IADC published new Facts About Ecosystem Services to learn how Ecosystem Services can improve dredging projects and the environment.
WHAT IS AN ECOSYSTEM?
An ecosystem is defined as the animals and plants found in a particular location. Within the ecosystem, in a fragile balance, they depend on each other for survival and sustain one another by their interactions.
Ecosystems can vary in size but in general a specific ecosystem is described within limited boundaries.
Ecosystems which are in similar environments but in different locations in different regions of the world can and often do have very different characteristics and contain different species.
WHY IS THE PRESERVATION OF AN ECOSYSTEM IMPORTANT?
Ecosystems are dynamic and encompass diverse species.
This biodiversity is crucial to a particular ecosystem and to the overall well-being of the environment.
But ecosystems are subject to many pressures, both natural and human.
Natural pressures include weather, climate in general and the topography of the region as well as the competition between species.
Human pressures include the introduction of non-native species through global shipping traffic, the construction of maritime infrastructure, dredging and climate change caused by human activities.
Because of the interdependency of organisms in an ecosystem, disruption to one organism can have repercussions for all organisms within the ecosystem.
This in turn affects biodiversity and directly or indirectly affects the natural balance and the so-called “services” upon which people depend.
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Press Release, December 9, 2013