Life Canal de Castilla Bulletin nº8 september of 2010 LIFE CANAL DE CASTILLA BULLETIN Regular Newsletter of the LIFE- Nature project: Wetland Restoration and Management: Canal de Castilla Special Protection Area Editorial nº 8 september of 2010 y publishing the last bulletin we are finishing one of the most important periodical media within the Canal de Castilla LIFE project. This bulletin has been developed for the last four years and Bit has been directed both to spread the need of conserving the Canal de Castilla and its wetlands and to promote its natural and cultural values. CANAL DE CASTILLA Content Connectivity Nature 2000 pag 2 News pag 3 Green corridor pag 4 Agenda pag 6 However, it is very important to continue these informative actions as well as other actions developed within this project's framework. Furthermore it is essential to eliminate or minimize the impacts which affect the Canal de Castilla wetlands or that could affect them in the future. In that respect the drawing up of the Canal de Castilla Wetlands Management Plan is being concluded at the present time. This Plan determines the work lines and guidelines to be taken in order to improve the conservation condition of the species present at the Canal Ponds and their habitats, setting therefore the proper regulatory framework and promoting the collaboration and participation of all the administrations and sectors involved in the preservation of our water environments. This document is expected to be passed by the Junta de Castilla y León, which is a member of this project through the Natural Heritage Fund, at the end of 2010, and it will set the future recovery and management of these wetlands. Page 1 of 6
Life Canal de Castilla Bulletin nº 8 september of 2010 Ecological connectivity on the Nature 2000 network abitats' reduction and fragmentation have been recognized as the most Hfrequent causes for global loss of biodiversity, which is reflected in the high extinction risk that several animal and vegetal species are suffering. Fragmentation means reduction of the original distribution area of a habitat and it is often due to changes of usage of the territory for human activities occurring in the last 50 years, as the traditional ways of using the land have been replaced by more intensive, mechanized and industrialized activities, specially at the agricultural and forest sectors. Moreover, large areas have been urbanized or have been crossed by linear transportation infrastructures as roads and railways. All this has important consequences on biodiversity. Nowadays, numerous areas with high natural value remaining in Europe, even those taking part in the Natura 2000 network, find themselves fragmented and isolated from each other. There is consequently the need of paying close attention to interconnection and exchange processes among natural areas, which take us to a new concept of protected areas network as a group of areas in which a stricter protection is given as well as the creation of environmental corridors or areas which are favourable to the connectivity among such spaces. This way we can avoid that these places function as unconnected areas, unable to work as nodes of coherent environmental networks and unable of playing the conservation role which they were appointed to. The promotion of this ecological connectivity among them is being given a great deal of attention within worldwide nature conservation policies, which reinforces the conservation networks notion. The Natura 2000 network connectivity management and environmental integrity are, in addition, legal LIFE and The Green Infrastructure Habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation have been by far the biggest drivers of terrestrial biodiversity loss at EU level over the past 50 years. LIFE Nature and, to a certain extent, LIFE Environment, have already made a contribution to developing Europe s green infrastructure, mainly on a local or regional level. http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/publicatio ns/lifepublications/lifefocus/documents/green_i nfra.pdf requirements imposed by the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) in its article 10, urging the management of landscape elements essential to wild birds' migration, geographical distribution and genetic exchange, and aiming the functional coherence of the network. Now that the terrestrial Natura 2000 network is almost completed, with more than 25.000 places which cover 17% of EU earth's surface, it is important to assure that it works as a coherent and coordinated environmental network. The fact that most of Europe's territory is very fragmented and submitted to an intensive use of the land as well as being highly urbanized represents a real challenge. To this effect a workshop about the development of a future Green Infrastructure for the improvement of connectivity among protected areas was carried out in Brussels, March 2009. To have more information, please consult the following webpage which includes information on the Workshop on Green Infrastructure. http://ec.europa.eu/environment/na ture/ecosystems/index_en.htm Page 2 of 6
News Last visit th th Last November 6 and 7 2010 we received the last technical visit by the European Commission which carried out a monitoring of Life Canal de Castilla project. Besides the technicians sent by the EC also Global Nature technicians came to this event, as well as the FGN managing director, as recipient, and Environment porter's office of the Junta de Castilla y Leon technicians and the Duero's Hidrographic Confederation, as partners or joint financers.. The visit began with a meeting at the FGN offices in which the technical and economical condition of the project were explained. After that, a route was made through the banks of the Canal de Castilla and several ponds have been visited to evaluate the condition of the actions carried out during the project. New flora species During the vigilance works developed throughout the project, several populations of flowering rush (Butomus umbellatus) were described in the Canal de Castilla. It is a semi- aquatic plant regionally catalogued as priority attention plant and which formations are developed in this course banks in some isolated cases, and continually in the waters of the Ramal de Campos, thus extending this rare species distribution in Castilla y León. Life Canal de Castilla Bulletin nº 8 september of 2010 Flora microreserve Thanks to the botanic monitoring works carried out during the Canal de Castilla vigilance works, a Flora Microreserve at the Canal de Castilla was proposed along with the University of León. The reserve is located at the North Branch of the Canal de Castilla, in Palencia's province. Seven wetlands included in Castilla y León Wetlands Catalogue are placed in the projected area, as well as two which are not included. The designation of this proposal is based on the presence of several well conserved populations of four priority attention species declared by the th Decree 63/2007, June 14, which led to the creation of the catalogue of Castilla y León Protected Flora: common mare's tail (Hippuris vulgaris), seashore iris (Iris spuria subsp maritima), goldilocks (Aster linosyris) and creeping marshwort (Apium repens). flowering rush The project on TV During the summer colleagues from Hunting and fishing TV channel have recorded images for a documentary of about eleven minutes on the LIFE project and the Canal de Castilla. The documentary will be broadcasted during November and can be seen at the project's webpage Page 3 of 6
