Ecosystem services are the many and varied benefits to humans provided by the natural environment and from healthy ecosystems. Such ecosystems include, for example, agroecosystems, forest ecosystems, grassland ecosystems, and aquatic ecosystems.
Ecosystem Services In South Africa
Purification of water and air.
Carbon sequestration and climate regulation.
Waste decomposition and detoxification.
Predation regulates prey populations.
Biological control pest and disease control.
Pollination.
Disturbance regulation, i.e. Flood protection.
Ecosystem services are the benefits that humans obtain from ecosystems. The vast majority of these services are usually taken for granted, but they are essential for human wellbeing. There is a growing interest in ecosystem services for two main reasons:
to provide sustainable resources for human wellbeing that will meet the Millennium Development Goals and
to provide incentives for ecosystem conservation
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment divided ecosystem services into four categories and this has provided a framework for ongoing studies of ecosystem services:
provisioning services (e.g. water, food, drugs and genetic resources)
regulating services (e.g. flood attenuation, herbivory, pest control and pollination)
supporting services (e.g. primary production, nutrient cycling) and
cultural services (e.g. recreational, spiritual and cultural benefits)
What do Ecosystem Services In South Africa
The Biodiversity Research, Information and Monitoring Division’s programme on ecosystem services focuses on two main issues:
- How does biodiversity contribute to ecosystem services?
- What benefits will the focus on ecosystem services provide for biodiversity conservation?
One of the initial thrusts in ecosystem services is that it provides benefits for agriculture. Food security is a key issue all over the world and agriculture is one of the main sources of land transformation, with concomitant impacts on biodiversity. Studies of ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes can explore the relationship between biodiversity conservation, sustainable land use and food security.
Insect pollination is essential in the production of several agricultural crops. SANBI led the South African component of the GEF/UNEP/FAO Global Pollination Project – a project which examined the conservation and sustainable management of pollinators for agriculture. Related to this work is the Honeybee Forage Project, of particular importance in South Africa where agriculture relies heavily on the managed honeybee – which requires adequate year-round forage for colony health.
SANBI was also engaged in the “Networks” project, a collaboration with the University of Exeter, in the UK and Université Pierre et Marie Curie, in France. The Networks project is funded by the EU through the International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (IRSES). The project uses ecological networks to investigate how indigenous vegetation provides pollination and pest control services to mango farms in Limpopo Province.
The work of the Ecosystem Services team can be summarised as follows:
Crop pollination services in South Africa
Honeybee forage
Natural enemies in the agro-ecosystem
Insect diversity, ecosystem services and land management practices
Rangeland productivity
Valuation of pollination ecosystem services
Operational model for classifying ecosystem services
What are the 5 main ecosystem services in South Africa ?
Regulating services include pollination, decomposition, water purification, erosion and flood control, and carbon storage and climate regulation. As we interact and alter nature, the natural world has in turn altered us.
What are examples of ecosystem services in South Africa ?
Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems: provisioning services (also known as goods) such as food and water; regulating services such as flood, pest, and disease control; cultural services such as spiritual and recreational benefits; and supporting services, such as nutrient cycling,
What is the ecosystem in South Africa?
Ecological Regions Of South Africa
| Ecological Regions Of South Africa (as per World Wide Fund for Nature) | Biome |
|---|---|
| Western Orange | Southern Temperate Freshwater |
| Zambezian and Mopane woodlands | Tropical and Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands |
| Zambezian coastal flooded savanna | Flooded Grasslands and Savannas |
How many ecosystems are in South Africa?
nine
South Africa has nine distinct biomes: fynbos; Grassland; Savanna; Albany Thicket; forest; Succulent Karoo; Nama-Karoo; Desert; Indian Ocean Coastal Belt.