Uploaded on 2017-02-28 by Heike Kaiser

Ecosystem services in San Francisco Bay Area The Bay ecosystem itself as well as the Pacific Ocean provide provisioning services in terms of seafood. Moreover, they provide the region with fresh water being filtered in desalination plants. Golden Gate Park, the Presidio as well as Lake Merced Park and McLaren Park offer regulating services to the local climate and air quality. Park trees provide shade while urban forests influence rainfall and water availability both locally and regionally. Trees or other plants also play an important role in regulating air quality by removing pollutants from the atmosphere. Moreover, urban trees play a significant role in carbon sequestration and storage. Ecosystems regulate the global climate by storing and sequestering greenhouse gases. As trees and plants grow, they remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and effectively lock it away in their tissues. The SF Botanical Garden with its vast plant collections provides regulation services in terms of pollination. Insects and wind pollinate plants and trees which is essential for the development of fruits, vegetables and seeds. Animal pollination is an ecosystem service mainly provided by insects but also by some birds and bats. At the same time, birds, bats, flies, wasps, frogs and fungi are in charge of natural pest control. The bigger and smaller parks of San Francisco offer habitats for many species including food, water, and shelter. The Bay Area as a whole ecosystem offer migratory species such as birds, fish, mammals and insects a place to stay during their movements (Photo: birds on Alcatraz Island). All of the (urban) landscapes mentioned above offer cultural services to humans in terms of recreation as well as mental and physical health. Walking and playing sports in Golden Gate Park, for instance, is not only a good form of physical exercise but also lets people relax. The role that green space plays in maintaining mental and physical health is increasingly being recognized, despite difficulties of measurement. They also play an important role for many kinds of tourism which in turn provides considerable economic benefits and is a vital source of income for the city of San Francisco. At the same time they offer spiritual experience and a sense of place for the residents.