosystem often involves trade-offs, where you gain one service but lose another important one.

• ​​For example, converting a wetland to a farm increases food production but reduces flood control.

• ​This means losing the regulating services of water filtration and flood protection provided by the wetland.

Measuring Value

• ​To make good decisions, we measure services using indicators like water quality and carbon storage.

• ​​We can describe value using replacement cost, avoided cost, or the market value of goods.

• ​It is important to remember that cultural and existence values also matter, even without a price.

Multiple Choice

What is the definition of a trade-off in the context of an ecosystem?

• Gaining one service from an ecosystem while losing another.

• Measuring the economic value of an ecosystem's resources.

• Using indicators like water quality to monitor an ecosystem.

• Increasing both food production and flood control at the same time.

Multiple Choice

Why is converting a wetland to a farm considered a trade-off?

• The cost to replace the wetland is too high for the community.

• The wetland's regulating services, such as water filtration and flood control, are lost.

• The market value of the crops is lower than the value of the wetland.

• The cultural value of the wetland is more important than the farm.

Multiple Choice

A town is deciding whether to preserve a forest or allow a factory to be built. Which statement best explains how they might decide to preserve the forest, even if the factory has a high market value?

• The avoided cost of flood damage and the forest's cultural value might be greater than the factory's market value.

• The only way to measure the forest's value is by its replacement cost.

• A trade-off is not possible because a factory does not provide an ecosystem service.

• Indicators like carbon storage cannot be used to measure the value of a forest.

Keeping Ecosystem Services Strong

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Protect Ecosystems

• We must conserve important natural areas like forests and coral reefs.

• This means keeping them healthy and in their original, natural state.

• It is also important to limit pollution in the environment.

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Restore Ecosystems

• We should actively work to fix ecosystems that have been damaged.

• This includes replanting native trees, flowers, and other important vegetation.

• We can create living shorelines using plants instead of concrete walls.

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Manage Wisely

• This means using our natural resources in a sustainable way.

• Practice sustainable forestry to maintain a wide variety of species.

• Use green infrastructure like rain gardens and green roofs in cities.

Multiple Choice

What is the main purpose of protecting, restoring, and wisely managing ecosystems?

• To ensure ecosystems remain healthy and sustainable for the future.

• To find new species of plants and animals in different habitats.

• To increase the amount of pollution in natural areas.

• To use up all of our natural resources as quickly as possible.

Multiple Choice

What is the key difference between the goal of protecting an ecosystem and the goal of restoring one?

• Protecting is about keeping healthy ecosystems in their original state, while restoring is about fixing ecosystems that are already damaged.

• Protecting involves using green infrastructure in cities, while restoring involves limiting pollution in the environment.

• Protecting focuses on replanting native trees, while restoring focuses on practicing sustainable forestry.

• Protecting and restoring are two words for the exact same process of conserving natural areas.

Multiple Choice

A coastal town's economy depends on its forest and shoreline. To be more sustainable, the town needs a plan to prevent shoreline erosion and allow for logging. Which plan best applies the principles of restoration and wise management?

• Build concrete walls along the coast and clear-cut the forest.

• Practice sustainable forestry and use living shorelines made of plants.

• Limit pollution but continue to over-harvest trees from the forest.

• Replant some trees but allow the shoreline to continue eroding.

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Common Misconceptions

Misconception	Correction
Ecosystem services are only things we can sell, like timber or fish.	Services also include benefits without a price, like climate regulation and flood control.
We can easily replace all of nature's services with our own technology.	Replacing natural services with technology is very expensive and often works less effectively.
Supporting services are benefits from nature that we get to use directly.	These services are foundational and make all other ecosystem services possible.
Maximizing one service, like food production, has no effect on other services.	There are almost always trade-offs; increasing one service can decrease others.

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Summary

• Ecosystem services are nature's benefits, grouped into four main categories.

• Biodiversity makes these essential services resilient, stable, and reliable.

• Altering land use can lead to trade-offs between different ecosystem services.

• We protect services through conservation, restoration, and sustainable resource management.

Poll

On a scale of 1-4, how confident are you about the concepts covered in today's review?

• 1 (Not confident at all)

• 2 (A little confident)

• 3 (Mostly confident)

• 4 (Very confident)