Tablas de Daimiel National Park

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Tablas de Daimiel National Park ("Parque Nacional de las Tablas de Daimiel") is a nature reserve in south-central Spain on the plain of La Mancha in the province of Ciudad Real (province). As well as having national park status, it enjoys international recognition as a wetland on the list of the Ramsar Convention and as part of the Biosphere reserve Mancha Húmeda.

It is Spain's smallest national park and covers 19.28 km²cite web|url=http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://reddeparquesnacionales.mma.es/parques/daimiel/index.htm|title=Official page of the park (Google translation)|work=Official site|accessmonthday=September 25 |accessyear=2007] . It is a marshy area where the Cigüela river joins the Guadiana river. It is home to many bird species, some year-round residents, some migratory. The National Park is known as "Tablas de Daimiel", although 70% of the park's territory belongs to the town of Villarrubia de los Ojos and only 30% to Daimiel.

History

Like other Spanish wetlands, the Tablas de Daimiel have a long tradition of waterfowl hunting. As early as 1325 the infante Don Juan Manuel, in his hunting book ("Libro de la caza"), publicised the attributes of the banks of the river Cigüela for falconry. The water resources of the area also provided fishing and power for mills. In 1575, Philip II ordered the compilation of the Topographic Relations which commanded that the Tablas be well looked after. The value of the ecosystem for hunting continued to give the Tablas a certain amount of protection into the twentieth century. Although in the 1950s the government promoted land reclamation projects in La Mancha with the aim of reducing the amount of wetland, Franco shot duck in the area and in 1966 the Tablas became a National Hunting Reserve.

In 1963 the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) launched a project to conserve and manage wetlands, the MAR Project, which drew up a list of wetlands of international importance as a foundation for an international convention on wetlands. The draft called for the protection of wetlands habitats rather than species. The Tablas de Damiel were declared a National Park in 1973. In 1980 Las Tablas was declared part of a biosphere reserve. In the 1982 Las Tablas were included on the list of the Ramsar Convention (an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands). In 1988 Las Tablas were declared a Special Protection Area (or SPA), a designation under the European Union directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.

Conservation issues

Unfortunately, the demand for water for agriculture in the surrounding area threatens the park, and the water-table has dropped because of illegal wells and canalisation of the rivers. The future of the park's eco-system will depend on how the acquifers can be refilled. Various ecological groups have suggested that the park's designation as a biosphere reserve (within Mancha Húmeda) should be withdrawn as its eco-system has been broken. In June 2008, a UNESCO report recommended that the national park lose its biosphere status or, alternatively, that Spain be given an ultimatum to reverse the degredation. The situation at present is that Spain has been given time to reverse the degredation. [ [http://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/Unesco/da/Espana/anos/plazo/recuperar/Daimiel/elpepusoc/20080614elpepisoc_12/Tes "El País"] ]

Characteristics

The park is the last surviving example in the Iberian peninsula of an ecosystem called fluvial flats. This wetland landscape is characterised by rivers overflowing to produce marshland and lagoons. The flooding produces semi-endorheic phenomena on the Castilian plain.

The Park surface is 19.28 km² and has waterlands formed from the confluence of the Guadiana river and its affluent, the Cigüela river. It is one of the most important aquatic ecosystems of Spain due to the flora and the fauna. It's important too because of the great amount of migratory birds that pass by the zone, like Anatidae and Anserinae.

Biological patrimony

"Las Tablas de Daimiel" are provided with two types of water making an unusual ecosystem: the Guadiana contributes fresh water, while its tributary the Cigüela is brackish.

Flora

The fresh water of the Guadiana favors the growth of the Common Reed (Phragmites australis, Phragmites communis), and the briny water of the Cigüela favors the growth of the marshy vegetation, principally the Great Fen-sedge (Cladium mariscus). The prevailing vegetation is the marshy. The Great Fen-sedge abounds extraordinarily, and it is one of the most extensive zones still subsisting in Occidental Europe.

We found ample groups of Bulrushes (g. Typha, Scirpus lacustris, Scirpus maritimus) and Rush (g. Juncus) in the least deep areas.

Charophytes' grasslands are one of the most characteristic formations of the National Park formed by different sorts of Chara genus (Chara hispida, Chara major, Chara canescens), also known locally as "ovas", and are able to form an almost continuous tapestry in the inundated funds. The only trees present are the Tamarisk (Tamarix gallica).

Fauna

Migratory fauna: Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea), Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta), Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris), Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina), Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata), Wigeon (Anas penelope), Northern Pintail (Anas acuta), Common Teal (Anas crecca), Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo), Slavonian Grebe (Podiceps auritus), Black-necked Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis), Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis), Bearded Reedling (Panurus biarmicus)...

In the sedentary fauna we may find the European freshwater crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes), that it was in the past excessively abundant and important source of income for Daimiel's families, today almost extinguished in these waters. After the introduction of the great predator that the Northern pike (Esox lucius) is, other autochthonous species like the Barbus (Barbus barbus), the Common carp (Cyprinus carpio), or the Chub (Leuciscus cephalus) are now endangered species.

In the spring and the summer we may find amphibians and reptiles like the European tree frog (Hyla arborea), the Marsh Frog (Rana ridibunda), the Common Toad (Bufo bufo), the Fire Salamander (Salamandra salamandra), the Grass Snake (Natrix natrix) or the water snake Natrix maura.

Also we may find mammals like the European Polecat (Mustela putorius), the Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes), the European Otter (Lutra lutra), the Water Vole (Arvicola amphibius), as well as the ones that live in proximities of the wetlands: the European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), the Cape Hare (Lepus capensis), the Least Weasel (Mustela nivalis) or the Boar (Sus scrofa).

References

External links

* [http://www.lastablasdedaimiel.com Tablas de Daimiel site]
* [http://www.unesco.org/mabdb/br/brdir/directory/biores.asp?code=SPA+05&mode=all UNESCO - Biosphere Reserve Information]
* [http://www.ciberquijote.com/daimiel/default.htm A good page about the Park]

Further reading

* " Guía de las Aves de O Caurel", Jose Guitian et al. 152 pages. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, 2004. ISBN 84-87334-68-7

See also