Which of the following is an example of a supporting service that helps sustain other services by providing habitat?

• A. Energy production
• B. Habitat provision
• C. Transportation planning
• D. Tourism marketing

Answer: (B)

Supporting ecosystem services underpin other services by maintaining the habitat and ecological processes needed for them to occur. Habitat provision provides living space, food, shelter, and breeding grounds for organisms, which supports pollination, seed dispersal, pest control, and nutrient cycling. These ecological functions in turn enable provisioning (like crops and timber), regulating (such as climate and flood regulation), and cultural services (like recreation and aesthetics) to continue. The other options describe human activities or infrastructure rather than ecological processes that sustain multiple services, so they don’t fulfill the role of a habitat-based supporting service.