Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 6.2 Three measurement points for ecosystem services [
63
]. Supply metrics deal only with the
biophysical system underpinning the service of interest. Service metrics include critical informa-
tion linking supply to beneficiaries. Benefit metrics weigh the level of service based on people's
preferences or social policy goals
In addition, oceans are the center of the global water cycle; they hold 96.5% of the
Earth's water [
24
] and are a primary driver of the atmosphere's temperature,
moisture content, and stability [
12
]. Oceans are also key players in the global
cycles of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur, and other major elements
[
51
] and are responsible for approximately 40% of global net primary productivity
[
39
,
61
]. Finally, coastal communities reap many benefits from coastal tourism
(one the one of world's most profitable industries [
65
]), and numerous coastal
communities define their very identities in relation to the sea and all it brings.
The Ecosystem Service Supply Chain
Ecosystem services flow to people along a supply chain from biophysical systems to
people [
63
]. All services are generated by some function or element of a natural or
managed system (
Fig. 6.2
). The full suite of these elements or functions can best be
considered in three discrete steps: supply, service, and benefit. For example, con-
sider protection from coastal storm surges. Many different types of coastal elements
(e.g., coral reefs, mangroves, oyster beds, barrier islands) confer protection from
storm surges by attenuating waves. The full set of locations of these coastal elements
represents the supply of protection from storms. People do not receive storm surge
protection from all of these locations, however, because some are far from human
infrastructure and settlement. Both the distribution of human infrastructure and
settlement, together with the location and condition of supply, are required to give
a clear picture of how much “service” is actually delivered at a given time.
