people and nature Flashcards
Natural Capital
stocks and assets from nature- things that we need from nature.
Ecosystem services
goods and services which humans derive from the stocks of the natural capital
Human capital
facilitates the flow of ecosystem services from natural capital
Ecosystem services
supporting services: (production of the atmosphere, creation of soils)
regulating services: (climate regulation, water purification, flood protection)
provisioning services: (production of food, fuel, fibre and water)
cultural services: (recreation and aesthetic values)
What is biodiversity? and How do we measure it?
biodiversity means diversity among biological organisms.
there is a lack of clarity over the spatial level at which biodiversity is considered.
saving one species will act as a surrogate for others/the wider landscape/ecosystem.
Issues
a functional group is a collection of organisms that fulfil certain roles (for example, predators/prey/producers).
in terms of conservation one strategy could be conserving pollinators in order to ensure crops don’t fail.
the difficulty with this proposal is the lack of theoretical understanding of species functions (one species may be crucial for one ecosystem function/service, but not for another)
Problem with biodiversity conservation
can be summarised using the Linnean and Wallacean shortfalls.
Linnean- various estimates of the number of spp range from 2- 100 million, approx. 1.4 million are identified.
we are technically left in the position of trying to save something that no one seems able to agree o what it is and even if we could agree, we’re not quite sure where it is.
Geodiversity
“variety within abiotic nature” - Gray, 2004, p5
diversity in and interactions between the forms and processes associated with: soils, morphology, hydrology, geology.
Cultural ecosystem services
“the non material benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, recreation and aesthetic experiences
