Open AccessMapping Ecosystem Services of Forest Stands: Case Study of Maamora, Morocco
Author(s) -
Abdelkader Benabou,
Saïd Moukrim,
Said Laaribya,
Abderrahman Aafi,
Aissa Chkhichekh,
Tayeb El Maadidi,
Ahmed El Aboudi
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
geography, environment, sustainability
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2542-1565
pISSN - 2071-9388
DOI - 10.24057/2071-9388-2021-047
Subject(s) - ecosystem services , sustainability , forest ecology , ecosystem , recreation , environmental resource management , firewood , business , environmental science , agroforestry , geography , ecology , archaeology , biology
The concept of ecosystem services (ES) is increasingly used to analyze the relationships and interactions between humans and nature. Understanding the ecosystem services’ flow and the ecosystems’ capacity to generate these services is an essential element in considering the sustainability of ecosystem uses and the development of ecosystem accounts. For such purpose, we conduct spatially explicit analyses of nine ecosystem services in the Maamora forest, Morocco. The ecosystem services included are timber and industry wood harvest, firewood harvest, cork gathering, forage production, acorn gathering, forest carbon storage, and recreational hiking. Results make it possible to distinguish between the forest capacity to provide ecosystem services from their current use (demand) and assess them quantitatively. It came out that both capacity and flow differ in spatial extent as well as in quantity. Distinguishing capacity and flow of ES also provided an estimate of over-or under-utilization of services, and offer the possibility to map the ecosystem service provision hotspots (SPA) and degraded SPHs. The respective assessment of capacity and flux in a space-explicit manner can therefore support the monitoring of the forest ecosystem use sustainability.