VCA Proposal FCLP Coll de Can Maçana-Montserrat,...
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1 VCA Proposal document for the site: Espai Natura Coll de Can Maçana - Montserrat A. Executive Summary The site Espai Natura Coll de Can Maçana – Montserrat was bought by Fundació Catalunya-La Pedrera (formerly Fundació Territori I Paisatge) in 2004 to preserve its natural value and landscape as well as to facilitate the main entrances to the Natural Park of la Muntanya de Montserrat. It harbours a rich flora and fauna typical for the Mediterranean and with several rare species. The spectacular landscape attracts a large number of visitors every year, and to reduce threats and disturbance, specific rules and regulations are put in place. In recognition of its many natural as well as cultural/historical values, the area has been designated as Natura 2000 Site of European importance with a management plan approved in 2005. B. Area Characteristics and Manager The image gives an aerial view of the site, with the boundaries of Espai Natura Coll de Can Maçana-Montserrat indicated in red. The massif of Montserrat can be distinguished as the rocky area in the centre of the image.
Transcript of VCA Proposal FCLP Coll de Can Maçana-Montserrat,...
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VCA Proposal document for the site:
Espai Natura Coll de Can Maçana-Montserrat A. ExecutiveSummary
ThesiteEspaiNaturaColldeCanMaçana–MontserratwasboughtbyFundacióCatalunya-LaPedrera(formerlyFundacióTerritoriIPaisatge)in2004topreserveitsnaturalvalueandlandscapeaswellastofacilitatethemainentrancestotheNaturalParkoflaMuntanyadeMontserrat.ItharboursarichfloraandfaunatypicalfortheMediterraneanandwithseveralrarespecies.Thespectacularlandscapeattractsalargenumberofvisitorseveryyear,andtoreducethreatsanddisturbance,specificrulesandregulationsareputinplace.Inrecognitionofitsmanynaturalaswellascultural/historicalvalues,theareahasbeendesignatedasNatura2000SiteofEuropeanimportancewithamanagementplanapprovedin2005.
B. AreaCharacteristicsandManager
Theimagegivesanaerialviewofthesite,withtheboundariesofEspaiNaturaColldeCanMaçana-Montserratindicatedinred.ThemassifofMontserratcanbedistinguishedastherockyareainthecentreoftheimage.
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- Geographiccoordinates:E01º46’09,32’’ N41º36’38,85’’- Areasize(ha):176,58ha- Predominantecoregion:MediterraneanForests,WoodlandsandScrubs- Nameandcontactdetailsoftheresponsiblemanagementauthority:
FundacióCatalunya-LaPedrera,ÀreadeTerritoriIMediAmbientMr.MiquelRafaFornieles,DirectoroftheÀreadeTerritoriIMediAmbientLaPedreraBuildingCarrerProvença261,2on2a.08008Barcelona.SpainT:+34932142566@:miquel.rafa@fcatalunyalapedrera.comwww.fundaciocatalunya-lapedrera.com/ca/content/espai-natura-montserrat-coll-de-can-ma%C3%A7ana
- Supportingevidenceofthemanager’srighttomanagethearea:Thesitewasboughttothepreviousownerin2004.Fromthen,fullownershipofthesitebyFundació.
ThemassifofMontserrat,andespeciallyitsrenownedSanctuary,isoneofthemostvisitedareasintheregionofCatalunya,receivingaround2.4millionvisitorsperyear.EspaiNaturaColldeCanMaçana,withover60,000recordedvisitorsperyear,isthesecondmainentrypointtotheMassif.Oursite,with176ha,covers7%ofthetotalareaoftheNaturalParkandincludestheareacalled“Agulles”(inEnglish“needles”).Thecharacteristiclandscapeofsedimentaryrockswithshapesrangingfrompinnaclestobroadwallsconstitutesaveryspeciallandscape,especiallygiventheisolationofthemassifinthemiddleofthesurroundingplains.
Thesiteisco-managedwiththeNaturalParkauthoritiesandincludesacarpark,picnicarea(ColldeCanMaçana)andseveraltrailsaswellasarchaeologicalremnantsfromtheNeolithicperiod(laDiablera).Theremainsofa10thcenturycastle(CastelldelaGuàrdia)andofachurch(SantPauVell)arealsofound.
