PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The aquatic warbler (Acrocephalus paludicola), a priority species in Annex 1 of the Birds Directive, is Europe’s rarest migratory species, with less than 11,000 males and a breeding area of 6,800 km2. According to the European Environment Information and Observation Network, the species is declining, endangered or in a situation of severe population slowdown. The causes of this decline are the frequent loss of nesting habitat, mainly due to drainage of shallow wetlands, peatlands and flood plains for use as agricultural land or for peat extraction, but also by uncontrolled burning. Changes in hydrological regimes have also had a severe negative impact.
Spain is on the aquatic warbler's main spring and autumn migration routes between Europe and Africa. However, certain areas of the countryside of Spain have experienced significant loss of fens due to the disappearance of extensive animal grazing. Locally, in Tierra de Campos, for instance, there has been a considerable fall-off in sheep grazing and in the use of cattle for the grazing of open pastures. While this is a local problem, it is of high significance for the aquatic warbler, as it contributes to the virtual disappearance of the species’ favoured habitat in many Iberian wetlands along its migratory routes.
The project activities have been carried out during the period 2017-2021 in 12 municipalities in three Spanish regions (Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León and Comunidad Valenciana), all of them included in the Natura 2000 Network. The initiative was co-funded by the European Union's LIFE Programme, and the Fundación Global Nature and the Junta de Castilla y León are partners in the initiative.
OBJECTIVES
The LIFE PALUDICOLA project aimed to:
- Halt the decrease in the population of the aquatic warbler, Europe’s most endangered passerine species;
- Increase areas of open wetland vegetation for resting over along the species’ migratory routes in Spain (many of these habitats are listed in Annex I of the Habitats Directive as priority for conservation); and
- Increase the knowledge about the severe population slowdown of the species and share this information with working groups in northern Europe, to improve and coordinate the conservation and habitat management measures.
Specific objectives were:
- Encouraging traditional management of target wetland vegetation, to obtain an extension of the rare, or disappearing habitats. The farm management methods included mechanical mowing, controlled animal grazing and soil stripping, as well as the halting of regular burning. Herbaceous and bird-friendly bush species were also be planted;
- Increasing local knowledge of the species and awareness about the benefits of recovering traditional management of vegetation; and
- Establishing a national strategy for the conservation of the aquatic warbler in Spain, as well as specific Rural Development Agri-environmental Programmes to ensure legislative and financial measures to enable the implementation of management plans sustainable in the long term.
RESULTS
The main project achievements and outputs can be summed up as follows:
The preparatory work was correctly implemented. A total of 9 meetings with 26 technicians and mayors, and 5 talks (with 118 people attending) were organised during the first months of the project to inform the various stakeholders working in the target wetlands about the project’s objectives and actions.
With regard to the land purchase, the coordinating beneficiary acquired 11 agricultural plots around the Boada lagoon (Palencia) totalling 13.8 ha (11 ha were envisaged). These plots have become part of the lagoon basin, increasing the habitat available for the aquatic warblers.
Vegetation management in the target wetlands was carried out using three methods. Namely, livestock grazing (thanks to the five agreements reached with local farmers to graze 348 ha distributed in the three project areas – Valencia, Castilla-La Mancha and Castilla y León); mechanical mowing with the project amphibious machine in the wetlands of Valencia (85 ha mowed) and with tractors (work outsourced) entailing 34 ha in the wetlands of Castilla-La Mancha (plus 1 ha with amphibious machine) and 330 ha in Castilla y León. The third method used was topsoil removal/scrapping, which was only developed in two wetlands of Castilla y León and affected 5 ha (4 ha in La Nava lagoon and 1 ha in Pedraza lagoon).
Plantations were also made to improve habitat quality for the aquatic warbler mainly in Valencia, and to a lesser extent, in Castilla-La Mancha. During four plantation campaigns, a total of 15,217 specimens of aquatic plant species were planted (4.86 ha). In addition, 1,944 specimens of shrub species were planted over along 8,814 metres.
Works aimed at water level management and improvement of flooding were carried out in different project sites: Marjal del Moros, Marjal de Pego-Oliva, Manjavacas, Boada and Pedraza wetlands. Work began with cleaning and desilting part of the stream that flows in the Laguna de Manjavacas (1800 m). Later, a 1,200-metre section of the Valero irrigation ditch at Marjal del Moros Marsh was cleaned and restored. Dampers, floodgates, channel gratings and feeder pipes that are used for regulating the flow of water through Boada, Pedraza and Pego-Oliva lagoons were cleared and repaired. Finally, earth banks were removed on 16 sections of 24 meters each along the central canal of the drainage channel running alongside the Pedraza lagoon to restore its natural flood.
The control of the invasive American mink was developed as expected during three campaigns, with a total of 59 minks captured: 46 in La Nava lagoon, 13 in Boada lagoon and zero in Pedraza lagoon. This complementary action protects herons, gulls and waders colonies, and at the same time avoids possible predation of threatened marsh birds such as the aquatic warbler.
Flora inventories and monitoring were carried out in the nine wetlands of the project. Four monitoring campaigns of the aquatic warbler and other marsh birds were also conducted, with a total of 227 aquatic warbler captured: 77 in spring migration in the wetlands of Valencia and 150 in autumn migration (145 in Castilla y León and 5 in Castilla-La Mancha). GIS databases were completed with information on conservation and monitoring actions. These are available on the project website. The assessment of the socio-economic impact of the project and on the ecosystem services was concluded at the end of the project and two good deliverables resulted from this analysis.
The project team worked hard to publicise the value of both the aquatic warbler and the Iberian wetlands. Nearly 800 news items in the digital press were published and 69 broadcasts on TV and radio. The project website exceeded 100,000 visits and reported the results and achievements of the project daily, with more than 300 news items published.
With the Paludicola Travel Diary (the project's educational campaign), almost 90,000 people, including children, teachers and visitors of the wetlands, were taken to learn about the aquatic warbler throughout its annual cycle. Nearly 500 informative activities were organised, including a travelling exhibition, field visits (including guide visits with journalists and influencers), workshops, talks and several contests about the species in the form of short stories, photography or drawing. Dissemination materials were produced in Spanish and Valencian.
The project was present in social media since its inception and has ended with the presentation of the documentary made with the support of RTVE, which summarises the actions and achievements throughout the project to raise awareness of the importance of the species and wetlands as their reference habitats. Technical and scientific exchanges were established with other similar projects through the participation in 29 networking events (10 international and 19 national) and the organisation of two congresses: a workshop of experts in marsh birds and a final congress. Several scientific and non-scientific articles based on the project actions and results were published. Namely, an 8-page article was published in a Spanish popular science magazine, Quercus, which has the largest circulation in Spain.
