ECOSYSTEMECOSYSTEM’’S S SERVICESSERVICES

Dr. JDr. Jāānis Zanis Za ļļoksnisoksnis

The main function of the ecosystem is to safeguard energy flow in-between biotic elements, as well as matter flow in-between biotic and abiotic elements.

Humans can interrupt an unsuccessful experiment of an expensive biospheremodule at any time should a life-threatening situat ion arise, but it will be impossible to abandon a degraded biosphere.

If ecosystems to stop provide its services for manki nd, humanity will be doomed.

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Abiotic elementsLiving organisms

Bacterium'sAir

Plants AnimalsFungi MineralsWater

ECOSYSTEMECOSYSTEM

ECOSYSTEM SERVICESECOSYSTEM SERVICES

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ECOSYSTEM SERVICESECOSYSTEM SERVICES

Provisioning services

Regulation services

Supporting services

Self-preserving services

Cultural services

Water

Food

Decomposition of the remains of organic matter

Runoff and regulation microclimate

CLASSIFICATION OF THE ECOSYSTEM SERVICESCLASSIFICATION OF THE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

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Ecosystem services are directly related to man’s ev eryday life, while ensuring self-preservation of the system is o nly indirectly

connected with the services provided for man

Air

Water

The selfThe self --preservation capacity of ecosystems is not preservation capacity of ecosystems is not inexhaustibleinexhaustible !!

Man has not been careful to choose the means and has obtained from ecosystems

more than they can yield. It is amazing that even under such

conditions, ecosystems strive to adapt, restructure and preserve themselves,

and we continue to receive their services

Food

Living

environment

PROVISIONING SERVICESPROVISIONING SERVICES

WATERWATER

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Over the last 40 years human consumption of

water has increased twofold. Today over a billion of the Earth’s human population have no access to drinking

water free from health hazards, but 40% cannot enjoy living conditions

that meet sanitary criteria.

For humans, water is the most important substance. All living organisms basically consist of water, bu t some jellyfish contain

as much as 98% of water.The human body contains 55–60% of water.

Humans need an average consumption of two litres of water per day but can survive seven days without water for the

utmost. Death of thirst may occur in a desert just like in the ocean, which means that both the amount and the quality of

water are of importance.

WATERWATER

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Many countries of the world have introduced water-saving programmes. The USA government spends 13 billion dollars on clean water resources each year.

Humanity finds itself in such a dramatic situation only because it has inconsiderately refused ecosystem services that off er to purify water for free.

Pro

cen

ti

World regions that have access to safe drinking wat er and living conditions that meet sanitary criteria

WWATERATER DEMAND AND SUPPLY IN THE WORLDDEMAND AND SUPPLY IN THE WORLD

Precipit

ation

PrecipitationSurface

runoff

Infiltration

Surface runoff

Infiltration

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Ecosystems serve as natural water purification filters. The main precondition for successful water purification is slowing down the flow rate because biological purification processes take

time. The slower the water flow, the greater the possibility that water will get purified by biological processes.

In a human-transformed environment,surface runoff predominates while

biological self-purification is weak, and there is a high risk of flood.

In natural environment the water flow rate is low, and intensive processes of biological self-purification as well as water infiltration into

subterranean strata take place. Such circumstances diminish the probability of flood.

WATER FLOWS IN NATUREWATER FLOWS IN NATURE

WATER QUALITYWATER QUALITY

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The major purifiers of water are forests and wetlands , which filter water through foliage, moss and soil before it penetrates subterranean waters and flows into rivers.

Many chemical substances dissolve wellin water. Even those that do not dissolve

in water are still found in it as tiny particles –sediment or microscopic drops. Water

also is an environment for the life of various microorganisms – viruses, bacteria, parasitic

monads and worms.

Water, in fact, is never absolutely clean. Rain water, too, contains chemical impurities, sometimes even microorganisms that air

currents have lifted from the ground to the atmosphere. Spring water, which is usually considered to be the standard of clean water, is actually not

clean as it contains various salts that have dissolved in water as it flows through subterranean rocks.

