Key messages

• Ecosystems provide people with services that enable adaptation to climate change, which we refer to here as 'adaptation services'.
• But adaptation services do not flow automatically: some input from people is needed.
• We identified five types of mechanisms that support the production of adaptation services.
• These mechanisms are related to: (i) multifunctional and traditional ecosystem management, (ii) proactive management of transformed ecosystems, (iii) use of novel adaptation services, (iv) collective ecosystem management, and (v) appreciating, using and valuing adaptation services.
• Understanding these mechanisms can lead to an improved flow of adaptation services and more options for livelihoods and well-being under climate change.
• This InfoBrief summarizes the findings of a paper published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Series B (Lavorel et al. 2020).