Editing Ecosystem (section)

===Ecosystem goods and services===
[[File:Avalanche Lake, looking south.jpg|thumb|The [[High Peaks Wilderness Area]] in the {{convert|6000000|acre|adj=on}} [[Adirondack Park]] is an example of a diverse ecosystem.]]
{{Main|Ecosystem services|Ecological goods and services}}
{{See also|Ecosystem valuation|Ecological yield}}
Ecosystems provide a variety of goods and services upon which people depend.<ref name="Christensen-1996">{{cite journal |last1=Christensen |first1=Norman L. |first2=Ann M. |last2=Bartuska |first3=James H. |last3=Brown |first4=Stephen |last4=Carpenter |first5=Carla |last5=D'Antonio |first6=Robert |last6=Francis |first7=Jerry F. |last7=Franklin |first8=James A. |last8=MacMahon |first9=Reed F. |last9=Noss |first10=David J. |last10=Parsons |first11=Charles H. |last11=Peterson |first12=Monica G. |last12=Turner |first13=Robert G. |last13=Woodmansee |year=1996|title=The Report of the Ecological Society of America Committee on the Scientific Basis for Ecosystem Management|journal=Ecological Applications|volume=6|issue=3|pages=665–691|doi=10.2307/2269460|citeseerx=10.1.1.404.4909 |jstor=2269460 |bibcode=1996EcoAp...6..665C |s2cid=53461068 }}</ref> Ecosystem goods include the "tangible, material products" of ecosystem processes such as water, food, fuel, construction material, and [[medicinal plant]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ecosystem Goods and Services|url=https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/info/pubs/docs/ecosystem.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091110215725/http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/info/pubs/docs/ecosystem.pdf |archive-date=2009-11-10 }}</ref><ref name="Brown-2007">{{cite journal|last1=Brown|first1=Thomas C.|author2=John C. Bergstrom|author3=John B. Loomis|year=2007|title=Defining, valuing and providing ecosystem goods and services|url=http://lawlibrary.unm.edu/nrj/47/2/04_brown_goods.pdf|journal=Natural Resources Journal|volume=47|issue=2|pages=329–376|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525213257/http://lawlibrary.unm.edu/nrj/47/2/04_brown_goods.pdf|archive-date=2013-05-25}}</ref> They also include less tangible items like [[tourism]] and recreation, and genes from wild plants and animals that can be used to improve domestic species.<ref name="Christensen-1996"/>

[[Ecosystem services]], on the other hand, are generally "improvements in the condition or location of things of value".<ref name="Brown-2007" /> These include things like the maintenance of hydrological cycles, cleaning air and water, the maintenance of oxygen in the atmosphere, crop [[pollination]] and even things like beauty, inspiration and opportunities for research.<ref name="Christensen-1996" /> While material from the ecosystem had traditionally been recognized as being the basis for things of economic value, ecosystem services tend to be taken for granted.<ref name="Brown-2007" />

The ''[[Millennium Ecosystem Assessment]]'' is an international synthesis by over 1000 of the world's leading biological scientists that analyzes the state of the Earth's ecosystems and provides summaries and guidelines for decision-makers. The report identified four major categories of ecosystem services: provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting services.<ref name="Millennium Ecosystem Assessment-2005">{{Cite web|date=2005|title=Millennium Ecosystem Assessment|url=https://www.millenniumassessment.org/en/index.html|url-status=live|access-date=10 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524043553/http://www.millenniumassessment.org/en/index.html |archive-date=2011-05-24 }}</ref> It concludes that human activity is having a significant and escalating impact on the biodiversity of the world ecosystems, reducing both their [[Resilience (ecology)|resilience]] and [[biocapacity]]. The report refers to natural systems as humanity's "life-support system", providing essential ecosystem services. The assessment measures 24 ecosystem services and concludes that only four have shown improvement over the last 50 years, 15 are in serious decline, and five are in a precarious condition.<ref name="Millennium Ecosystem Assessment-2005" />{{rp|6–19}}

The [[Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]] (IPBES) is an intergovernmental organization established to improve the interface between science and policy on issues of [[biodiversity]] and ecosystem services.<ref>{{cite web|author=<!--Not stated-->|title=IPBES|url=https://www.ipbes.net|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627065419/https://www.ipbes.net/|archive-date=27 June 2019|access-date=28 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Díaz |first1=Sandra |last2=Demissew |first2=Sebsebe |last3=Carabias |first3=Julia |last4=Joly |first4=Carlos |last5=Lonsdale |first5=Mark |last6=Ash |first6=Neville |last7=Larigauderie |first7=Anne |last8=Adhikari |first8=Jay Ram |last9=Arico |first9=Salvatore |last10=Báldi |first10=András |last11=Bartuska |first11=Ann |date=2015 |title=The IPBES Conceptual Framework — connecting nature and people |journal=Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability |language=en |volume=14 |pages=1–16 |bibcode=2015COES...14....1D |doi=10.1016/j.cosust.2014.11.002 |s2cid=14000233 |doi-access=free |hdl-access=free |hdl=11336/56765}}</ref> It is intended to serve a similar role to the [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]].<ref>{{cite web|date=January 20, 2012|title=Biodiversity crisis is worse than climate change, experts say|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120120010357.htm|access-date=September 11, 2019|website=[[ScienceDaily]]|archive-date=December 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211229035952/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120120010357.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> 

Ecosystem services are limited and also threatened by human activities.<ref name="Ceccato-2014">{{cite journal |last1=Ceccato |first1=Pietro |last2=Fernandes |first2=Katia |last3=Ruiz |first3=Daniel |last4=Allis |first4=Erica |date=17 June 2014 |title=Climate and environmental monitoring for decision making |journal=Earth Perspectives |volume=1 |issue=1 |page=16 |doi=10.1186/2194-6434-1-16 |bibcode=2014EarP....1...16C |s2cid=46200068 |doi-access=free }}</ref> To help inform decision-makers, many ecosystem services are being assigned economic values, often based on the cost of replacement with anthropogenic alternatives. The ongoing challenge of prescribing economic value to nature, for example through [[biodiversity banking]], is prompting transdisciplinary shifts in how we recognize and manage the environment, [[social responsibility]], business opportunities, and our future as a species.<ref name="Ceccato-2014" />