ViewofColldeCanMaçanawiththepublicaccesspointshownatlowerend
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Montserratalsoharboursthelocationofthe1808battleofelBrucbetweentheFrencharmyandthelocaldefenders,wonwiththehelpofalocalyoungdrummerwho,thelegendsays,frightenedtheFrencharmywiththenoiseofhisdrumandtheechoesfromthemountain.
ThefoothillsofthemassifandpartofEspaiNaturaColldeCanMaçanahavebeenpronetobigforestfiresinthepast.Lastrecordedfiresaffectingthesitehappenedin1986,1991and1994althoughthesurroundingareasalsoburnedin1990,2003,2005,2010and2015.Forthisreason,aLIFEprojectinnowbeingimplementedinthearea(LIFEMontserrat)totestthecombinationofforestryworksinstrategicareastopreventthespreadofforestfiresandthemaintenanceoftheseopenareaswithhelpoflivestock.Moreinformationcanbefoundattheprojectwebsitehttp://lifemontserrat.eu/.
Anotherprojectbeingimplementedatthesite(andinothersitesinCatalunya)istheLIFEPinassa.It’sobjectiveistheprotectionandpreservationofBlackpineforestsinCatalunya(Pinusnigrasubsp.salzmanii).Formoreinformationseehttp://lifepinassa.eu/.
Sincetheverybeginning,thesitehasbeenmanagedusingadedicatedmanagementplan(approvedinDecember2005)basedintheEurositeManagementPlanningToolkitandaspecificForestryManagementPlan(approvedinMarch2007).In2016,themanagementplanistoberevisedusingtheOpenStandardsforthePracticeofConservationplanningmethodology.Asaconsequenceofthisrevision,FundacióCatalunya-LaPedreraaimstotheusethenewmanagementplanfortheVCAverification.
C. BiodiversityBaselineConditions
ThesiteisnsidetheNaturalParkoflaMuntanyadeMontserratandintheN2000siteES5110012Montserrat-RoquesBlanques.ItisalsoincludedintheGeopark“CatalunyaCentral”(www.geoparc.cat/en/).
Themainlandscapefeaturesincluderockyareas,Mediterraneanpineforests(PinushalepensisandPinusnigrasalzsmanii)inregenerationafterthelastforestfireof1994,evergreenoak(Quercusilex)forestsalsoinregeneration,andseminaturalpastures.
Relevanthabitatsfoundinthesiteinclude:
- 6110*RupicolouscalcareousorbasophilicgrasslandsoftheAlysso-Sedionalbi(smallextensionmainlyinrockyareas)
- 6220*Pseudo-steppewithgrassesandannualsoftheThero-Brachypodietea(totalareaisincreasingafterseveralpasture-recoveryoperationsintheframeworkofthesilvopastureinitiativeagainstforestfires)
- 8210Calcareousrockyslopeswithchasmophyticvegetation(alsointherockywalls)
- 9340QuercusilexandQuercusrotundifoliaforests(structureimprovingalsoafterthethinningoperationstospeedthematurationandrecoveryoftheforeststandsafterthe1994fire)
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- 9530*Mediterraneanpineforestwithendemicblackpines(Pinusnigravarsalzmanii)(structureimprovingalsoafterthethinningoperationstospeedthematurationandrecoveryoftheforeststandsafterthe1994fireandtheoperationsrelatedtotheLIFE+Pinassaproject)
- 9540MediterraneanpineforestswithendemicMesogeanpines(PinushalepensisandP.pinea)(structureimprovingalsoafterthethinningoperationstospeedthematurationandrecoveryoftheforeststandsafterthe1994fire)
Relevantplantspeciesalsofoundinthesiteinclude:
- CampanulaaffinisSchult.- CytissusheterochrousWebbexColmeiro(=Genistapatens)- DianthusmulticepsCostaexWillk.Subsp.multiceps- EuphorbianevadensisBoiss.&ReutersubspbolosiiMolero&Rovira- GeumsylvaticumPourr.- HieraciumcordatumScheeleexCosta- HieraciumcordifoliumLapeyr- LeucanthemummontserratianumVogt- Raimondamyconii(L.)Rchb.- SaxifragacatalaunicaBoiss.- TaxusbaccataL.- IlexaquifoliumL.
