Operational use of the ecosystem service (ES) concept in conservation and planning requires quantitative assessments based on accurate mapping of ESs. Our goal is to review spatial assessments of ESs, with an emphasis on the socioecological drivers of ESs, the spatial datasets commonly used to represent those drivers, and the methodological approaches used to spatially model ESs. We conclude that diverse strategies, integrating both spatial and aspatial data, have been used to map ES supply and human demand.

Land degradation in the Mediterranean Basin is clearly connected to the resilience of perturbed ecosystems, contributing to land abandonment, recurrent fires and biodiversity loss, with the prevalence of secondary shrublands that tend to occupy large areas. This is the case of Cistus ladanifer shrublands, one of the most widespread shrub communities in the Iberian Peninsula and a poor, uniform and resilient system. Here, we analyse the impact of several management practices in the recovery of territories largely occupied by this shrubland.

The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami on 11 March 2011 led to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. The Japanese government subsequently outlined an evacuation zone around the power plant, and all residents were evacuated. In the absence of cropland or urban vegetation management, land cover was expected to change. The changes in vegetation cover following the nuclear disaster are presented using long-term time series data obtained from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors.