Whether we find ourselves in the city or a rural area, the ecosystems in which humans live provide goods and services that are very familiar to us. An ecosystem is a community of animals and plants interacting with one another and with their physical environment. Ecosystems include physical and chemical components, such as soils, water, and nutrients that support the organisms living within them. These organisms may range from large animals and plants to microscopic bacteria. Ecosystems include the interactions among all organisms in a given habitat.
People are part of ecosystems.
The health and well being of human populations depends upon the services provided by ecosystems and their components - organisms, soil, water, and nutrients. Natural ecosystems and the plants and animals within them provide humans with services that would be very difficult to duplicate. While it is often impossible to place an accurate monetary amount on ecosystem services, we can calculate some of the financial values. As a result, the 1993 floods resulted in property damages estimated at twelve billion dollars partially from the inability of the Valley to lessen the impacts of the high volumes of water. Eighty percent of the world's population relies upon natural medicinal products.