Andamongthemanyanimalspecies,thefollowingcanbehighlighted:
- Bonelli’seagle(Hieraaetusfasciatus)- Peregrinefalcon(Falcoperegrinus)- Commonkestrel(Falcotinnunculus))- EurasianEagle-Owl(Bubobubo)- Blackwheatear(Oenantheleucura)- Eurasiansparrowhawk (Accipiternisus)- IberianWildGoat(Caprapyrenaica),reintroducedin1996bytheGovernmentof
CatalunyafromstockcapturedintheNaturalParkofelsPorts
TherareBonelli’sEagleisoneoftheemblematicspeciesofMontserrat.Photo:CarlosSánchez
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- GreaterMouse-earedBat(Myotismyotis)- Greaterhorseshoebat(Rhinolophusferrumequinum)- Mediterraneanhorseshoebat(Rhinolophuseuryale)- Schreiber’sbat(Miniopterusschreibersii)- Europeanfree-tailedbat(Tadaridateniotis)
Followinginfrastructureaffectsthesite:
- TheroadBP-1103crossesthenorthenpartofthesiteandtheroadBP-1101followsthewesternlimit;
- Thecarparkandpicnicareaof“ElColldeCanMaçana”canhostamaximumof90carsandhasseveraltablesandbenches,aswellasinformationpanelsproducedjointlywiththeNaturalParkauthority.Anewinformationcentreistobesetupinearly2016intheruinsofaformerceramicfurnacestillinplace;
- There’saRefuge(“Refugid’AgullesodeVicençBarbé”)locatedinthelimitofthesite,intheAgullesarea.ItismanagedbytheFederationofHikingAssociaciationsofCatalunya(FEEC);
- AmaintrackroadcrossesthesiteinaYfashion.Motorisedaccessisprohibitedbutisusedbycyclistsandramblers.Severalothersidetrackscoverthesitenearlyeverywhere;
- SeveralclimbingroutescanbefoundinthewallsneartheAgullessectoralthoughclimbingisregulatedbytheNPauthorityaccordingtothenestingseasonofdifferentbirdspeciesandthepresenceofsensitiveplantspecies;
- Severalcavesarealsointhesiteandareregularlyvisitedbycavers(accessisregulatedinsomeofthemtoavoiddisturbancetobatcolonies);
- Inthesouthernpartofthesite,4canvasraincollectorsand2depositsareinstalledtouserainwaterforthecattlethatgrazesthetwo20-hectareplots,partoftheforestpreventioninfrastructure;
- Finallythereare2apiariesrunbyalocalbee-keeperthatproduceshigh-qualityhoney,especiallyfocussingonRosemariefloweringtwiceayear;
SaxifragacatalaunicaisoneoftheendemicplantspeciesinMontserrat
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D. ConservationImpactAssessmentandStakeholders
Assessmentofpotentialthreatstothebiologicaltargets:
- Themainthreatisoverfrequentation(over60,000peoplearerecordedinthecarpark),especiallyinsensiblewalls(climbers)andcavesleadingtodisturbancestocertainspeciesandtoerosionofpathsandthin-soilareas;
- Recurrentforestfires;- PlaguestopinetreeslikeThaumetopoeaphytocampa;- Increaseofdroughtduetoglobalclimatechange;- HuntingisregulatedbytheNPauthorityandonlytocontrolwildgoatandwildboar
populations;
Initiallistofstakeholders:
- TheNaturalParkManagementAuthority;- TheFEEC,responsibleofthemanagementoftherefugeandrepresentingclimbers,
hikersandcavers;- ElBructowncouncil(wherethesiteislocated);- Thecattlefarmermaintainingthepasturelandinthesite;- Thebee-keeperrunningthe2apiariesinthesite;- ThepartnersofthetwoLIFEprojectsimplementedinthesite(LIFEMontserratand
LIFEPinassa);- Thevisitorstothesite(usersofthepicnicandcarparkarea);- Neighbourstothesite;
E. NextStepsforRegisteringtheArea
AstherevisionoftheManagementPlanforthesiteisduein2016,theideaistoadaptthedocumenttobeVCAcompliant.
ThemanagementteamatlaFundacióCatalunya-LaPedrerawillcompletethenewmanagementplanduringthefirst9monthsof2016.ThecurrentmanagementplanstandardforthesitesownedbyFundacióaretheOpenStandardsforthePracticeofConservation(http://cmp-openstandards.org/).Therevisionoftheplanwillcertainlyincludeconsultationwithourstakeholders,speciallytheNPAuthority,asco-managerofthesite.
InordertoauditthenewversionoftheManagementPlansomefinancialsupportwillbeneeded,whichwillbespecifiedoncewehavethefirstproposalsfromtheauditors.
