La apicultura como servicio ecosistémico de la herriza o brezal mediterráneo

Abstract

The herriza is one of the most representative vegetation types of the Aljibe and Campo de Gibraltar mountains, in the Strait of Gibraltar region. Just like other Mediterranean heathlands, the herriza is a dense low scrubland dominated by heath species and characterized by being virtually treeless, although it stands out from other heathlands by its high plant biodiversity. In spite of that, until the second half of the XXth century the herriza was systematically afforested with pine trees − mainly Pinus pinaster and, to a lesser extent, P. pinea − to make these “barren heathlands” profitable. Fortunately, economic profitability has lost ground in nature conservation and management, while keywords such as endemism, biodiversity, and landscape heterogeneity have a stronger say. Nevertheless, the existence of added values or benefits of an ecosystem to society helps substantially to justify and boost its conservation. In that sense, apart from intangible benefits such as landscape beauty, the herriza seems to provide an important resource to beekeeping or apiculture determined by the flowering phenology of two of its dominant species, Calluna vulgaris and Erica australis. We have investigated this possible benefit of the herriza by a questionnaire survey to beekeepers from the strait of Gibraltar region. Our results substantiate the role of the herriza as an ecosystem service to apiculture.