Which type of ecosystem service is enhanced by healthy nitrogen cycling?

Healthy nitrogen cycling primarily enhances regulating services within an ecosystem. Regulating services are those that help maintain ecological balance and directly impact the health and stability of environments. Nitrogen is a critical nutrient that supports plant growth and affects soil fertility.

When nitrogen cycling is functioning well, it ensures that plants have access to the nutrients they need to grow efficiently. This leads to increased vegetation cover, which can help control erosion, improve water quality by filtering pollutants, and stabilize climate by sequestering carbon. Additionally, effective nitrogen cycling contributes to maintaining biodiversity by supporting a variety of plant and animal species that rely on a healthy nutrient supply.

The other types of ecosystem services don’t directly connect to the process of nitrogen cycling in the same way. Provisioning services are related to the production of resources like food, water, and raw materials, while cultural services refer to the non-material benefits people obtain from ecosystems, such as recreational, aesthetic, and spiritual experiences. Supporting services, though they relate broadly to the underlying processes that sustain ecosystem function (such as nutrient cycling), place a stronger emphasis on the biological and ecological systems rather than the direct benefits gained from regulating processes. Therefore, the enhancement of nitrogen cycling is most accurately categorized under regulating services.