SELFSELF--PURIFICATION OF WATERPURIFICATION OF WATER

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Only three species – rice, corn and wheat – provide nearly 60% of the

food calories consumed by the mankind.

Certain foodstuffs man gets from ecosystems directly, for example, fish.

This is the main source of animal protein for around 20% of population in

Africa and Asia.

Ecosystem services for food supply are effectuated in the ecological food chain. The starting point is the green plants

that produce organic substances in the process of photosynthesis.

Plants get the necessary energy from the Sun and transform it into the molecules of organic substances which are mostly

strung of carbon atoms of carbon dioxide (CO2), adding many other chemical elements from soil.

10 000-50 000 edible

There are 250000 -

300000 known species

of plants

150-200 used

as food

In the formation of the product man interacts with ecosystem processes with the aim to intensify them so that the natural yield – biomass, grain or milk – is as high as possible.This is achieved by changing the environmental fact ors that determine the direction and

intensity of ecological processes – by supplying nut rients with mineral fertilizers, by selecting highly productive species of plants and c a le, and with the help of other measures.

FOODFOOD

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To produce a nutrition unit from the plant kingdom, ecosystem consumes ten times less energy on average in compari son with the

production of a nutrition unit from the animal kingd om.

To produce more food, man constantly strives to imp rove ecosystem services. One of the ways to boost yield capacity is selectio n of new species of plants and livestock.

Ecosystems had “donated” species of wild plants and animals that over thousands of years were turned into cultivated plants and domestic animals.

Among the flaws of modern intensive farming is unification of the genetic material of plants when large areas are planted with only one species. This approach poses a catastrophic economic

hazard in the case of a massive spread of diseases of cultivated plants.

FOOD PRODUCTIONFOOD PRODUCTION

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Since the 17th century, when paper was still produc ed from flax fibre, the paper industry has developed extremely rapidly. The world’s paper industry uses different kinds of

wood: spruce, pine, aspen, birch, larch and even eu calyptus.

24 medium-sized trees

To produce a ton of high-quality writing paper, it is necessary to cut 24 medium-sized trees

To print the books that are annually sold in the

USA, about 30 million trees must be cut.

Unfortunately, the resource-saving paper industry does not occupy the

dominating position in the world. Only 8% of all paper is produced

from other raw materials thantimber.

Of 335 million tons of the produced world paper, 70% still come from

natural forests.

TIMBERTIMBER

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Tropical forests suffer most as they are the only ecosystems that provide mahogany, rosewood and other woods of rare species for the production of high-class furniture.In the previous century, to pay off the country’s debt, Brazil sold huge tropical forest

territories to transnational logging companies, which cleared them mercilessly. Since mid-20th century already 1/5 of tropical forests have been destroyed.

The services of natural forests to timber industry have turned out to be insufficient. The industry’s demand for timber has called forth the necessity to set up plantations of trees to relieve forest ecosystems from

exploiting them for timber harvesting.Since the 1980s the total area of the world’s tree plantations has increased tenfold and constitutes nearly

200 million hectares .

USE OF TIMBERUSE OF TIMBER

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TIMBER AND TIMBERTIMBER AND TIMBER--FRAME (halfFRAME (half--timbering) timbering)

BUILDINGSBUILDINGS

Red brick timber frame building in Poznan, Poland

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Silkworms and their cocoons from which the silk thr ead can be removed.

Ecosystems have taken care that clothing not only would protect humans from cold and heat but that it should also be pretty.

The ancient hunter’s clothing was made of pelt; the ancient cattle breederdid not necessarily need to slaughter animals as he could make clothing of

sheep’s wool, while the ancient crop grower enjoyed an even greater choiceoffered by the plant kingdom – natural plant fibres – flax and cotton.

To produce fabric, people in China even involved insects – silkworms.

