Abstract
Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems. These include provisioning services, such as food and water; regulating services, such as regulation of floods, drought, and disease; supporting services, such as soil formation and nutrient cycling; and cultural services, such as recreational, spiritual, and other nonmaterial benefits. These benefits may or may not be fully perceived by people. Most are outside the market exchange system and are best thought of and managed as public goods (the commons). Ecosystems are experiencing serious degradation in regard to their capability of providing services. At the same time, the demand for ecosystem services is rapidly increasing as populations and standards of living increase.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Sustainability Science: The emerging paradigm and the urban environment |
| Editors | Weinstein M., Turner R. E. |
| Place of Publication | New York |
| Publisher | Springer New York LLC |
| Pages | 99-109 |
| Edition | 1st |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781461431879 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2012 |