Ecosystem services are of following four categories:
(1) Supporting services : Support to the life on earth such as nutrient cycling, primary production, soil formation, habitat provision, pollination and overall maintenance of balance of ecosystem.
(2) Provisioning services : Provides necessities such as food in the form of crops, fruits and seafood, raw materials such as timber, skins, fuel wood, genetic resources in the form of seeds, crop improvement genes, and health care, other resources such as water, medicinal resources in the form of test and assay organisms and ornamental resources such as furs, feathers, ivory, orchids, butterflies, etc.
(3) Regulating services : Regulation of processes on the earth such as carbon sequestration, prey-predation regulation, waste decomposition and detoxification, purification of water and air and pest control.
(4) Cultural services : Under this category, humans get services from nature in the form of cultural, spiritual and historical, recreational experiences, opportunity to learn science and indulge in education, and pets and animal therapy.
