Hectare Natura - Restoring ecosystem services
An EDP initiative in Spain that groups together actions aimed at restoring ecosystem services in environments affected by its activity, thus implementing Nature-Based Solutions.
Within this initiative, the Muniello ash dump restoration project, belonging to the Aboño thermal power plant, stands out. After felling the existing eucalyptus stands on the mountain, restoration work was carried out, including clearing, hollowing out and manual planting in an area of 24.05 ha. The work was carried out to achieve the establishment and recovery of native plant communities such as Cantabrian laurel forests, and the promotion of riparian forests.
Ecosystem Services: the benefits that nature provides us with
Ecosystem services are the direct and indirect benefits that ecosystems and the biodiversity they harbor provide to human well-being.
They can be grouped into the following types:
- Provisioning services: products obtained directly from ecosystems such as food, drinking water, timber, fibers, etc.
- Regulating and maintenance services: indirect contributions to human well-being from the functioning of ecosystems, such as climate regulation, air and water quality regulation, flood control, disease control and crop pollination.
- Cultural services: Those intangible contributions that people obtain through their direct experience with ecosystems, such as aesthetic enjoyment of the landscape, recreational activities, scientific knowledge, or environmental education.
In the case of Muniello, as a result of the ecosystem restoration work, a mixed Cantabrian forest has been created, which will be a carbon sink that will absorb more than 14,000 tons of CO2. In addition, various ecosystem services will be enhanced:
- Biodiversity conservation.
- Protection of the soil against erosive phenomena.
- Regulation of the hydrological cycle: the reforestation of a previously sparse terrain proves the increase in forest cover and, therefore, the improvement of the capacity to purify and regulate water flows that this entails.
- Improved biodiversity, by restoring native forests to the existing allochthonous species (eucalyptus), creating natural habitats that serve as a refuge for local fauna.
In addition to the aforementioned services, new cultural services could be generated in the future through the creation of itineraries where the vegetation and fauna present can be observed and informative panels with the contents of the restoration and the recovered habitats.