GS 104 week 4 ecological services

Ecological Services

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Ecological Services

Ecological services are the benefits that humans obtain from ecosystems. An ecosystem is the fundamental unit in ecology, comprising of the living organisms and the nonliving elements that interact in a defined region or location. (Miller, 2008)Ecological services are therefore the benefits that human beings attain from the interaction of living and non-living elements located in a certain region. This concept is also referred to as ecosystem services.

The concept of ecological services was first coined by Costanza et al and was first used in late 1960’s.The services encompass the conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems and the species that comprise them sustain and are able to fulfill human life. These are able to maintain biodiversity and the production of ecosystem goods such as sea food, biomass fuels, natural fiber and many pharmaceuticals. (Bouma et al, 2015)Ecological services such as waste elimination and goods such as food are examples of services that aid the human population to thrive and live peacefully in clean and safe environment. The ecological services have since been categorized into different entities, including the following:

Provisioning services are the products that are obtained from the ecosystem. There are several. Examples of which include food and fiber from plants, animals, microbes as well as materials such as wood and silk, fuel from wood, dung and other energy sources, and ornamental resources which are the animal products such as hides, skins, cowrie shells, hooves that humans use for their ornamental beautification. Also, natural medicines and pharmaceuticals are derived from the ecosystem. Most medications are derived directly or indirectly from plants, there may be additives which may or may not be added to improve on their efficacy, however, the fact remains that they are obtained from the ecosystem.

These are the benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes, which include: Air quality maintenance, climate regulation and erosion control, and water regulation, purification and waste treatment. Also, regulation of human diseases as a result of changes in ecosystems which can directly change the abundance of pathogens such as cholera and can influence the presence of disease vectors such as mosquitoes, sandflies and tsetse flies among others. Lastly, pollination may be affected by changes in the ecosystem by affecting the distribution, abundance and presence of active pollinators such as bees.

These are nonmaterial services humans obtain from the ecosystem that include Recreation and ecotourism which portrays the ecosystem as an avenue for spending leisure time. Cultural heritages and values such as sacred places as mountains, also, the aesthetic value of the ecosystem cannot be underestimated. Various aspects of the ecosystem bring out profound beauty that many humans take pride in. lastly, the ecosystem is a source of inspiration in various ways. Ecosystems have provided inspiration for the national flag of a region, architecture and artistic designs. These are the services that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services. Their impacts are usually indirect and may occur over a very long duration of time. A vivid example is the production of oxygen gas from photosynthesis. Others include water cycling, provisioning of habitats for both humans and animals and formation of soil and soil retention.

This is, by and large the most important ecological service offered by rivers. This is mainly because, firstly, water is life. Water is an important component of the body’s metabolism and thus a healthy living. Next, there are animals that live in water and thus rivers provide a habitat. Thirdly, purification of water, done by rivers aids in removal of potential disease carriers and thus transmission of diseases. It has also been documented in literature that areas with a lot of water supply are less prone to water borne infection since the large amount of water present is protective and prevents excessive recycling of water which in most cases aids in disease transmission.

This is another important ecological service provide by rivers. Sufficient provision of water to wetlands facilitates successful farming of both food and cash crops which. This is a source of both food and income generated from sale of these crops. It also then offers a source of employment to farm laborers and therefore improves the economy of a region. Also, this facilitates completion of the ecological food chain thus encourages the thriving of both animals and humans.This service is already in the decline as of today. Disposal of waste material from homes and industries in the rivers causes massive pollution and limits the purification of water by rivers as the water gets polluted by waste polythene bags, oil spillage, and sewage among others. This renders the purification service null. (Martin-Ortega et al, 2015).

The result of the decline has led to increased incidences of waterborne diseases such as cholera, and to the death of the animals that inhabit rivers such as fish. It also propagates the growth of disease transmitting vectors such as mosquitoes.Water pollution especially by oil leads to decreased supply of oxygen from the air into the water and this thus leads to suffocation and death of water animals. Another result of the decline of this service is the disruption of the ecological food chain and thus there will be an imbalance in the environment. Thirdly, this could lead to the migration of these animals to other water bodies that are more suitable for their survival, and this then means a loss to us who love to watch our water animals, in which we take so much pride in.

In conclusion Ecological services are very important to both humans and animals alike. We should therefore ensure the services are maintained by supporting the coexistence of plants and animals in our surrounding. This would propagate more survival and facilitate more goods and service provision from the ecosystem.

References

Bouma. A.J, J.H.Pieter,(2015) Ecosystem Services: From Concept to Practice: Cambridge

University Press

G. Miller (2008). Essentials of Ecology: Cengage Learning

Martin-Ortega J,Ferrier R.C, Gordon J.I, Khan S(2015) Water Ecosystem Services :Cambridge

University Press