Friday's rains were like manna for thousands of thirsty trees in hundreds of forests spread throughout almost the entire Catalan territory. The forest area now occupies more than two million hectares, according to data from the Center for Forest Property and Forest Management Services.
If you could observe what was happening underground, you would see how the roots of pines or oaks woke up in search of the water filtered little by little through the subsoil. These rainfalls, with twenty liters of fresh water per square meter falling at the foot of the Mussara mountain range (Baix Camp) or in the Poblet forest (Conca de Barberà), represent minimal relief in the midst of the worst drought recorded in the history of Catalonia.
A very scarce gift to begin to turn around the serious situation that most forests are going through, as demonstrated by the analysis carried out by the Department of Climate Action with the help of satellite images (see infographic). The map prepared by the Servei de Prevenció d’Incendis Forestals allows estimating the amount of water and the greenness of the vegetation.
In Tarragona, the impact due to the lack of rain is especially serious, in some 2,400 hectares of forest mass, with specimens of several species on the verge of collapse. “We are in a drought situation that we have never seen before, which affects the forests very intensely; "They were born in very different conditions, they are not used to suffering from this lack of water," highlights Anna Sanitjas, general director of Ecosistemes Forestals i Gesció del Medi.
The lack of water is not only affecting the most vulnerable species, brought from outside, such as the resin pine (Pinus pinaster), planted sixty years ago in reforestation work as was done in the Poblet forest, or the Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) in Central Catalonia. It also affects species such as white pine, holm oak or scrub, typically Mediterranean.
The forest of the protected natural area of Poblet, with one of the forest heritages with the greatest environmental value in the Iberian Peninsula, is experiencing one of the most critical situations. The drought and the advance of forest pests, favored by water stress, have forced unprecedented felling: 45 hectares of forest area.
35,000 dead or seriously affected pine trees are being eliminated.
By the end of February, some 6,000 tons of wood will have been removed from this forest, in a high-intensity action in the face of an extreme situation. The original forest will be able to be better recovered and 100% of the forested area will be reoccupied, according to the Acció Climàtica technicians.
It is a strategic action because it will serve to protect the entire natural area of Poblet, clipping the wings of pests, and will facilitate the actions of the Bombers. One of the great risks associated with the high mortality of trees is its multiplier effect in the event of fire. The lifeless forest mass contains no moisture, is dry, and becomes fuel for the flames.
“We have extremely dense forests because in the last 40 years we have been abandoning forest management as a country,” warns Sanitjas.
Acció Climàtica is carrying out specific actions to reduce the forest mass in another protected natural area, in the Les Gavarres massif (Baix Empordà). Work is being done to strategically manage an area of 40,000 hectares and reduce trees and undergrowth by 10%. It is also a very frequented mountain range, which increases the risk of fire when summer arrives.