Life Canal de Castilla Bulletin nº 8 september of 2010 The Canal de Castilla as ecological corridor. Introduction n the last years ecological connectivity is shaped as one of the key elements within the Iframework of the present biodiversity loss. Environmental corridors play a crucial role as cohesion elements of several isolated natural areas. Some of the positive effects of green corridors are: Facilitating fauna and flora movements through transformed landscape, favouring the genetic exchange and reducing the isolation of local populations. Providing habitat, shelter and other resources which several wild species need. Increasing landscape diversity. species as well as of exotic species introduced by the man, diseases, parasites and pests which may benefit from the connectivity improvements. Facilitating the spreading of fire and other disturbances among different habitat patches. Providing habitat, shelter or feeding to species which are damaging, such as predators. It is crucial to take in account all the advantages and disadvantages when planning an environmental corridor. The ecological connectivity is form an important element of the upcoming Biodiversity Strategy At the same time there are some possible negative effects such as: Facilitating the movements of some opportunistic american mink The american mink (Neovison vison) is a Invasive Alien Species, that its distribution in Iberian peninsula have increased consideralely in recent years due to a presence of green corridors like the Canal de Castilla. Page 4 of 6
Life Canal de Castilla Bulletin nº 8 september of 2010 The Canal de Castilla as green corridor Because of its heritage regarding hydraulic and industrial engineering, buildings, culture and landscape, the Canal de Castilla represents an exceptional enclave. In order to understand the importance of the Canal de Castilla as an environmental corridor it is essential to situate this river course within the context where it is found. The Canal is 207km length and covers an important part of the natural municipality of Tierra de Campos from north to south. The orography of the land it flows through is very homogeneous with large extensions where the horizontal component outstands. So, the presence of a big water line as well as plots of leafy gallery forests along with the landscape homogeneity lead the Canal de Castilla to play a role of great biological diversity catalyst, constituting an important mean of communication for several animal and vegetal species linked to Mediterranean wet environments. Nevertheless, its drawing limits the possibilities of implantation for most of the natural communities linked to wetlands and this is the biggest difference when compared to natural rivers or banks, where such communities have much more opportunity to find proper environments. humidity that has facilitated this elm species spreading within the continental and dry interior of Castile's plateau. However, this dispersal effect can benefit other exotic species able to invade with surprising quickness riverbanks and wetlands taking the place of all other flora species. To finish with, within the key elements of the future Management Plan of the Canal de Castilla wetlands, we can find ecological connectivity which aims to improve in order to prevent biodiversity loss, to facilitate the genetic exchange and the movement of fauna, and mainly flora species, especially due to the small average size of the ponds included in this plan, their temporality, rarity, and mainly their isolation within such a tedious and monotonous environment. Connectivity among these areas will allow assuring the continuing presence of several species so characteristic in these environments. An example that shows us the communication and dispersal role of the Canal de Castilla for vegetal species is the isolated presence of common aspen (Populus tremula) in its banks. The common aspen is not a typical riverside forest tree, but more a mountain tree. At its passage the Canal diffuses a stable The Canal de Castilla Page 5 of 6
Agenda Biodiversity after 2010 European commission has launched an online enquiry in order to manage to get the opinion of a range of possible interested entities about the political options applicable to European Union strategy on biodiversity after 2010. The results will be included in the new strategy which is being developed at the present time. It will gather opinions from citizens, public administrations, enterprises and civil society on the deficiencies of the present policy on biodiversity, about the new approaches proposed by the Commission, about agriculture and biodiversity, financial features of biodiversity and management related to biodiversity in and out of the European Union, among other subjects. Opinions will be received until nd October 22, at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/c onsultations/biodecline.htm Canal de Castilla conference The Water that joins us is the slogan of the III International Conference of the Canal de Castilla taking place in Palencia, th st nd October 20, 21, and 22. The chief aim is to manifest, Life Canal de Castilla Bulletin nº 8 september of 2010 within the same spatial and temporal field, the programs and initiatives developed in the last years by several public administrations around the Canal de Castilla; the linking of business initiative to this resource's development; the perception that business and enterprise people have about it, and establishing business activities around it, as well as the Canal de Castilla's future as a regional tourist resource. More information at: http://www.canaldecastilla.org/ The LIFE Canal de Castilla Bulletin is part of the awareness raising and information dissemination actions of the project LIFE06 NAT/000213 Wetland Restoration and Management: Canal de Castilla Special Protection Area, Fundación Global Nature is the project beneiciary and Confederación Hidrográfica del Duero, Fundación Patrimonio Natural y Diputación Provincial de Palencia participate as partners and co-financers. The European Commision provides 40 % of project co-financing. Publication and desing: Fundación Global Nature Photography: FGN http://www.lifecanaldecastilla.org/ Free distribution 2010 Fundación Global Nature MORE INFORMATION Contact address: Corro Postigo 1, 34337 Fuentes de Nava Palencia. España Tél: 00 34 979 842 398 Fax: 00 34 979 842 399 Mail: lanava@fundacionglobalnature.org Page 6 of 6