Europe's natural treasures - an illustrated ecosystem services map

Abstract

Europe is full of natural treasures that provide endless inspiration, excitement, and enjoyment as well as supporting much of our economy. These benefits we get from nature sometimes referred to as ecosystem services, that are provided by Europe's natural capital. This map provides a rich picture of many of these ecosystem services and is accompanied by a legend that explains different categories of benefits. The map - and the illustrated ecosystem services within the map - can be used for illustration purposes and as an informative educational resource.

The illustration was created by Sara Gelfgren from Scriberia as outreach material for the European Union FP7 project OPERAs (http://www.operas-project.eu) based on Marc Metzger's ideas and valuable input from Kathleen Allen, Archie Crofton, Martina Metzger, Chris Wilson and members of the OPERAs consortium.