These include provisioning services such as food and water; regulating
services such as flood and disease control; cultural services such as spiritual,
recreational, and cultural benefits; and supporting services such as nutrient
cycling that maintain the conditions for life on Earth.
Provisioning services are: The products obtained from ecosystems, including,
for example, genetic resources, food and fiber, and fresh water.
Regulating services are: The benefits obtained from the regulation of
ecosystem processes, including, for example, the regulation of climate, water,
and some human diseases.
Cultural services are: The non-material benefits people obtain from ecosystems
through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, and
aesthetic experience, including, e.g., knowledge systems, social relations, and
aesthetic values.
Supporting services are: Ecosystem services that are necessary for the
production of all other ecosystem services. Some examples include biomass
production, production of atmospheric oxygen, soil formation and retention,
nutrient cycling, water cycling, and provisioning of habitat.
