PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The priority habitat (sub-)Mediterranean pine forests with endemic black pines (Pinus nigra)) only occurs in a limited number of fragmented sites in medium and high mountain zones in southern EU countries. Spain hosts more than half the 169 sites found in the EU. This forest habitat has suffered a great reduction of its distribution area over the past three decades, mainly due to forest fires.
In Catalonia, around 30% of this habitat was lost to fire between 1994 and 1998. Around two-thirds of this forest habitat in Spain (96.2 ha) is considered at very high risk of fire. The pine forests of the Pyrenees and Sistema Central mountain ranges are considered the most vulnerable largely due to predictable increases in dry periods and temperatures caused by climate change.
During large fires, all seedlings and saplings are burned and tree survival rates are usually very low. After fires, the European black pine suffers a lack of regeneration and strong competition with other species, such as the Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) and the sub-Mediterranean oak (Quercus pyrenaica), limiting the natural regeneration of this habitat of Community interest.
OBJECTIVES
The LIFE+ Pinassa aimed to contribute to the conservation of (sub-)Mediterranean pine forests with endemic black pine (Pinus nigra) in Catalonia.
The project aimed to protect the few remaining areas of black pine with exceptionally mature trees, and high biodiversity and landscape quality. It would also regenerate over-exploited, damaged or destroyed areas of forest of different levels of maturity, aiming to create heterogeneous, stable areas of black pine forest.
The project also planned to increase the resilience of both new and old areas of black pine forest to both large fires and climate change. The project team would also seek to reduce other disturbances and regulate scientific and public use. The team also expected to develop planning and management tools as well as training aimed at managers and owners of forest sites.
RESULTS
The LIFE PINASSA project contributed to the conservation of Black Pine (Pinus nigra) forests in Catalonia (habitat 9530*), surpassing initial expectations and pioneering conservation actions with a strong demonstration value over a total of 457.03 ha of habitat listed in the Annex I of the Habitats Silviculture-type of operations were carried out in 283 ha (53 groves). It addressed in an integrated way the main problems and threats that this habitat is facing: destabilised structures with no regeneration capacity; undiversified and strongly exposed to future fires; the abandonment of management practices; and the effect of large forest fires.
Specific results of the project include:
The project moreover fostered good cooperation among the beneficiaries, establishing a consortium that has committed to continuing the monitoring of areas targeted by this project. The aim is to improve knowledge of the habitats and to study the impact of the models implemented, while facilitating the transfer of knowledge. Dissemination activities helped raise awareness in the forestry sector, and also increase the capacity building of forest owners and forest professionals in sustainable ways to manage black pine forests. It provided training and capacity building opportunities to managers, owners and technicians to implement a new kind of management that ensures the conservation of this habitat.
A key project result was the drawing up of technical guides and material for multifunctional management of the black pine habitat. The results and experiences gained in the project will be instrumental in guiding solutions to conservation issues shared in the whole of Southern European distribution of habitat 9530*. Previously no tools for conservation management had been developed specifically for this habitat.
Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Conservation Plan (see "Read more" section).
