Alho C J R
Pós-graduação em Meio Ambiente e Desenvolvimento Regional, Universidade para o Desenvolvimento do Estado e da Região do Pantanal - UNIDERP, Rua Ceará 333, CEP 79003-010, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil.
Braz J Biol. 2008 Nov;68(4 Suppl):1115-8. doi: 10.1590/s1519-69842008000500018.
In addition to its intrinsic value (nature working as it is; species are the product of a long history of continuing evolution by means of ecological processes, and so they have the right to continued existence), biodiversity also plays a fundamental role as ecosystem services in the maintenance of natural ecological processes. The economic or utilitarian values of biodiversity rely upon the dependence of man on biodiversity; products that nature can provide: wood, food, fibers to make paper, resins, chemical organic products, genes as well as knowledge for biotechnology, including medicine and cosmetic sub-products. It also encompasses ecosystem services, such as climate regulation, reproductive and feeding habitats for commercial fish, some organisms that can create soil fertility through complex cycles and interactions, such as earthworms, termites and bacteria, in addition to fungi responsible for cycling nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur and making them available to plant absorption. These services are the benefits that people indirectly receive from natural ecosystem functions (air quality maintenance, regional climate, water quality, nutrient cycling, reproductive habitats of commercial fish, etc.) with their related economic values.
生物多样性除了具有其内在价值（自然按其本来面目运行；物种是通过生态过程长期持续进化的产物，因此它们有继续存在的权利）外，在维持自然生态过程方面作为生态系统服务也发挥着重要作用。生物多样性的经济或功利价值取决于人类对生物多样性的依赖；大自然能够提供的产品：木材、食物、造纸用纤维、树脂、化学有机产品、基因以及生物技术知识，包括医药和化妆品副产品。它还包括生态系统服务，如气候调节、商业鱼类的繁殖和觅食栖息地，一些能够通过复杂的循环和相互作用创造土壤肥力的生物，如蚯蚓、白蚁和细菌，此外还有负责氮、磷和硫等养分循环并使其可供植物吸收的真菌。这些服务是人们从自然生态系统功能（维持空气质量、区域气候、水质、养分循环、商业鱼类的繁殖栖息地等）及其相关经济价值中间接获得的益处。
