Uploaded on 2017-05-13 by Mélanie Droogleever Fortuyn

These are examples of ecosystem services in Verbier, Switzerland. As provisioning services, the main one living in the alps, at the foot of snow capped mountains is access to fresh water from mountain streams(left most picture). However, the forested valley sides also provide wood as a raw material for construction. In the alps, trees also provide regulating services, stopping soil erosion and maintaining soil fertility. The top picture shows how areas with trees have good soil condition, whereas without trees only rocks are there to protect the soil from heavy erosion. The area also provides habitat services for various species such as frogs in the picture. Finally, one of the main cultural services in the alps is physical recreation. In the summer one main example is hiking and in the winter one main example is skiing(bottom right picture).