TEXTILE FIBRESTEXTILE FIBRES

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Cotton is the most extensively cultivated textile f ibre culture.

Cotton is a typical fibre crop in southern countries, cultivated for several millennia.Cotton fabric came to Europe in the Middle Ages. Cultivating cotton by using labour force from colonies proved to be cheap, and this textile fibre quickly inundated the world market and drove back both wool and flax. Today cotton accounts for 40 % of all natural textile fibres in the world.

Over the last 40 years, the volume of cotton production has doubled.

Cotton is grown on irrigated lands. The need to sup ply co on plantations with huge amounts of water and the use of chemical means for pest control in t hese regions have caused ecological problems:

degradation of soil and environmental pollution. Co untries in Central Asia, which use the waters of th e Amu Darya and the Syr Darya to irrigate co on planta tions, have brought the Aral Sea to extinction,

with just several detached aquatoria remains.

Cotton Cotton aas a typical fibre crops a typical fibre crop

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In general, about 35 000 species of plants are used in medicine in the world. Most of the world’s medicines, about 80%, are substances produced by living organisms –

microorganisms, plants and animals. The Amazonian indigenous tribes use at least 1 300 species of plants for curative purposes.

Of 150 prescription medicines used in the USA 118 are of natural origin, of them 74% are of plant origin, 18% of fungal origin, 5% of bacterial origin and 3% of animal origin.

Microorganisms Plants Animals

Antibiotics Plant’s extracts Snake’s venom

MEDICAMENTSMEDICAMENTS

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The curative properties of medicinal plants can be explained by the organic substances that they contain, including alkaloids, glycosides, vitamins and essential oils. Many

invaluable medicines, for example, morphine, codeine, quinine and others, are derived from medicinal plants. There is hardly a person who would never have had camomile,

linden, meadowsweet or milfoil medicinal tea.

Many plants, for example, garlic, onion, eucalyptus leaves, aloe

and others, contain inhibitors of microorganisms – phytoncides.

There are substances in many plants that enhance the immunity of the organism and slow

down the ageing processes of cells, for example, the legendary root of ginseng.

Aloe Eucalyptus leaves Root of ginseng Gingko leaves

Natural medicaments Natural medicaments –– products of floraproducts of flora

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Ecosystems hold huge, so far unidentified medicament reserves. Up to now the chemical composition of about 1% of the species of tropical forest plants has

been identified. A species of periwinkle (kapmirte), indigenous to Madagascar, is the source of

80 alkaloids used to treat leukaemia.

Medicinal plants in Latvia are cultivated and harvested from wild areas.

Kumelīte (camomile) Kli ņģerīte (marigold) Liepu ziedi(lime-tree blooms)

Parastais pelašķis (common yarrow)

THE MEDICINAL PLANTSTHE MEDICINAL PLANTS

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Since prehistoric times, agriculture has been the b asis of food production. Ancient civilizations formed in the areas that nature itsel f had endowed

with fertile soil – in river valleys and forest-rich lands. Formation of soil is a process that takes hundreds, even thousands of year s. It starts on bare lifeless rocks –

bedrock, sometimes on marsh deposits. Bedrock can c onstitute, for example, sand, clay, gravel or even hard granite, as it is ofen th e case in Northern Europe.

Chemical elements of

the soil

N, P, K,

Ca, S, Mg

Fe, Mn, Cu,

Zn, Mo, Co,

Ni, Cr, V, Cl,

B, I, F

Macro-

elements

Micro-

elements

The properties and fertility of soil are largely determined by the chemical composition of the bedrock and the size of the particles.

SOILSOIL

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In wet climate rainwater washes the soluble substances from the surface of

soil deeper down into groundwater.

In dry climate , as the surface of soil dries, groundwater climbs up

the tiny capillary cracks in soil and evaporates, leaving the water-dissolved salts on the surface.

Climate plays a significant role in the formation o f soil.

Ploughing and turning over the upper layer of soil spells

disaster for the ecosystem.

