Abstract
A wetland that does not comply with the ecological standards of EU Directive 2000/60/EC cannot properly provide its services. This paper presents a review of the criteria for wetland assessment based on the Spanish experience in two specific Ramsar areas: the Tablas de Daimiel and the Ruidera Lakes. The aim of this article is to consider and promote a holistic awareness of the hydrological cycle and of the wetland area ecosystems within it. The methodology developed under the umbrella of the UNESCO project IGCP 604 is applied to describe the groundwater-wetland-human interrelationship. This methodology was chosen for two reasons: (a) it is designed to assess the services the wetlands provide; (b) it focuses on groundwater dependent wetlands such as the two cases presented here. In each case, although to a different extent, agricultural activities and water management have led to important changes in the services provided by the two ecosystems.
Highlights
The concept of services evaluation or assessment is of particular interest in Earth Sciences and within the context of dynamic wetlands, as it implies assigning a value to the benefits wetlands provide to humans
The evaluation of wetland services is implicit in the Water Framework Directive (WFD) under what are considered as ‘water services’, but is not included in the Habitats Directive (HD)
The aim of this paper is to assess the services provided by two Ramsar groundwater dependent wetlands in the Mancha Húmeda Biosphere Reserve: the Tablas de Daimiel and the Ruidera
Summary
The concept of services evaluation or assessment is of particular interest in Earth Sciences and within the context of dynamic wetlands, as it implies assigning a value to the benefits wetlands provide to humans. These beneficial services are linked to the human management of water, soil and the environment, and to the effects of climate change. The assessment of ecosystem services has been widely discussed since the late 1980s, in terms of their economic value, differentiating between the concepts of use value (i.e., to what extent they can be used to satisfy a need or improve well-being) and exchange or trading value (i.e., how much they are worth in financial terms)
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