Aquatic ecosystem services: an overview of the Special Issue.

Guest editors: Verónica Ferreira, Luis Mauricio Bini, Katya E. Kovalenko, Andre A. Padial, Judit Padisák & María de los Ángeles González Sagrario / Aquatic Ecosystem Services Introduction to ecosystem services Millennium Ecosystem Assessment The dependency of human wellbeing from ecological systems has been long recognized. The ecosystem services approach has provided background and motivated international legislation and agreements aiming to halt and reverse ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss, such as the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, and the EU Nature Restoration Law. The papers included in this Special Issue, together with reviews on ecosystem services provided by other aquatic ecosystems and organisms (e.g., Barbier et al., [2]; Macadam & Stockan, [25]; Hilt et al., [14]; Riis et al., [37]; Janssen et al., [16]), contribute to highlighting the relevance of these ecosystems and organisms to human wellbeing, and emphasizing the need for their conservation and restoration. This is followed by 6 reviews addressing ecosystem services provided by specific aquatic ecosystems and 12 reviews addressing ecosystem services provided by different groups of aquatic organisms (Table 2). [Extracted from the article]