Which ecosystem services decline when biodiversity is lost?

When biodiversity is lost, the health and functioning of an ecosystem decline, leading to a reduction in the quality and availability of essential ecosystem services. These services are the processes and benefits that ecosystems provide to support life and human well-being.12

Key ecosystem services that diminish include:

• Productivity: The ecosystem’s ability to convert energy into biomass decreases, reducing the overall food energy available within the system.1
• Regulation and Maintenance: The capacity to maintain soil health, regulate temperature and moisture, and provide shade is compromised.13
• Water Purification and Cycling: Ecosystems lose their ability to cleanse polluted waters, recharge groundwater aquifers, and manage water storage to mitigate flooding.12
• Nutrient Cycling: The complex processes that transport and cycle nutrients are disrupted as the species responsible for these roles disappear.13
• Habitat Provision: The ecosystem becomes less capable of providing the necessary food and shelter required for the survival of native plants and animals.142

As biodiversity declines, ecosystems lose their ecological resilience, making them less able to recover from disturbances and increasing the risk of total ecosystem collapse.1