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Ecosystem Services from Agriculture: Looking Beyond the Usual Suspects
Author(s) -
Swinton Scott M.,
Lupi Frank,
Robertson G. Philip,
Landis Douglas A.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
american journal of agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.949
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1467-8276
pISSN - 0002-9092
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8276.2006.00927.x
Subject(s) - agriculture , library science , principal (computer security) , agricultural experiment station , state (computer science) , environmental ethics , political science , geography , philosophy , archaeology , computer science , algorithm , operating system
The lens is especially revealing when applied to agriculture, the most widespread managed ecosystem on the planet. ES are defined as "the conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems, and the species that make them up, sustain and fulfill human life" (Daily 1997). By focusing on what ecosystems do for humans, the ES concept invites analysis of what humans do to ecosystems and why they do it. Agriculture (including planted forests) conventionally supplies food, fiber, and fuel-"provisioning services" in ES parlance (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005). Farmers also help to maintain the natural "supporting" ES that make agriculture productive, such as pollination, biological pest regulation, and soil nutrient renewal. In theory, the same managed ecosystems that provide these marketed products could produce other types of ES if suitable incentives existed. The broad class of "regulation ES" covers climate regulation, water purity, surface water flows, groundwater levels, and waste absorption and breakdown. All of these offer benefits that are