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The Montseny National
Park is
located some 100 kilometres to the
north of Barcelona,
and its peaks form the highest points along
the Catalan coastal range. The differences in altitude and climate
produces a
mosaic of communities ranging from typically Mediterranean and Central European
forests, up to sub alpine habitats,
in combination with streams, forests, farmland and high moors. The area
was
declared a biosphere reserve by Unesco in 1978.
Relief and geology
Montseny can be
divided into three basic mountainous blocks: El
Turó de l'Home (1,706 m) and Les Agudes (1,703 m), the plateau
of La
Calma (Puig Drau, 1,344 m) and El Matagalls (1,697 m).
Vegetation and
climate
The combination
of
climate, altitude and a mountainous terrain cut by cliffs and streams produces
an interesting variety of habitats, and a meeting point for Mediterranean and Central
European ecosystems. The slower
slopes are dominated by holm oak and other typically Mediterranean
species such
as stone pine and cork oak, the latter with the remanants of a once
thriving cork
industry. As one moves up, the holm oak gives way to an association of mountain
holm oak and oak. This is then replaced at
around 900-1000m by the southernmost
beech forests of Europe - bar a couple of small patches in the Sistema
Central and Els Ports, massively popular during autumn
weekends
among Barcelona day trippers for their riot of colours, but
reasonanly quiet for most of the year. They
also make a welcome break in August from a sweltering Barcelona, but as climate change
kicks in, are these woods doomed to disappear? This may already be
happening.
Studies since 1945 show that holm oak is slowly
replacing the beech and that the limit of the beech has moved 70m
upwards, in search
of
cooler, wetter conditions. Turó de l'Home at 1707m is the
highest point
in Montseny so they've got 300 metres to go. More
seriously under threat are the sub-alpine communities of the last few
hundred
metres. Temperatures on Montseny are estimated to have risen by a
degree in the
last century, double the global average, and leaves here now sprout 20
days earlier
than 50 years ago and fall 13 days later. The mountain is said to be
undergoing "mediterraneanisation", and the recent spate of hot summers and dry
springs may be speeding this process up. More here
(Interview with CSIC researchers).
Wildlife of Montseny
As with the
flora, the
lower slopes of holm oak the is taken over by Central European fauna as the altidue rises. You have a small fighting chance of seeing
wild boar and fox in either of the forest types, and the former's
tracks are omnipresent, but the genet in the holm oak woods and the
dormice in the oak woods are much harder to detect.
Montseny's
isolation has led to the
evoution of the endemic Montseny
Brook Newt (Calotriton
arnoldi) discovered to science in 2005(+ Video here).
This is Spain's only endemic newt/salamander.
Less than 1500 individual adults live in an area of just 40 km2.
Birdlife
of Montseny
s
Human history of Montseny
 Montseny
has been occupied since prehistoric times. More information in English
here
The
mountain
is also famous for its legends of witches, water maidens and goblins.
More
information in dodgy
English here
Practicalities
Good routes here
in Catalan
Car
Take A7 mototrway from Barcelona and leave at Sant
Celoni, follwing
signs for Santa Fe and/or Natural Park de Montseny. Full road map of
Montseny here
Train
RENFE: Train skirts
eastern side of the park. Take train to xxxx. Get
off at el Figaró. Web: www.renfe.es
Bus:
Barcelonabus.
Bus from xxxx at 9:30 am. Get of at Santa Fe for beech
woods. Back at 5:30.
Tel.
902 130 014 Web: www.barcelonabus.com
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