SOILSOIL AND CLIMATEAND CLIMATE

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A method of growing plants without soil was worked out – hydroponics (Greek hydros – ‘water’, ponos – ‘labour’). Hydroponics is growing plants in a nutrient-rich water solution. To keep plants vertical, the hard substrate, such as plastic

or ceramic granules or plates, is used for plants to root.

ALTERNATIVE METHODSALTERNATIVE METHODS

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Turnover of

the CO2

Turnover of

nitrogen

compounds Regulation

of the

micro-

climate

Regulation

of the water

flowConcentration

of the oxygen

in air

REGULATION OF ENVIRONMENTALREGULATION OF ENVIRONMENTALPARAMETERSPARAMETERS

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Air comprises 21% oxygen (O 2). It is necessary to ensure respiration of all aer obic organisms on the Earth, including humans.

Deprived of oxygen, human brain cells usually die i n five minutes.The critical oxygen concentration in air for many a nimals and humans constitutes

14–15 %.

The seeming abundance of oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere is ensured by green plants in photosynthesis, including algae in the World Ocean.

CO2

H2O

oxygen

Macro- and

microelements

Photo-synthesis

Complex molecules oforganic substances

(sugars, starch)

THE AMOUNT OF OXYGEN IN AIRTHE AMOUNT OF OXYGEN IN AIR

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The US scientists have calculated that the country’ s suburban forests annually produce 67 million tons of oxygen, which satisfies the breathing needs of about

2/3 of the US inhabitants.In the major cities of Japan and the United Kingdom , there are oxygen bars with

oxygen vendors. A portion of clean air containing 40 % oxygen costs around 3 USD.

The average annual consumption of oxygen by a human being comprises 260 kilograms.

If we were to buy it in a shop like we buy drinking water, we would spend at least 30–

50 EUR per year on breathing.

Ecosystems provide this service withoutcharge, but man’s economic activities can facilitate or, quite the contrary, hamper this

function of the ecosystem.An oxygen bar in San Diego,

USA

OXYGEN IN AIROXYGEN IN AIR

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The main element in all organic substances is carbo n. Carbon dioxide is created as molecules of organic ma er split and C atoms com bine with oxygen.

The average proportion of carbon dioxide in atmospheric air amounts to 0.03%. However, in places of high concentration of respiring organisms, for example,in the upper layer of soil and the lower layers of the atmosphere, concentration

of CO2 can reach up to 0.5–4 %.

natural sources of carbon dioxide

fires caused by lightning

volcanic processes

respiration of living

organisms

decomposition of organic

matter (rotting and

fermentation)

THE CARBON CYCLETHE CARBON CYCLE

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The growth of the CO2 content in the atmosphere prevents the surface of the Earth from reflecting solar heat back to the cosmic space, just like the greenhouse glass prevents heat from escaping

out of the space under the glass. This has called forth global warming.

Aerobic organisms are sensitive to a heightened con tent of carbon dioxide in air. If the concentration of CO 2 is just 1%, human beings feel

considerable discomfort but, with the CO 2 level going over 10%, human beings die.

As climate grows warmer, the rate of the increase of CO2 content in the atmosphere

may be even faster because the millennia-old non-decomposed organic substances and bog

peat in arctic soils thaw and begin to decompose intensively. The warm season draws out and the breakdown of organic matter deposited in forest soils of the temperate zone also becomes faster.

1979.

2003.

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The amount of CO 2 in the atmosphere should be constantly on theincrease but since this gas is water-soluble and th us forms carbonic acid,

huge amounts of CO 2 are accumulated by the World Ocean where itreacts with calcium and forms a limestone deposit.

Carbon dioxide as a nutrient is of vital necessity for plants. They take it from the atmospheric air and by photosynthesis form organic substances from it.

Photosynthesis can be considered an opposite process to respiration –individual C atoms are linked in

chains, molecules of organic matter, and each chemical bond is charged with a tiny part of solar energy. This energy and organic substances are available to herbivores who cannot

use solar energy directly.

