Have Ecosystem Services Been Oversold? A Response to Silvertown

Silvertown [1] has addressed an important topic and expresses many concerns, some of which are warranted. The paradigm of ecosystem services (ES) divides researchers and therefore debate is welcome. Since paradigms, by their very nature, constrain the way we view things, critiques of what is gained and lost in taking a particular world view is always valuable. The ‘ES paradigm’ is no exception. The problem with Silvertown's contribution to this necessary debate is that it is based on a caricature of what the field actually entails and of the literature that underpins it.