13. Ecosystems provide services

Question 1

What is the most valuable land per hectare (from most to least valuable)
Open Ocean, Coral Reef, Temperate grassland, Tropical rainforest, Swamp

Answer 1

Swamp
Coral reef
Tropical rainforest
Open ocean
Temperate grassland

Question 2

Why do swamps have a bad rep?

Answer 2

Biophilia? (negative view because we don’t live next to swamps) Agriculture? (We drain swamps all the time)
Malaria? (When they drained all the swamps, malaria disappeared)

Question 3

Name some ecosystem services.

Answer 3

1. nutrient cycling: N, P, & Other cycling - storage, cycling, acquisition
2. Cultural: art, spirituality, educational, scientific-non-commercial
3. Waste treatment: recovery of mobile nutrients, detoxification, pollution control
4. Disturbance regulation: storm protection, flood, control by vegetation
5. Water supply: storage & retention by watersheds, aquifers, reservoirs

Question 4

Fill in the blank:
Instead of thinking of nature a external to the economy, we should consider that nature ___ the economy; Our ___ comes from nature. That’s why we need green taxes to reduce ___.

Answer 4

subsidizes, wealth, externalities

Question 5

Who am I?

An ecosystem can only provide a fixed amount of service of each type.

Answer 5

Sustainability III

Question 6

According so sustainability III, the higher the percentage of the ecosystem protected, the ___ the biodiversity present, the ___ the value of ecosystem services.

Answer 6

higher, higher (See graph)

Question 7

Fill in the blank: Sustainability ecological definitions:

a) Live within the limits of the ___ ___.
b) Sustainability I: take only the ___ from wild populations, communities or ecosystems
c) Leave the ___ untouched
d) Evidence that we are beyond capacity is ___ (pretty clear/uncertain).
e) Planetary ____ (See image)

Answer 7

a) natural world
b) interest
c) capital
d) pretty clear
e) boundaries

Question 8

Fill in the blanks: Implications ecosystems provide services

a) Our wealth comes from ___
b) In addition to this traditional economy, functioning ecosystems provide services that ___ our economy.
c) Sustainability III: …
d) Without these services, our economy will ___
e) One of the most powerful anthropocentric arguments in your arsenal: …
f) Remember: anthropocentric arguments are fine if…

Answer 8

a) nature
b) subsidize
c) an ecosystem only produces so much of each service
d) fail
e) to protect ecosystems
f) the accounting is done properly