Archive for the ‘Spanish forests’ Category
Monday, April 25th, 2011
The expansion of eucalyptus farming in the Iberian Peninsula began some 40 years ago, sold as a profitable panacea, a fast- growing tree species producing abundant pulp in comparison with slow-growing oaks. Today there are more than 760,000 hectares of the tree planted in Spain and 646,000 in Portugal. Don’t be fooled by the fires that rage each year in the their plantations. They are not forests, but rather green deserts with a huge environmental and landscape cost. Every years hundreds of thousands of new trees are planted: some 30 million will be planted in Galicia alone. Crónica Verde More stats from El País
I wrote this on iberianature a couple of years back in relation to a bout of eucalyptus fires:
Yes, this is bad news for the owners and the people who live in the area. One might call it an industrial disaster, but hardly bad news ecologically. If there was anything more than token policy for reintroducing autochthonous species, one might even say it was a good thing, but as it is, reforestation in this damp corner of Spain will be swift. Eucalyptus is highly combustible but also regenerates incredibly quickly afterwards. There are hundreds of fires along Galicia ‘s coast of year, yet all along the Rias Bajas and Altas there is an almost continuous mono-crop swathe of these Australian trees. This birdless green desert is the true disaster of Galicia ‘s coast.
Tags: Eucalyptus in Portugal, Eucalyptus in Spain
Posted in Galicia, Spanish forests | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
A team of Catalan researchers has studied the changes in the make-up of animal populations following forest fires, and have concluded that snails are a good indicator of forest recovery. The conclusions of this study, carried out in Sant Llorenç del Munt i l’Obac Natural Park, will help to ensure that post-fire forestry operations that do not harm these species of molluscs, which are sensitive to microclimatic conditions of the soil and vegetation structure. More here in English
Tags: bioindicators of forest recovery, Snails in Spain, Spanish snails, Uses of snails
Posted in Fire, Invertebrates, Spanish forests | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
![[chopo+cabecero.bmp]](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_fhe-e2h9zRk/RmPd2Sxn7bI/AAAAAAAAAWo/mdSkv5j-jYE/s1600/chopo%2Bcabecero.bmp)
I came across this attractive
powerpoint in English celebrating the importance of black poplar in forming the landscape in the southern Aragon. The valleys are scattered with traditional pollards which look glorious especially in spring. From
Ancient Tree Forum. From the book
El chopo cabecero en el sur de Aragon, la identitad de un paisaje. Patrimonio olvidado‘ by Chabier de Jaime Loren and Fernando Herrero Loma.
Tags: Black poplar in Spain, Chabier de Jaime Loren, El chopo cabecero en el sur de Aragon, Fernando Herrero Loma, southern Aragon, Trees of Aragon
Posted in Aragon, Flora, Spanish forests, Traditional activities | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
The Observatorio Convergente de Árboles Singulares y Monumentales, of the Fundación Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente has made an interesting call for all yews in Northern Spain to form a collective World Heritage Site as a method of protecting them, from the serious attacks suffered in the last twenty years. In the photo above, the stunning yew outside the church of San Cristóbal de Valdueza, in Ponferrada (El Bierzo, León). Crónica Verde
See also
Tags: El Bierzo, Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, Fundación Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, León, Ponferrada, San Cristóbal de Valdueza, World Heritage Site trees, yew protection
Posted in Spanish forests | No Comments »
Sunday, June 7th, 2009
Dutch elm disease (grafiosis in Spanish) arrived relatively late to Spain. It was first detected in the 1980s, though it may well have reached the country a decade before, and has decimated 80-90% of common elms (Ulmus minor) in Iberia. One of the very few elm stands to have survived in Spain is in Rivas Vaciamadrid, near Madrid, as it is isolated from other trees. Efforts are being made here to conserve the trees here and ensure a genetic bank from which one day to replant elms across the country.
Wikipedia (Spanish)
Tags: elms in Spain, history of Ducth elm disease, Iberian elms, Ophiostoma novo-ulmi Spain, Rivas Vaciamadrid, Spanish elms, Spanish translation of Dutch elm disease, tree diseases in Spain
Posted in Flora, On Spain, Spanish forests | No Comments »
Sunday, September 14th, 2008
The Spanish government has announced a plan to plant 45 million trees of local Iberian, Balearic and Canarian species with the aim of promoting “Spain’s natural heritage”. The plan involves reforesting more than 61,000 hectares, revitalising ecosystems and creating some 3,000 jobs, particularly in rural areas. The planting will be done in public lands between 2009 and 2012 and will require an investment of 90 million euros. The programme is backed by the a new forest fire prevention plan
The director of Greenpeace España, Juan López Uralde, states that the announcement “is a first step but is insuficient to put a stop to desertification”. El Mundo
See also
Tags: Greenpeace, reforestation in Spain, tree planting in Spain, uan López Uralde
Posted in Conservation, desertification, Spanish forests | No Comments »
Monday, June 23rd, 2008
Unlike northern Europe where most yew woods were felled, northern Spain is still home to a few remarkable patches of yew forest, the biggest of which (and the largest yew forest in Europe), is in the Sierra de Sueve in Asturias. After years of campaigns, it is now finally to be protected. The wood covers 80 hectares and is home to a remarkable 8,000 yew trees, many of which are more than 1000 years old. La Crónica Verde
Medieval Spain exported much yew wood to Northern Europe which was in demand for boat and longbow manufacture. Iberian yew wood had less knots in it than northern yews because climatic conditions and was highly valued.
A poison from yew was used by the ancient Cantabrians and Celts as a poison to prevent their capture at the hands of enemies. As in much of the world the yew was venerated as a sacred tree and formed part of rituals, no doubt much of which was due to the yew’s extreme longevity. A vestige of this is the common presence of ancient yews growing in churchyards in Galicia and Asturias. Testament to the once more common presence of yew woods is the plethora of placenames – Tejeda/Tejedal/Teixadal – meaning yew wood.
See also Yews in Spain
Tags: largest yew forest in Europe, Sierra de Sueve, yew protection
Posted in Asturias, Spanish forests | No Comments »
Saturday, December 15th, 2007
According to a new report by Gas Natural, la Sierra de la Demanda between Burgos and Soria absorbs more greenhouse gases than any other forest in Spain. La Demanda in one year absorbed 95,244 tons of co2, twice as much as the entire Cordillera Cantabrica. (Alfredo – Forum)
Posted in Carbon sequestration, Castilla y León, On Spain, Spanish forests | No Comments »
Friday, September 21st, 2007
One of the most traditional economic activities associated with forests in Spain is the virtually extinct job of charcoal making. The job of the carbonero, the charcoal maker, was a hard one, requiring constant attention in all weathers. Whole families were often involved. Forestman has posted this video on the art, in this case on the common use of carrasco (holm oak). The 1984 film Tasio pays tribute to the Basque charcoal makers of the Sierra de Urbasa.
Posted in Human geography of Spain, Spanish forests, Traditional activities | No Comments »
