Cornous Biology | Volume 4 Issue 1 | Pages: 1-9 | Doi : 10.37446/corbio/ra/4.1.2026.1-9

Review Article

OPEN ACCESS | Published on : 29-Mar-2026

Forests and ecosystem services: Nature's invisible economy

Karuppaiah Ravichandran Dharshini
• SRM College of Agricultural Sciences, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Vendhar Nagar, Baburayanpettai, Tamil Nadu, India.


• Govindaraj Kamalam Dinesh
• Assistant Professor (Environmental Science), Department of BPME, College of Agriculture, Central Agricultural University, Iroisemba, Imphal – 795004, Manipur, India.

Chandrasekaran Nivaethaa
• Researcher, Department of Environmental Sciences, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore – 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India.

Archana Anokhe
• Scientist (Entomology), ICAR-Directorate of Weed Research, Jabalpur, India – 482 004.

Nath Karthika
• Research Scholar (Environmental Science), College of Climate Change and Environmental Science, Kerala Agricultural University, Vellanikkara, Thrissur – 680 656, Kerala, India.

Poomalai Vasanth
• Research Scholar (Agronomy), Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Chidambaram – 608 002, Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, India.

Kannappan Manikandan
• Research Scholar, Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Chidambaram – 608 002, Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, India.

Suresh Parvathy
• Research Scholar (Environmental Science), Department of Environmental Science, College of Climate Change and Environmental Science, Kerala Agricultural University, Vellanikkara, Thrissur – 680 656, Kerala, India.

Puthenveetil Ali Shahidha
• Assistant Professor (Environmental Science), College of Climate Change and Environmental Science, Kerala Agricultural University, Vellanikkara, Thrissur - 680 656, Kerala, India.

Chelladurai Dharani
• Assistant Professor (Agrometeorology), Centre for Advanced Studies on Climate Change, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur, Bihar – 848 125, India.

Mohan Packialakshmi
• Assistant Professor (Forestry), School of Agricultural Sciences, Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan University, Samayapuram – 621 112, Tamil Nadu, India.

Veluswamy Venkatramanan
• Associate Professor (Environmental Sciences), School of Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi – 110 068, India.

Punabati Heisnam
• Assistant Professor (Agronomy), Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Central Agricultural University, Iroisemba, Imphal – 795 004, Manipur, India.

Abstract

Forests are primarily valued for the resources and products that are evident and can be extracted, such as wood, fuelwood, and fruits, as well as for their aesthetic value. However, their most vital contributions are made without the price tags, or market transactions. These benefits, termed ecosystem services, represent the invisible economy, the provider of clean water and food, the reduction of disaster risks, and the source of human well-being. The loss of forests does not immediately wipe out this economy; instead, it takes time for the effects to be felt in floods, droughts, declining crop yields, heat stress, and rising public costs. This article elaborates on the functioning of forests as natural capital, presents the data supporting their ecosystem services, and argues that forest conservation is economically necessary rather than environmentally luxurious.

Keywords

forest ecosystem services, natural capital, climate regulation, biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, environmental economics

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