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ecosystem services

British  

plural noun

  1. the important benefits for human beings that arise from healthily functioning ecosystems, notably production of oxygen, soil genesis, and water detoxification

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"It's definitely a story of severe overall decline, both in the cover of flowers but also the diversity," explains Simon Potts, professor of biodiversity and ecosystem services at Reading University.

From BBC • Oct. 30, 2025

“Chaparral is extraordinarily species-rich. It provides many ecosystem services like carbon storage, reduction of soil erosion, water quality. But once it’s gone, it’s really hard to get back.”

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 14, 2024

"We may need to learn to live alongside them again, and sometimes manage their behaviour, but the ecosystem services they provide have been clearly demonstrated here already at the Ealing Beaver Project," said Dr McCormack.

From BBC • Aug. 13, 2024

Durbin offered a comparison: Green Valley is home to about 15,000 coast live oaks, and all the recreation, wildlife and habitat — together called ecosystem services — are valued at $449 million.

From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2024

Because different stakeholder groups prefer different ecosystem services, the researchers split their analysis into three groups for analysis: provisioning services, regulating services and cultural services.

From Science Daily • May 14, 2024