What are Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital, and how does this apply to Soil Science?

Abstract

Ecosystem services and natural capital have become prominent terminology in the ecological and wider literature, and yet convey different meanings to different communities. No single consistent definition of ecosystem services has yet been adopted, but many follow the framework laid down in the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment that considers; supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural services. In this article we review the concept of ecosystem goods and services in the context of green accounting. If the ecosystems approach is widely adopted it is important from the perspective of soil science that the contribution of soils to any green accounting system is fully realized