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24
in more than a fifth of protected areas in the USA, reaching levels known to have
negative effects on wildlife (Buxton et al. 2017).
Direct physical health outcomes from ecosystem functions may be difficult to
evidence for some pathways, but one more obvious direct way that nature influences
physical health is through human sustenance and micro-nutrient availability.
Primary production from plant materials is the initial source of food energy for all
living beings, and humans directly consume 25–50% of the energy embodied in
plant-life even before considering the consumption of animals that plants also sus-
tain (Coutts and Hahn 2015). However, human health is not just a matter of the
quantity of energy consumed but also its diversity. Diversity in diet and the micro-
nutrient supply this provides is something that can be linked to wider ecological
biodiversity too (see Sect. 2.3).
Plants and other natural sources are also responsible for a large proportion of the
medicines currently in use today, contributing to almost a third of all marketed drug
products sold (Coutts and Hahn 2015). Bioactive compounds, and their role in dis-
ease prevention and ageing, are still the subject of much important research. For
example, evidence for the anti-microbial properties of phenolics in berries is impor-
tant in the context of growing antibiotic resistance (Paredes-Lopez et al. 2010).
Polyphenols from berries also have a range of other positive functional properties,
including anti-inflammatory, neuro-protective, anti-oxidant, anti-cancer and anti-
mutagenic roles (Nile and Park 2014). Polyphenols are just one of the bioactive
compound groups found in berries, which are also rich sources of vitamins and
minerals (ibid.). Brassica vegetables are associated with anti-cancer properties as
well as a range of other health benefits (Moreno etÂ
al. 2006). Other food groups have
similar beneficial properties, such as seaweed and fungi.
These provisioning functions of ecosystems (such as the use of ecosystems by
people for food, fresh water, fuel and animal forage) are a critical component of
human health with a huge literature and evidence base. Fuel from ecosystem
sources (e.g. wood) impacts health too, including cooking, facilitating water puri-
fication and also via the improved ability for people to moderate living conditions.
The connections between provisioning functions and health can be indirect, for
example through the role of pollinators in agricultural systems (IPBES 2016).
Relationships can be complex with both beneficial and detrimental roles for human
health, varying between and within species and also in response to local environ-
mental factors. For example, a recent study of crops across five continents found
that some 39% of crop flower visits are from insects other than bee species (such
as flies and wasps) and the relative importance varies considerably by crop type
and location (Rader et al. 2016). In other contexts, some of these species are
regarded as pests and can be associated with negative health effects, such as via
food contamination. S. J. Lindley et al.
Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change
- Title
- Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change
- Authors
- Melissa Marselle
- Jutta Stadler
- Horst Korn
- Katherine Irvine
- Aletta Bonn
- Publisher
- Springer Open
- Date
- 2019
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-3-030-02318-8
- Size
- 15.5 x 24.0 cm
- Pages
- 508
- Keywords
- Environment, Environmental health, Applied ecology, Climate change, Biodiversity, Public health, Regional planning, Urban planning
- Categories
- Naturwissenschaften Umwelt und Klima