Ecosystem functions and services

Ecosystem services are the many benefits that humans receive from functional ecosystems. These can be:

• provisioning – such as the harvesting of food from fisheries

• protecting – such as the sequestration of carbon, which slows global warming or filtration of pollutants from the water

• cultural – such as the enjoyment of diving or boating or our relationship to the ocean through our ancestors.

Soft-sediment habitats cover about 70% of the world’s seafloor. On the surface, they may not appear to be thriving ecosystems, but they perform many crucial functions. Soft sediments provide habitats for many other creatures and play an important role in nutrient recycling.

Download the Department of Conservation infographic as a PDF.

Copyright: Department of Conservation