Ecosystem Services & Biodiversity Loss — NEET Biology

Correct answer: B — Maintenance of genetic diversity for crop improvement.

Broadly utilitarian arguments encompass the major ecosystem services provided by nature, which are often indirect and diffuse benefits. A. Regulation of global climate patterns (e.g., oxygen production by forests) is a significant ecosystem service, thus a broadly utilitarian argument. B. Maintenance of genetic diversity for crop improvement relates to the direct economic benefits derived from the genetic variation within species, such as for food production. This falls under narrowly utilitarian arguments, which focus on direct economic benefits like food, fibre, and medicinal products. C. Purification of air and water by natural ecosystems is an essential ecosystem service, classifying it as a broadly utilitarian argument. D. Pollination services, without which plants cannot give us fruits or seeds, are crucial ecosystem services, making them a broadly utilitarian argument. Therefore, the maintenance of genetic diversity for crop improvement is primarily a narrowly utilitarian argument.