Uploaded on 2015-11-14 by prabhdipsingh

What ecosystem services do you have in and around your living area? Give at least one example for each of the four types of ecosystem services. Make clear in your answer where you can find the ecosystem service and what the ecosystem offers to your living area. To support your answers you are asked to provide one or more images for every example that describe the respective services. a. Provisioning services b. Regulating services c. Habitat or Supporting services d. Cultural services ANS: Ontario’s Green Belt Program enables Toronto’s Ecosystem services. Ontario’s Green Belt is one of the world’s largest green belt, at 1.8 million surrounds Greater Toronto and Hamilton Metropolitan areas. David Suzuki foundation has calculated the considerable ecosystem services contributed by the Greenbelt. Toronto Ecosystem Services - Table 01 ![enter image description here][1] Toronto Ecosystem Services - Table 02 ![enter image description here][2] Ontario Green belt ![enter image description here][3] Source: http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Asset1293.aspx REFERENCE:HTTP://WWW.BCSLA.ORG/SITES/DEFAULT/FILES/DOCUMENTS/SENT%20FINAL%20ECOSYSTEM%20SERVICES%20NATURAL%20CAPITAL%20%20NATURES%20BENEFITS%20%20IN%20THE%20URBAN%20REGION%20INFORMATION%20FOR%20PROFESSIONALS%20%20CITIZENS.PDF More Detailed Classes of Ecosystem Services in Ontario regions Source: HTTP://WWW.ALUS.CA/WP-CONTENT/UPLOADS/2013/05/ESTIMATION-OF-ECOSYSTEM.PDF ![enter image description here][4] Source: http://www.biodivcanada.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=9E3C6A40-1&offset=2&toc=show Valuation of ecosystem services Valuation of ecosystem services is a way to include biodiversity considerations in decision making about land use and economic activity and to measure the importance of biodiversity to people. The economic value of many provisioning services, such as the production of fish or timber, is often easily estimated because the products have well-defined prices. It is more complicated to place a value on non-market ecosystem services. A large-scale valuation study of ecosystems within the boreal region of Canada18 provides a framework for more detailed valuations in specific areas. Ecosystem services of Ontario’s greenbelt Source: adapted from the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, 200924 Ontario’s Greenbelt Act of 2005 protected 7,604 km2 of land from further urban development in the Golden Horseshoe region of southern Ontario. This area supports a quarter of Canada’s population and is the fastest growing region in North America. The greenbelt is made up of green spaces, farmlands, communities, forests, wetlands, and watersheds, and includes habitat for more than a third of Ontario’s species at risk. The estimated total value of the area’s measurable non-market ecosystem services is approximately $2.6 billion annually This estimate is likely low due to an incomplete understanding of all benefits provided by the greenbelt and the difficulty of assigning a value that represents and reflects the importance of the area to people. The value of the greenbelt is likely to increase with time as the ecosystems protected within it become increasingly rare. ![enter image description here][5] [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14475071283674105.png [2]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14475071385726181.png [3]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/1447507149366274.jpg [4]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14475076921024322.png [5]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/1447508427763575.jpg