CREAF organised the third edition of its internal thematic 'vermouths' with ecosystem services - or the contributions of nature to people - as the main theme of the presentations and debate. During the event, 14 CREAF researchers shared their studies and projects with almost 50 attendees. The topics ranged from pollinators, green infrastructures in urban spaces and the key role of soil, to the services provided by forests and how to monitor them using geospatial tools, among others.

The topics included pollinators, green infrastructures in urban spaces and the key role of soil, also the services provided by forests and how to monitor them using geospatial tools, among others.

CREAF's scientific coordinator, Alicia Pérez-Porro, moderated the event, with the collaboration of Anabel Sánchez in the closing session. Researchers Laura Roquer, Mireia Banqué and Jordi Martínez acted as ambassadors for the event, inviting speakers to participate and supervising the scientific aspect of the presentations with questions, comments and conclusions.

To wrap up the round of presentations, Sergi Herrando shared a talk with some reflections: what ecosystem services represent for each culture, how they change according to the social moment and the interests that drive us to preserve them. This last presentation gave way to the conclusions, where the ambassadors stressed that "CREAF is at the forefront in mapping and evaluating ecosystem services. But we still need to improve when interpreting the results, as well as in creating a common narrative on this topic". In addition, they highlighted that it is also important to understand the value of nature as an intrinsic value and "not only look at its utility".

Meet, debate, enjoy

Thematic vermouths are internal face-to-face symposia in which CREAF staff share their research on a specific topic related to the centre's lines of research. These sessions are aimed at all the centre's staff, regardless of their career stage, and have a dual purpose: to learn and keep up to date with the work of colleagues and an opportunity to discover connections and possible alliances. All of this is accompanied by a snack and a vermouth at the end. The first edition of the vermouth focused on forestry research and the second on biodiversity.

The first edition of the vermouth focused on forestry research and the second on biodiversity.

The format of the presentations is 5+5 - 5 minutes of presentation, followed by 5 minutes of questions and answers and debate - in which the speakers answer three key questions: What are the key issues to be addressed?

This action is part of the Severo Ochoa “ULandscape” funded in 2019 by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation to support Research Centres of Excellence.