Week 7

Question 1

Ecosystem Services (Supporting, Provisioning, Regulating, Cultural)

Answer 1

Benefits humans get from nature:
- Supporting: Soil formation, photosynthesis, nutrient cycling
- Provisioning: Food, water, timber
- Regulating: Climate, floods, disease control
- Cultural: Recreation, spiritual, aesthetic values

Question 2

Ecosystem Stability and the Rivet Hypothesis

Answer 2

Stability = ecosystem’s ability to resist/recover from change.

Rivet Hypothesis: Each species is like a rivet in a plane; losing too many weakens the system and can cause collapse.

Question 3

Value of Ecosystem Services, Opportunity Cost

Answer 3

Ecosystem services have economic, health, and cultural value.

Opportunity cost: The benefits lost when natural ecosystems are converted (e.g., forest to farmland loses carbon storage and biodiversity).

Question 4

IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services)

Answer 4

UN body that assesses biodiversity and ecosystem services to inform global policy, like the IPCC does for climate change.

Question 5

Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES)

Answer 5

Financial incentives given to landowners or communities to conserve ecosystems that provide public benefits (e.g., clean water, carbon storage).

Question 6

Payments for Ecosystem Services in Costa Rica

Answer 6

A pioneering national PES program paying landowners to protect forests for biodiversity, carbon, water, and scenic beauty—funded by fuel taxes and water fees.