Uploaded on 2017-04-25 by Raghad Al-Mashhour

Ecosystems offer different services to humans, such as provisioning, regulation, habitat or support, and cultural. In the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia we can find all these services as follows: PROVISIONING SERVICE: Describes the material or energy produced from the ecosystem, such as food, water, wood and fiber. These are the services that guarantee access to the goods and resources and nutrition for the population. Red Sea ecosystems provide a great diversity of materials for construction and fuel including wood, biofuels and plant oils that are directly derived from wild and cultivated plant species. REGULATING SERVICE: These are services that act as regulators of the ecosystem, affecting the climate, floods, diseases, waste, water and air quality, erosion and pollination. They guarantee access to the goods, health and safety of the residents. 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. Biodiversity also plays an important role by improving the capacity of ecosystems to adapt to the effects of climate change. HABITAT OR SUPPORTING SERVICES HABITATS FOR SPECIES: Habitats provide everything that an individual plant or animal needs to survive: food; water; and shelter. Each ecosystem provides different habitats that can be essential for a species’ life-cycle. Migratory species including birds, fish, mammals and insects all depend upon different ecosystems during their movements. CULTURAL SERVICES: Provide recreational, aesthetic and spiritual benefits, ensuring the well-being of the population. Recreation and mental and physical health: Walking and playing sports in green space 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.