Resin-tapped pine forests in Spain: Ecological diversity and economic valuation

Abstract

Since ancient times, Mediterranean pine forests have been habitat for human activity, providing a wide range of goods such as timber, seeds, resin and derived products. Among them, tar and resin have played an historical role on the interaction between human activity and forests. In Spain, the resin played an important role in the economic and social development in rural areas during 20 th century. But after 1980, resin production plummeted and the virtual disappearance of resin tapping caused the abandonment of traditional forest activities and the subsequently losses of ecosystem forest services (provision, regulation and cultural). This paper deals with some of the ecosystem services provided by resin tapped pine forests and shows how the abandonment of this traditional forestry activity would lead to a loss of social welfare beyond the economic activity. 2 Among these ecosystem services, special attention is paid to the biodiversity of the pine forests. For that purpose, a stratified vegetation sampling was conducted in the leading resin-tapping Spanish region. Ecological analysis was therefore compared with the social preferences for several attributes associated to resin-tapped pine forests in Spain, including the biodiversity of flora.

Characterization and determination of the quality of rosins and turpentines extracted from Pinus oocarpa and Pinus patula resin

“…Resin-tapping is a forest activity that aims to extract the oleoresin which flows from the pines during the year. This is done through pikes in selected trees [ 3 , 4 ]. The technology used is the downward pike system (herringbone).…”

Tapping into nature’s benefits: values, effort and the struggle to co-produce pine resin

“…Furthermore, forest fires, fire use and the underlying perception of fire have changed repeatedly in California and in the Biosphere Reserve; presently, the use of fire is restricted and forest fires are suppressed -in part due to a perceived threat to resin activities -though more flexible and informed fire management policies and practices are being introduced (Huffman 2010;Gutiérrez Navarro et al 2017;García-Barrios et al 2020). Interestingly though, one of the most important attributes associated to historically tapped pine forests in Spain, is that they reduce the risk of dangerous wildfires because they are better managed and people are more present (Soliño et al 2018).…”

Combining low-density LiDAR and satellite images to discriminate species in mixed Mediterranean forest

“…It was very important until the end of the 1970s, when the increase in the labor costs and international competitiveness of Chinese natural resins tapped from Pinus massoniana Lamb. rendered this traditional activity no longer profitable (Soliño et al 2018). In the recent years, within the context of the global financial crisis resulting in higher rates of rural unemployment in Spain, together with the drop in Chinese resin exports, and an increasing demand for high-quality secondary products for cosmetics, pharmacy, and healthcare, resin tapping has become a profitable activity again, and many of the abandoned stands are being tapped again (Rodríguez-García et al 2015;Soliño et al 2018).…”