Provision of Ecosystem Services

Ecosystems maintain the quality and quantity of our water supplies (Photo: P Smith)

Plants are the basis of ecosystems. Ecosystems provide all kinds of services to human populations. They clean our air, provide pollinators for our crops, and help control disease. Ecosystems also play a major role in stabilising our climate and protecting us from floods and droughts.

Much work has been carried out on the role of ecosystems in maintaining the quality and quantity of our water supplies. In New York City steps were taken to protect the integrity of watersheds in the Catskills mountains in order to ensure the continued provision of clean drinking water to 9 million people. Protecting the ecosystem was shown to be far more effective than building and operating a water filtration plant. New York City avoided $6-8 billion in expenses by protecting its watersheds.

Likewise, it has been suggested that replacing crops of corn and soybean with natural and diverse habitat in the American Midwest, would improve water quality in the Mississippi by reducing chemicals in the watershed.

Ecosystems play a vital role in keeping populations of disease-causing organisms in check. Predators that keep populations of pathogens under control may be lost where habitats are destroyed or host plant species are lost.