Michigan Ecosystems - What Have They Done For You
STUDENTACTIVITY
Ecosystem Benefits
Instructions:
Read each of the statements describing a benefit provided by ecosystems and then decide if the term economic, social, or ecological
best describes that benefit.
Economic
—relating to the movement and consumption of goods and services.
Would someone be willing to pay money for this product or service?
Social
—having to do with the well-being of society.
Does this product or service make people’s lives happier or healthier?
Ecological
—concerned with the relationships between living things and their environment.
Does this product or service help plants and animals?
1. ______________ Wood from Michigan forests is used to manufacture products like paper and furniture, adding millions of dollars to Michigan’s economy.
2. ______________ People enjoy activities like hiking, swimming, camping, fishing, and hunting in Michigan’s
natural areas.
3. ______________ Plants make the oxygen people and animals need to breathe.
4. ______________ People enjoy being able to observe nature, like watching wildlife or a sunset.
5. ______________ Crops and livestock grown by Michigan farmers are sold to people all over Michigan, the United States, and the world.
6. ______________ Ships transport raw materials and manufactured goods between ports in the Great Lakes region and other parts of the world.
7. ______________ Natural areas provide shelter and food for many wildlife species in Michigan.
8. ______________ People use wood from trees for many uses, including to build homes and furniture—and sometimes to heat their homes in the winter.
9. ______________ Millions of people travel around Michigan on vacations, enjoying Michigan’s natural places. These people spend billions of dollars every year and create jobs for many people.
10. ______________ People depend on Michigan’s clean and abundant water supplies for drinking water.
11. ______________ Medicines that help people recover from sickness, are sometimes made from plants, micro-organisms, or even animals.
12. ______________ Many plants depend on animals like birds and squirrels to move seeds away from the parent plant.
Now, can you think of one more example for each of the following?
13. Economic:________________________________________________________________________________
14. Social:___________________________________________________________________________________
15. Ecological:________________________________________________________________________________