Final answer:
Processes that purify air and water, pollinate crops, and recycle waste are referred to as ecosystem services, which are essential for maintaining human life and environmental health. These services are provided by the biodiversity within ecosystems at various scales and are fundamental to life on Earth.
Step-by-step explanation:
The processes that purify air and water, pollinate crops, provide food, recycle waste, and circulate atmospheric gases, chemical elements, and energy are referred to as ecosystem services. These services are vital for the maintenance of human life and the overall health of our planet. They include the purification of the air we breathe and the water we drink, the generation of oxygen, the stabilization of our climate, and the decomposition of waste, among others. Ecosystem services also encompass the nutrient cycling and soil formation that are critical for food production and thus human survival.
Ecosystems provide these services at various scales, benefiting humans and other organisms by creating a balance in our environment that allows life to thrive. From the microscopic organisms in the soil that maintain nutrient cycles to global processes like the carbon cycle, ecosystem services are fundamental to life on Earth.
Biodiversity plays a crucial role in ecosystem services, as a variety of living organisms contribute to the complex processes that maintain life-sustaining conditions. This diversity of life helps with things like pollination of crops, control of agricultural pests, and breakdown of organic matter, all of which are indispensable to human existence and welfare.