Transcription of Ecosystem functions and services
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CHAPTER 3 Ecosystem functions and servicesCagan H. SekerciogluIn our increasingly technological society, peoplegive little thought to how dependent they are onthe proper functioning of ecosystems and thecrucial services for humanity thatflow fromthem. Ecosystem services are the conditionsand processes through which natural ecosystems,and the species that make them up, sustain andfulfill human life (Daily 1997); in other words, the set of Ecosystem functions that are useful tohumans (Kremen 2005). Although people havebeen long aware that natural ecosystems helpsupport human societies, the explicit recognitionof Ecosystem services is relatively recent(Ehrlich and Ehrlich 1981a; Mooney and Ehrlich1997).Since the entire planet is a vast network ofintegrated ecosystems, Ecosystem services rangefrom global to microscopic in scale (Table ;Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005a).
desalination (removing the salt from seawater) would cost US$3 000 billion per year (Postel and Carpenter 1997). Quantity,quality,location,andtimingofwater provision determine the scale and impact of hydrologic services (Brauman et al. 2007). These attributes can make the difference between water asa blessing (e.g.drinking water) ora curse (e.g.
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