ECOLOGICAL SERVICES

Ecological Services

Ecological Services

Introduction

Environmental services are processes and functions provided by the Earth's myriad environments and ecosystem that sustain the human condition. The characterization, definition, mapping, and commercial valuation of environmental services, also commonly referred to as ecological services, constitutes a very active research area at the dawn of the 21st century.

Definition

Ecological services are a collective term to describe the range of valuable benefits that the natural environment provides for people, either directly or indirectly. Rudolf de Groot (2002) defined ecological services functions as “the capacity of natural processes and components to provide goods and services that satisfy human needs, directly ...