Ecosystem Services: Overview

Assessing the capacity of quarry biodiversity and ecosystems to cope with climate challenges

This entry continues the analysis of ecosystem services. It refers to 3 points, which are reflected in the attached images:
1. Culturas services
2. Summary of ecosystem services groups
3. Aggregatred value of ecosystem services

The cultural services mapped for the study area show two zones of main interest, mainly due to the total recreational service. One of them is the Bolintxu area, which would be integrated with the whole of this basin and covers a wider area than that of this study, and Mendikosolo reservoir sourroundings, where there is already a recreational area.
The summary of each group of services is as follows:
• Regulating services reach their lowest values in the areas of activity related to the quarry. There are 3 areas with high values for the set of these services, the Bolintxu area, the surroundings of Mendikosolo and the southern end of the study area.
• The quarry activity areas are once again the places with the lowest values for cultural services. The 3 areas mentioned above, Bolintxu, Mendikosolo and the southern end, again have the highest values.
• Provisioning services are the ones that show the largest areas with low values. The high values are those in which forestry-timber activity has a high presence.
In summary, considering the ecosystem services approach and based on the data analyzed, the 3 areas indicated (Bolintxu basin, the surroundings of Mendikosolo and the southern end of the study area)would be the areas to be preserved.
At the same time, the quarry areas that are no longer in the front line of activity would offer great opportunities to increase the values of ecosystem services in them.