Ecosystem Services

An ecosystem is a functional unit that interacts with plant, animal, and microorganism communities and the nonliving environment. Humans are an integral part of ecosystems. Ecosystems provide a variety of goods and services upon which people depend. Ecosystem goods include the "tangible, material products" of ecosystem processes. The usefulness of Biodiversity can be defined through Ecosystem Services. Ecosystem services are defined as “the benefits provided by ecosystems to humans”. Ecosystem services are the direct and indirect contributions of ecosystems to human well-being. Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems. Biodiversity is the source of many ecosystem goods, such as food and genetic resources, and changes in biodiversity can influence the supply of ecosystem services. Ecosystem services can be divided into four categories: provisioning services, regulating services, cultural services and supporting services. As people seek multiple services from ecosystems, conservation of the condition of Ecosystem in relation to its ability to provide the services is desired. Thus, the sustainable use of ecosystem services should be understood for the management and yield of an individual resource or ecosystem services. This process of maintenance is termed as Ecosystem management. It is a process that aims to conserve major ecological services and restore natural resources while meeting the socioeconomic, political and cultural and needs of current and future generations. This ecosystem management is mainly concerned for efficient maintenance, and ethical use of natural resources.

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