1. Ecosystem Services Ch 2.4

2. Ecosystem Services   Def: benefits experienced by organisms, including humans, that are provided by sustainable ecosystems – –Natural result of all activities in biosphere   Cycling of nutrients   Pollination of crops   Balance of growth/decomposition   Contribution of beauty

3. Let’s examine a forest… HHow does it influence local climate? –C–Canopy traps humidity, keeps cool WWhat role do tree roots play? –R–Reduce erosion HHow many organisms do you see? How many are there? –P–Provide shelter and protection from predation

4. Desertification   Trees extract massive quantities of water from soil   On hot days, a lot of water escapes through the stomata, adding water vapour to the atmosphere – –This reduces temperature, forms rain clouds   Did you know more than ½ the moisture above tropical forests comes from trees?

5. Desertification   When forested areas are cleared, local precipitation drops – –The climate gets hotter and drier leading to desertification (change of non-desert land into a desert)   Can also occur from climate change, over-farming, and excessive water use

6. Watersheds and Erosion   A watershed is an area of land over which run-off drains into a body of water   Trees benefit watersheds – –How??

7. Watersheds and Erosion   Soil (without trees) cannot retain water as well as forested areas – –Erosion increases

8. Erosion   Rock and soil are loosened from Earth's surface at one location and moved to another - Natural – –Wind and water break rock and soil into smaller pieces, and loosen them from the earth's surface.   Changes landscape: – –Wears down mountains – –Fills in valleys – –Rivers appear and disappear   Usually a slow and gradual process that occurs over thousands or millions of years. – –Can be sped up by such human activities as farming and mining.

9. Erosion

10. Another ecosystem service  Cross-pollination: when pollen is transferred from one flower to a different flower  Most plants rely on animals, insects to move pollen between flowers –Bees, beetles and bats are the busiest pollinators!

13. Cross-pollination  What abiotic factor could also help cross- pollinate? –The wind

14. Did you know…?  …that cross-pollination by insects contributes to 1/3 of world food production –Holy cripes! –$250 B per year

15. Homework   Read “Case Study” on p 72-73   What is colony collapse disorder?   What 2 parasites are named as being potential factors in the decline of bees?   How does pesticide use affect bees?   How could your cell phone affect a poor bee?

16.   Read section 3.1, “Measuring Biodiversity”   Define these terms in the context of ecology: – –Biodiversity – –Protect – –Quadrat – –Transect – –biodiversity hotspot.   Describe how each of these methods of measuring biodiversity works: – –canopy fogging – –quadrat sampling – –transect sampling – –netting