One System, Multiple Services
Ecosystem services are the multitude of benefits that nature provides to society. The primary service of VTCSs have been the storage and management of rainwater to enable year-round paddy cultivation, however they also provide multiple other ecosystem services that fall into four main categories:
- Provisioning Services: these are the material benefits people get from ecosystems for e.g., food
- Regulating Services: these are the benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes e.g., crop pollination
- Cultural Services: these are non-material benefits people gain from ecosystems, for e.g., cultural heritage values
- Supporting services: these are necessary to produce all other ecosystem services, for e.g., providing a habitat for wild animals and insects.
Explore the figure below to find out more about the ecosystem services provided by VTCSs.
