Ecosystem network analysis
Introduction
ecosystem services, ecosystem services or environmental services are resources (goods and services) or processes of natural ecosystems that benefit human beings. They include products such as clean drinking water and processes such as the decomposition of waste. While ecologists and other scientists have discussed ecosystem services for decades, these services have become popular and their definitions were formalized by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) organized by the United Nations in 2005. A four-year study involving more than 1,300 scientists from around the world.[1] This grouped ecosystem services into four broad categories: provisioning (such as water and food production), regulation (climate and disease control), support (for nutrient cycles and crop pollination) and cultural (spiritual and recreational benefits).
The effects of global warming and other activities that destroy and damage ecosystems (such as deforestation) degrade environmental services.[2] There are many policy proposals to stop, mitigate or counteract these activities and their effects. Some proposals include assigning an economic value to ecosystem services, generally with a view to establishing some system of agreement between private actors and states to compensate those private landowners whose land provides ecosystem services. Examples include biodiversity markets") or payments for environmental services.
Economic sectors also benefit from environmental services, especially in agricultural activities, the forestry industry and fishing. These sectors are also the ones that have the most negative impacts on environmental services.[3].
History
The notion of human dependence on the Earth's ecosystems dates back to the beginning of the existence of the human species, since it benefited from the products of nature for its food and for its protection against the rigors of the climate. Recognition of how ecosystems can provide complex services to humans dates back to Plato (c. 400 BC), who understood that deforestation could lead to land erosion and drying up of springs.[4] However, modern ideas of ecosystem services probably began with Marsh in 1864,[5] when he challenged the idea that the Earth's natural resources are unlimited, pointing to changes in soil fertility in the Mediterranean. However, his observations and precautions went unnoticed at the time and it was not until the 1940s that the matter again attracted attention. During this era, the three main authors—Osborn,[6] Vogt,[7] and Leopold[8]—raised and promoted the recognition of human dependence on the environment, with the notion of "natural capital." In 1956, Sears[9] drew attention to the fundamental role of ecosystems in processing waste and recycling nutrients. A book on environmental science[10] drew attention to "the most subtle and dangerous threat to man's existence... the potential destruction, by man's own activities, of the ecological systems on which the human species depends." The term "environmental services" was eventually introduced in a report on the Critical Environmental Issues Study,[11] which mentioned services such as insect pollination, fisheries, climate regulation, and flood control. In the following years, some variations of the term were used, but over time the term "ecosystem services" became the standard definition for scientific literature.[12] Modern extensions of the concept of ecosystem services include socioeconomic and conservation objectives that will be discussed below. For a more complete history of the concepts and terminology of ecosystem services, see Daily (1997).[4].