Optimizing the processing of large amounts of spatial data related to the ecosystem water service provided by forest territories

Abstract Nowadays, an increased interest towards the integration of the concept of ecosystem services has been observed, both in regards to processes related to forest and water resources management, as well as in the context of sustainable development of the economy on a local, regional and national level. In the most common case, what is referred to as forest ecosystem services are possible benefits, which man can reap directly or indirectly from ecosystem functions of forest territories. Therefore, it is of great importance to analyse and assess the interactions between the human factor with the conditions and processes through which forest ecosystems create and sustain ecosystem services. The water ecosystem service provided by forest territory could cause the need to process large amounts of spatial data in the form of forest management and hydrological information, as well as information about sanitary protection zones around water sources, in the context of the administrative territorial division of the country at different levels, creates considerable challenges. The difficulties are due to both the various electronic formats in which the necessary information is maintained, and the need to perform different operations on the input data for the purpose of analysis and decision making. The present paper investigates the possibilities of automating the processing of large volumes of spatial data in the context of the ecosystem water service, provided by forest territories by developing a set of tools operating into the environment of open source GIS. The main purpose is to develop a unified approach based on the use of GIS and suitable for the creation and implementation of methods for analysis and management of processes related to the ecosystem water service provided by forest territories. The approach can be applied in different sectors of the economy, public relations and the environment.