Water purification by the ecosystem
Preserving forests can be "a cost-effective way to provide clean drinking water because forests reduce landslides, erosion and sediment, improve water purity by filtering pollutants, and in some cases capture and store water."[1]
Note that "artificial" ecosystems work in a similar way, including reed beds,W constructed wetlands, and any device making use of a biofilm, such as a roughing filter or slow sand filter.
Notes
- ↑ This was found to be the case in many cities including Melbourne and New York. See the news report It's cheaper to grow your own clean water, abc.net.au/Reuters, 2 Sep 2003, based on the 114-page World Bank & WWF report Running Pure: The importance of forest protected areas to drinking water, August 22, 2003