Solar

energy

CO2

O2

H2O

Photosynthesis

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE COSIGNIFICANCE OF THE CO22

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On a hot summer day nothing can provide a better shelter from the hot sun than the foliage of a big tree. If there are no trees, man has to procure at least a parasol or invest money in building a lean-to or a shed. In hot weather the temperature in the forest is lower by 10 °C

compared to an open place.

Forest considerably slows down wind. At the height of two metres above the tree-tops, wind velocitycan reach 3–4 m/sec, but inside a fir-tree forest it is over two times

slower.

Trees provide shade for free !

To prevent wind erosion, it has been advised to plant strips of

forest between the fields in large open areas.

MICROCLIMATE REGULATIONMICROCLIMATE REGULATION

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Trees have an essential role in regulating microcli mate in cities. Under the summer sun the city territory heats up mu ch more than

the surrounding rural areas.

Heat island of the city

Temperature (oC)

As the warm air rises above the city, a traction effect is created: the air of a lowertemperature from the periphery flows to the city centre. In this case the quality of

the air that goes to the city centre is extremely important.

MICROCLIMATE REGULATION IN THE CITYMICROCLIMATE REGULATION IN THE CITY

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Parks and trees that line the streets in the city c entre also purify air. The surface of innumerable leaves absorbs dust, takes u p carbon dioxide and

enriches air with oxygen.

MICROCLIMATE REGULATION IN THE CITYMICROCLIMATE REGULATION IN THE CITY

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Water in nature is constantly circulating. It reaches the atmosphere by evaporating from the surface of water basins, soil and plants.

The stomata is a place where put into effect water evaporation and gas

exchange. Stomata can change aperture dependently of temperature and humidity

of air.

Trees transpire a huge amount of water into the atm osphere; this is why the air above massive woodlands contains much water vapour.

Condensed into drops and clouds, the amount of vapo ur above the continent decreases. This causes a flow of humid air from the ocean towards the centre of the continent. This explains why the climate is wet in forest-rich continents, for example,

the equatorial zone of South America, while the cen tral parts of Australia are dry.

THE ROLE OF ECOSYSTEMS IN RUNOFF REGULATIONTHE ROLE OF ECOSYSTEMS IN RUNOFF REGULATION

Stomata

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Pollination

Decomposition of the remains of organic matter by earthworm

SUPPORT SERVICESSUPPORT SERVICES

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To be able to produce seeds, many plant species require that their flowers are

fertilized with pollen of another individual of the species. As insects feed on nectar,

they visit hundreds of flowers. Researchshows that in one flight a simple honey bee can visit 500–1000 flowers, and it makes

10–15 flights a day.

In the process of evolution many flowering plants a nd insects have established mutually beneficial relations – this is called mutualism.

Insects – bees, butterflies, flies, beetles – feed on nectar andpollen.

Clover (trefoil) is mainly pollinated by bumblebees

If the number of a certain insect species decreases for some reason, the existence

of the dependent species of flowering plant is also endangered.

PollinationPollination

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Out of European-cultivated plant species, 84% depend on

pollinators. By pollinating different agricultural crops, honey bees in the

USA annually ensure a harvest whose value amounts to approximately

10 billion EUR.

Very serious problems arise in the case of non-pollination of agricultural crops. The yield of most of the plants (76 %) that

humans use for food depends on the pollinating insects.

In several countries of Asia, including Japan and China, a catastrophic decrease of pollinating bees was

recorded which has caused serious problems for fruit-growing in these

countries.People are involved in pollination of fruit-trees: at flowering time, many persons

make the rounds of orchards and carefully treat each flowering twig with

special brushes.

Artificial pollination.

POLLINATION OF AGRICULTURAL CROPSPOLLINATION OF AGRICULTURAL CROPS

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Any dead organism, be it a plant, an animal, or a h uman being, ends up in the concluding block of the ecosystem’s troph ic chain where

it turns into food for microorganisms and soil anima ls.

