Ecosystem services are the various benefits that humans receive from natural ecosystems. These are provided by the multiple functions and processes performed by ecosystems that directly or indirectly benefit human well-being and the functioning of society. We can divide ecosystem services into four categories based on the different ways they affect and support human life:
- Provisioning Services
These include the material resources people get directly from ecosystems, such as fibres, food, fresh water, firewood and medicinal plants. - Regulatory Services
Ecosystems play an essential role in regulating various natural processes, such as pollination, water purification, air purification, climate regulation and protection against natural disasters such as flooding through, for example, soil absorption and erosion through, for example, roots that bind the soil. - Cultural Services
These are the non-material benefits people receive from ecosystems: recreation, outdoor life, aesthetic appreciation of nature, spiritual significance and cultural traditions linked to nature. - Supporting Services
These services are the basis for the other categories of ecosystem services. They include processes such as biodiversity, nutrient cycles, nutrient-rich soils, photosynthesis and the water cycle that are essential to maintain the functionality of ecosystems.
Understanding the value of ecosystem services is essential as they are fundamental to human well-being. Human activities such as deforestation, pollution and overexploitation of natural resources can negatively affect ecosystems and reduce the availability of these services.
Examples of ecosystem services include the pollination of crops by, for example, bees but also other insects (regulating service, but also counts as a provisioning service), the purification of water through wetlands (regulatory service), the creation of scenic places for recreation (cultural service) and the natural ability of the soil to break down waste (supporting service).
Source
Naturskyddsföreningen – What are ecosystem services? 
October 2023, TÄNKOM | Revised November 2023 RETHINK
