Identification and assessment of green infrastructure in the Community of Madrid

Abstract

Abstract The recently approved Spanish Green Infrastructure (GI) Strategy obliges each autonomous community to identify and evaluate its own GI. This paper identifies and assesses the GI in the Community of Madrid at regional scale. This entailed, firstly, the identification of GI Principal Areas (GIPAS). This was followed by a spatial assessment of GI on the basis of three indicators: the Contribution to Ecosystem Services, the Combined Biodiversity Index and the Accessibility Index. After that, the correlations between GI assessment values and socioeconomic indicators were explored. The highest GI assessment values were located around the Sistema Central mountain range, and the lowest were in the Metropolitan Area and Henares Corridor. Finally, significant negative correlations were observed between the GI assessment values, population density and gross per capita income. The results of this study could provide useful support for the planning and decision-making required for the spatial definition of GI in the autonomous Community of Madrid.