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CURRENT SITUATION
OWNERS’ NET
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CURRENT SITUATION
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The Atlantic forests are one of the scarcer Basque ecosystems. Different human interventions, stockbreeding, agriculture, forest, urbanization... carried out during centuries have gradually reduced the coastal surface of oak groves, alder groves, beech woods and groves of holm oaks that in the old days covered mounts and valleys. In fact, the autochthonous forests of the Basque Autonomous Comunity only occupy the 20% of their potential area. The situation of the oak groves of Quercus robur is dramatic, because they have lost a 95% of their original area.
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Given this situation FOUNDACION URDAIBAI starts up the QUERCUS PROGRAMME, of which aim is the recovery and/or conservation of the autochthonous forest, restoring (or in its case conserving) the original vegetation with the ecological benefits that it supposes: protection of the ground, maintenance of the biological diversity, to contribute to the landscape naturalness... For it we are able to manage the land; purchasing it or reaching agreements of cession with the owners. |
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ATLANTIC OAK GROVES:
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CURRENT DISTRIBUTION |
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In the starting up of the projects to recover and to conserve the Basque autochthonous forests, it is necessary to consider the high percentage of private property of the rustic land and its great fragmentation. Due to this situation an appropriated way to act is obtainning the collaboration of the owners of the property in which to take part. Thus, it is important to gain the private owners who have lands that are susceptible of recovery and/or regeneration, including among these mass old, oak groves in natural process of recolonización, lands previously dedicated to logging or deserted pastures. |
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This way, the creation of a network of owners of ripe forests or lands on which to act after the establishment of the forest is an excellent tool of work. The handling of the land is done in its custody regime. That is to say, the old owner keeps the property of the land but he hands over the FUNDACION URDAIBAI its management, which is regulated by signing a collaboration agreement. |
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NURSERY
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The acting way in the recovery of the autochthonous forests is working in favor of the ecological succession, because without human intervention, the usual thing is that the transition takes place from a pioneering scrub to a ripe and much more diverse ligneous formation. In short, the used technique favors and accelerates a natural process, allowing in addition, the regeneration of the forest with a minimum impact on the preexisting vegetation.
For that, it is necessary to have autochthonous plant, because the use of the species and unit coming from the region where will be made the restoration is a guarantee of adaptation of the plants, and a measurement of conservation of the genetic biodiversity. This way, from FUNDACION URDAIBAI, we considered to create an own plant nursery in each zone of performance, in which the species of forest tree and shrub germinate, more significant presents of natural form in this territory. The seeds are selected, collected and treated by ourself, guaranteeing thus their origin and quality. |
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