Ecosystem Services: Types, Management and Benefits

This book is mainly focused on issues related to soil and ecosystem management. At present, management of soil from an ecosystem perspective is a prime concern for biodiversity conservation and can only be achieved after proper scientific management of the rhizosphere. The ecosystem services are varied with benefits to humans given by the nature-based environment. These ecosystems include crop ecosystems, forest ecosystems, agro ecosystems, grassland ecosystems, and aquatic ecosystems. According to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAOUN) in the section Ecosystem Services & Biodiversity (ESB), the ecosystem services are the multitude of benefits that nature provides to society. Biodiversity is diversity among living organisms, which is essential to ecosystem function and services delivery. According to FAOUN, ecosystem could be understood as living elements which interact with each other and their non-living environments, providing benefits, or services, to the world. Meanwhile, ecosystem services make human life possible by, for example, providing nutritious food and clean water, regulating disease and climate, supporting the pollination of crops and soil formation, and providing recreational, cultural and spiritual benefits. Despite an estimated value of $125 trillion, these assets are not adequately accounted for in political and economic policy, which means there is insufficient investment in their protection and management. Biodiversity includes diversity within and among species and ecosystems. Changes in biodiversity can influence the supply of ecosystem services. Biodiversity, as with ecosystem services, must be protected and sustainably managed. The present book focuses on soil and ecosystem management with a possible solution to manage the soil ecosystem.