Tampa Bay Ecosystem Services
Food & Fiber Production
Healthy ecosystems produce higher quality and greater quantities of food and fiber that people can use. This “productive capacity” of ecosystems can be diminished or altered by human activities. For example, adding fertilizers to increase crop production improves the delivery of that crop, but the added fertilizers can adversely impact commercial and recreational fishing opportunities from nutrient pollution. As climate and water availability change, people must make decisions regarding land use and the social and economic consequences of those decisions.