Tag: Ecosystem services

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), around 26% of the Earth's terrestrial surface is used for livestock grazing. The long-standing practice of letting livestock graze freely on pastures is far more complex and advantageous than it appears, offering a multitude of benefits for both the land and the animals.

While there are an estimated 390,900 plant species worldwide, only a fraction—perhaps 1,000 to 2,000—are considered edible by humans, highlighting a vast difference from assumptions about how many fruits and vegetables are in the balance of nature. The intricate web of natural systems reveals that the true value of wild produce lies not in quantity for human consumption, but in its role for biodiversity and ecosystem resilience.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, root and tuber crops yielded 0.9 billion tonnes globally in 2022, highlighting their importance in global food security. This statistic only scratches the surface of the myriad ways plant roots benefit us and the wider planet, answering the question: what does root give us?

Having existed for over 500 million years, jellyfish have proven incredibly resilient and play a surprisingly vital role in marine ecosystems, contributing many overlooked benefits to jellyfish and the ocean as a whole.