Uploaded on 2017-03-29 by Victoria Gutkovich

I live in Moscow, and in the following paragraphs I am going to give specific examples for each of the four types of ecosystem services. As follows: a. Provisioning services There are more than 140 big and small rivers in Moscow, the main of which is Moskva-river (in the picture). They supply fresh water for more then 10 million Moscow citizens. Another example of provisioning services in Moscow region ecosystem may be high-quality local food grown in individual 'dachas' and then sold to the urban dwellers, therefore improving their health and quality of life. b. Regulating services One of the biggest ecological problems in Moscow is highly polluted air. Thankfully, green territories make up more than 50% of the city area, helping to clean the air for the Moscovites. I can provide a personal example here: as I live in close proximity to the huge Tsaritsyno park (in the collage), I can enjoy very fresh and almost delicious air in my neighborhood, despite the enourmous traffic in the area. c. Habitat or Supporting services There are special regulation norms in Moscow region to protect biodiversity and species. 118 natural areas are under laws restricting its anthropological use in order to save the environment. For instance, one of such protected natural sites is Krylatsky Hills park (in the picture), where you can find information about local endanged species. It is free to public. d. Cultural services Green areas in Moscow are widely used for recreation, sports, festivals and other cultural activities. The best example here is Gorky Park situated on the banks of Moskva river and attracting 40 000 people on weekdays and 250 000 visitors on holidays (in the photo as well). P.S. The collage is made using 3 pictures from Wikipedia, only one of the four is my own photography (b).