Annually, 130 billion tons of dead organic matter are produced on the Earth,

including plant litter and roots, animal bodies and excreta.

Around 30% of such remains are the results of human activity.

If all of this mass of organic ma er were not decomposed, the Earth would be wrapped in a thick layer of remains in

no time.

Some mushrooms and bracket-fungus are saprophytes too.

DDECOMPOSITION OF THEECOMPOSITION OF THE REMAINS OF ORGANIC MATTERREMAINS OF ORGANIC MATTER

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When the work by microorganismsand soil animals is done, the pile of

organic waste has been turned into a homogeneous dark mass – humus. The

process takes about 1–2 years.

Composting has long since been used as a way to utilize gardening and food waste. In many countries of the world people use small reactors for recycling food waste, in

which microorganisms are involved in the process of decomposition.

Recycling compost and food waste provides a valuable, humus- and

plant-nutrient-rich substratum which can be efficiently used to fertilize indoor plants and to improve the

quality of garden soils.

CCOMPOSTINGOMPOSTING

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Unfortunately, not all waste products of human activity are ecologically degradable.

The ecosystem can decompose a cotton rag in 1–5 months, paper in 2–5 months, worn-out woollen

socks in 1–5 years, old leather footwear in 25–40

years.

Nylon rags would be preserved in soil for nearly 30–40 years, aluminium tins for

80–100 years, but glass and plastic bottles might disintegrate no sooner than in a million years, and rather as a result of physical and chemical processes, for example oxidation or corrosion, not in

biological processes.

HOUSHOLD SOLID WASTE HOUSHOLD SOLID WASTE -- AN EXTRA PRESSURE ON AN EXTRA PRESSURE ON THE ECOSYSTEMTHE ECOSYSTEM

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Ecosystems, in the form of forests, fields and waters, have a direct impact on culture and art, find expression in books, magazines, films,photos, fine arts, music, dances, national symbols, fashion, architecture and even advertising.

Civilization has developed in close contact with natural environment. Depending on the natural region in which a particular nation has formed and

developed, the peculiarities of the local ecosystems have le an everlasting imprint on the people’s psychology, language, religion, beliefs, folklore

and customs.

The modern man’s desire to leave the urbanenvironment and seek nature can be observed in the growing popularity of rural tourism, ecotourism and bird-watching among the inhabitants of developed

countries. In recent years, Europeans have embraced ecotourism to distant regions of the world

with rich biodiversity, defying potential health hazards in the absence their familiar urban comfort.

NONNON--MATERIAL SERVICESMATERIAL SERVICES

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NONNON--MATERIAL SERVICESMATERIAL SERVICES

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WHAT IS THE PRICEOF AN ECOSYSTEM ?

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Research shows that urban populations are much more appreciative of natural landscape than the country folk.

It is to be expected that, under growing urbanization, people will be increasingly disposed towards natural environment.

These processes will lead to the paradoxical situation when the majorityof the world’s population will be concentrated in big cities and will dream of unspoiled

nature which will have long since ceased existing.

The existing experience in the restoration of ecosy stems demonstrates that it is both complicated and costly . Denmark, for example, invested approximately EUR 35 million in th e project to restore the 2 200 hectares of artificially drained wetlands of the

Skjern River.

The creation of artificial ecosystems that would en sure human existence is veryexpensive. This was the task of the unique experime nt “Biosphere-2”. The total

area of the structure, including the residence of t he participants of the experiment and the laboratories, was that of 2.5 football fiel ds – 12 700 m 2.

The total cost of the experiment was EUR 150 millio n.

WHAT IS THE PRICE OF AN ECOSYSTEM ?WHAT IS THE PRICE OF AN ECOSYSTEM ?

Biosphere-2Artificial, materially-closed ecological system in

Oracle, Arizona, USA

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Thank You for attention !Thank You for attention !