Ecosystem Functions, Services, and Biodiversity: Past, Present, and Future Implications � Part I

Abstract

Earth’s ecosystem is made of both living and non-living entities and their interactions. The living component is the community of plants, animals and all other living beings interacting with each other (in a given area), while the non-living include weather, earth, sun, soil, climate and, atmosphere. Each region/location of the globe has its own ecosystem made up of the biological, geochemical, and physical processes that surround it. The structural components of an ecosystem are the vegetation, water, soil, atmosphere and biota and their interactions within and across ecosystem(s). In turn, ecosystem services are the benefits that we obtain from ecosystems, for example, food and water, disease control etc. that maintain the conditions for life on the Earth. The living component of the ecosystem is the biodiversity, comprising variety of life on the Earth across all the different levels of biological organization. Scientists, social activists, and the political masters are now recognizing the degradation of ecosystem services and functions, and loss of biodiversity that have been happening over the years and the efforts needed to make them sustainable for future generations. In a similar manner, in ancient times a few enlightened beings in several different traditional societies had recognized the importance of ecosystems, functions and services, and biodiversity. Since our ancestors had limited physical reach i.e. ability to travel to distant lands or sample ecosystems, and collect plants and animals from different geographic locations in large numbers. However they had enough mental capacity to interpret and draw context specific conclusions. They had fair understanding of ecosystem elements and their effects on humans, plants and animals, and could visualize the need for protecting (conservation) and making use of natural resources, including biodiversity. This paper summarizes the concepts of ecosystem, its functions and services, and focuses on biodiversity conservation and use based on ancient wisdom and modern science.