One of the papers I had to read for my ecology class really caught my attention-
Ecosystem Services: Benefits Supplied to Human Societies by Natural Ecosystems . I thought that it gave a really good break down of the various ways that ecosystems provide services for humans. It's also written in a way so that someone without a scientific background can understand it.
There are so many ways that ecosystems do things that humans benefit from; this would turn into a really long post if I were to summarize all of the things talked about in the paper, so I'll give you a very general summary:
- ecosystem goods
- climate regulation
- mitigation of floods and droughts
- nutrient recycling
- pollination and seed dispersal
- natural pest control
- aesthetics!
Once you realize the nuances of ecosystem functioning and how important they are to humans, you begin to realize just how crucial it is to protect the integrity of an ecosystem, to ensure that we will be able to utilize these services in the future.
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