Humankind benefits in a multitude of ways from ecosystems. Collectively, these benefits are known as ecosystem services. Ecosystem services are regularly involved in the provisioning of clean drinking water and the decomposition of wastes. While scientists and environmentalists have discussed ecosystem services implicitly for decades, the ecosystem services concept itself was popularized by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) in the early 2000s.[1] This grouped ecosystem services into four broad categories: provisioning, such as the production of food and water; regulating, such as the control of climate and disease; supporting, such as nutrient cycles and crop pollination; and cultural, such as spiritual and recreational benefits. To help inform decision-makers, many ecosystem services are being assigned economic values.

The notion of human dependence on Earths ecosystems reaches to the start of homo sapiens existence, benefiting from the products of nature to nourish and shelter from harsh climates. Recognition of how ecosystems could provide more complex services to mankind date back to at least Plato (c. 400 BC) who understood that deforestation could lead to soil erosion and the drying of springs.[2][pageneeded] Modern ideas of ecosystem services probably began with Marsh in 1864 [3] when he challenged the idea that Earths natural resources are unbounded by pointing out changes in soil fertility in the Mediterranean. His observations and cautions passed largely unnoticed at the time.[citation needed] It was not until the late 1940s that three key authors Henry Fairfield Osborn, Jr,[4]William Vogt,[5] and Aldo Leopold [6] awakened and promoted recognition of human dependence on the environment. One[who?] coined the idea of natural capital.[citation needed]

In 1956, Paul Sears [7] drew attention to the critical role of the ecosystem in processing wastes and recycling nutrients. In 1970, Paul Ehrlich and his wife called attention to "ecological systems" in their environmental science textbook [8] and the most subtle and dangerous threat to mans existence... the potential destruction, by mans own activities, of those ecological systems upon which the very existence of the human species depends. The term environmental services was introduced in a 1970 report of the Study of Critical Environmental Problems,[9] which listed services including insect pollination, fisheries, climate regulation and flood control. In following years, variations of the term were used, but eventually ecosystem services became the standard in scientific literature.[10]

The ecosystem services concept keeps expanding and includes socio-economic and conservation objectives, which are discussed below. A complete history of the concepts and terminology of ecosystem services as of 1997, can be found in Daily's book "Natures Services: Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems".[2]

As of 2010[update] there are various working definitions of ecosystems services in the literature.[11] The most recent revision by The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) to synthesize work in this field and prevent double counting in ecosystem services audits, has revised the MA definition to remove "Supporting Services" and replace it on the one hand with "Habitat Services" and on the other hand with "ecosystem functions" that "are defined as a subset of the interactions between ecosystem structure and processes that underpin the capacity of an ecosystem to provide goods and services".[12]

There is discussion as to how the concept of cultural ecosystem services can be operationalized. A good review of approaches in landscape aesthetics, cultural heritage, outdoor recreation, and spiritual significance to define and assess cultural values of our environment so that they fit into the ecosystem services approach is given by Daniel et al.[13] who vote for models that explicitly link ecological structures and functions with cultural values and benefits. There also is a fundamental critique of the concept of cultural ecosystem services that builds on three arguments:[14]

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) report 2005 defines Ecosystem services as benefits people obtain from ecosystems and distinguishes four categories of ecosystem services, where the so-called supporting services are regarded as the basis for the services of the other three categories.[1] The following lists represent the definition and samples of each according to the MA:

Ecosystem services "that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services".[17][18] These include services such as nutrient recycling, primary production and soil formation.[19] These services make it possible for the ecosystems to provide services such as food supply, flood regulation and water purification.

"Products obtained from ecosystems" [17]

"Benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes" [17]

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