A visit to the saline wetlands of Castilla la Mancha

From 15 to 17 March, the EFE team accompanied technicians from Fundación Global Nature (FGN) and the University of Valencia (UV) to the wetlands of Castilla la Mancha.

Manjavacas Lagoon Complex Nature Reserve  is made up of four wetlands: Manjavacas, Sánchez Gómez and La Dehesilla, in the municipality of Mota del Cuervo, and the Alcahozo lagoon, in Pedro Muñoz (Ciudad Real), this lagoon complex has its own peculiarities, as, in addition to their temporary nature, they are “saline or mesosaline” wetlands.indicated Julia Carrascosa, the environmental technician of Mota del Cuervo.

These lagoons are temporary and dry up when the warmer months arrive. This causes salinity to accumulate and reach levels of concentration higher than those of the sea, giving them unique ecological characteristics that are different from other wetlands throughout Europe. UV researcher Daniel Morant explains it in detail in the following video:

“The primary protection status of this lagoon complex is as a refuge for aquatic birds. However, another value to take into account is that they are endorheic lagoons whose main source of water does not come from any river, but from all the surface water they collect from the catchment basin, in addition to the important contribution of groundwater” explained the Director – Conservator of the Nature Reserve of the Manjavacas Lagoon Complex, Cecilia Díaz. 

From the European Commission’s Neemo-IDOM External Team, Sara Mora accompanied the entire team on the field visit to supervise that the planned actions are implemented and that the project funds are used for this purpose.

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