Vegetation management

We take actions in large vegetation areas, actions such as clearing in extended reed bed masses in order to improve the presence of waterbirds and to maintain a favourable conservation status of wetlands. The excessive reed bed colonization simplifies the ecosystem and reduces ecological niches which in turn decreases the biological richness of flora and fauna species. We harvest this vegetation with an amphibious machine to control the growth of reeds inside the wetlands, to avoid thus its clogging and to promote the presence of different plant species. Besides, we also manage the vegetation by mowing. Later on the harvested vegetation is composted or used for other environmental purposes.

Vegetation’s habitat is also restored through actions such as the plantation of native species. In La Mancha wetlands, we have restored hundreds of hectares of priority threatened habitats: the sparto grass steppe and the Mediterranean salt steppes. We produce native species in our own nursery for projects developed in this area.

Finally we encourage controlled grazing as a tool to control the vegetation and to allow habitats and wetland species conservation. Through land stewardship agreements signed with local stockbreeders we reinforce a traditional activity that had been lost in many coastal wetlands and which provides many environmental benefits. There are numerous studies which have shown that the presence of extensive farming in natural areas improve the biodiversity if the stocking density and the rotation within the area are controlled. The livestock grazing allows the existence of a balance between reed bed zones, and dense bulrushes, rushes, and grassland, and other water areas free from vegetation where the well-preserved underwater vegetation of macrophyte meadows can succeed