Dear all,
I would like to have your opinion concerning "Forage Production" as an Ecosystem Services as defined by Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.
I would define it as a supporting service since the Millennium define Ecosystem Services as "Benefits that Humans receive from the ecosystems". On the other hand, some authors includes forage among provisioning services.
Please, have a look to the attached picture from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment document and tell me your opinion.
Thank you,
Matteo
I would say it depends.
If we are talking forage as in the case of fodder for e.g. livestock, we are often also talking a product that is traded. In many developed and developing countries, several forages or fodder products are grown and traded on a market. It is a provisioning service every bit as much as e.g. raw timber.
If you talk forage in the form of primary production capture by grasses and herbs etc which form the basis for a population of e.g. deer, which are then hunted for their recreational or meat value - then it may be interpreted as a supporting service.
In the role as a supporting service one could argue that we cannot assign an independent value to it, because the value we experience is the hunting and consumption of the deer. We cannot count that value under provisioning e.g. and then count it again under support on behalf of forage and primary production
cheers / Bo.
I would think that, if you take forage production as traditionally defined (and not the ecological definition of production), then it is crop production for use by animals. The use by humans is not direct, it is to feed animals. I would therefore consider it to be provisioning, similar to other crops. I hope that helps!
Forage production is basically for Livestock, and thus be best suited under provisioning services.
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Forage production would fall in the category of provisioning service if is considered as a crop product to be used as food by livestock etc. If you refer to the process of forage production then depending upon the specific aspect being referred to, supporting services or / and even regulating services could become the relevant category.