Iberia, the European zone with highest biodiversity

[Empecinado]

I see that most of the people have a distorted view about the Iberian landscape, thinking that all of it consists in a sort of desert without any relevant wildlife. Even when they go here, they just go to the touristic regions, which apart from only reflecting one of the many habitats existing here, are overcrowded and degraded. So I opened this thread to point out some facts and I invite you all to visit the non-touristic Iberia.


Iberian Peninsula is the European place with the highest diversity of animal species, ecosystems and endemisms, being:

-nº1 in number of bird species
-nº1 in number of mammals
-nº1 in number of reptiles
-3º in number of fish

10.000 out of 12.000 plant species in Europe are found in Iberia. Including the only native European palm:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Chamaerops_humilis_(Zingaro)015.jpg

1700 species are endemisms (only existing in Iberia).

Spain is the second country, after Sweden, with the highest number of km2 of forest area in Europe.

Iberia includes near 60% of all the habitats existing through Europe, from sub-desertic climates to Central European high mountain ones, also forest of all classes: Central Europeans like oak and beech, and Mediterranean like ilex and cork.


http://www.andalucia.org/media/fotos/image_168302_jpeg_800x600_q85.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Vista_de_los_Monegros_%28Leci%C3%B1ena%29.jpg/350px-Vista_de_los_Monegros_%28Leci%C3%B1ena%29.jpg

http://www.porlibre.com/MURCIA/IMAGENES/calblanque03.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fzYhXonZHXU/UBqrOtoo9II/AAAAAAAAAcE/heKLstDFHvI/s400/MesetaCastellana-MiradorTierraDeCampos.jpg

http://www.alcoiturisme.com/dbimagenes/tur_fotos_roja_3_foto.jpg

http://lecarnetdemadrid.com/imagenes/articulos/img_art_2305_17102010171459403643_orig.jpeg

http://megaconstrucciones.net/images/naturales/foto/sierra-nevada-23.jpg

http://www.orbisv.com/dominios/7016_siguenos/img_ofertas/imagenes/7016_11019_galicia-rias-baixas.jpg

http://mas.laopinioncoruna.es/suplementos/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/pulmones1.jpg

http://www.escapadarural.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Aiguestortes-s.jpg

http://www.cosasdemadrid.es/images/leyendas_de_la_sierra_de_guadarrama-1.jpg


Iberia keeps significant and growing populations of animals extincted or almost extincted in most of Europe, like eagles, griffon vultures, brown bears, wolves, lynx...


http://elllugar.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/osopardo.jpg

http://www.aquilaadalberti.net/Animals/Lobo/20050611elpviavje_9.jpg

http://www.lincepedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/lince-iberico-en-extincion.jpg

http://www.vitorgarcia.net/wp-content/uploads/buitre_leonado.jpg

http://www.vertebradosibericos.org/reptiles/chacha.jpg

[Lábaru]

Thanks Empecinado, this video always fills me with nostalgia, the music, the familiar voice of Felix, the hunters who resemble my (DEP) maternal grandfather. The mountains and forests of Iberia have a special and unique magic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-tbzLUuMkU

[Empecinado]

^^Thanks to him the wolf didn't become extincted and has a growing population, a great man.

Tabernas Desert

It is one of the only true semi-deserts in Europe (there are no true absolute deserts in Europe), located within Spain´s southeastern province of Almería. The Desert of Tabernas, because of its similarities with the North American deserts like the Far West of the American West, northern Africa, the Arabian deserts, and its lunar landscape, served from 1950s and is still used today for the shooting of many films and westerns. The Spaghetti Westerns were shot at the three main studios, Texas Hollywood, Mini Hollywood, and Western Leone.

http://www.badaje.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Fotograma-bueno-feo-malo-comparativa.jpg

Font Roja

This area located in the Alicante province, SE Spain, holds an example of Mediterranean forest, with a varied fauna which comprises the wildcat, the genet, the marten, the weasel, the badger, wild boar and a rare type of black fox. The avifauna is present with species like the robin, Bonelli's eagle, the eagle owl, the peregrine falcon, the hawk, the goshawk, the Golden Eagle, the tawny owl and vulture.

The holm oak and pine forests of the Font Roja and Mariola constitute one of the most notable extensions of forest in Valencia, despite being in a densely populated area of over 80,000 inhabitants in the urban area that follows the axis of the upper course of the river Serpis.

http://www.alicanteactualidad.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Font-Roja.jpg

Doñana

Doñana National Park is a natural reserve in Andalusia, southern Spain, in the provinces of Huelva and Seville. It covers 543 km² (337.41 mi2), of which 135 km² (83.89 mi2) are a protected area. The park is an area of marsh, shallow streams, and sand dunes in Las Marismas, the Guadalquivir River Delta region where it flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Its considered the largest nature reserve in Europe.

In 1994 UNESCO designated the park a World Heritage Site. UNESCO has also recognised the park as a Biosphere reserve. It is a wetland of international importance on the list of the Ramsar Convention.

The park has a biodiversity that is unique in Europe, although there are some similarities to the Camargue, with which Doñana is twinned. Doñana contains a great variety of ecosystems and shelters wildlife including thousands of European and African migratory birds, fallow deer, Spanish red deer, wild boar, European badger, Egyptian mongoose, and endangered species such as the Spanish Imperial Eagle and Iberian Lynx.

During the 19th and 20th centuries, a herd of feral dromedaries roamed the area. They may have been introduced during the Moorish Conquest of Spain in the 8th century, or they may have escaped from a herd introduced by the Marquis de Molina as beasts of burden in 1829.

In 2011, an archeological team proposed that the lost city of Atlantis was once located in what are now the swamps of the Doñana National Park having been destroyed by a tsunami.

http://cdn.20minutos.es/img/2006/10/13/519482_tn.jpg

Hayedo de Montejo

The Hayedo de Montejo is a beech forest of 250 hectares located in the foothills of the Sierra de Ayllon and the municipality of Montejo de la Sierra (Madrid, Spain), north of the province of Madrid and the border with the province Guadalajara and the Jarama river. It was declared a Natural Site of National Interest in 1974, being one of the most southern beech forest of Europe.

http://blog.entremontanas.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/p_323.jpg

Sierra Nevada:


The Sierra Nevada (meaning "snowy range" in Spanish) is a mountain range in the region of Andalucia, provinces of Granada and Almería in Spain. It contains the highest point of continental Spain, Mulhacén at 3,478 metres (11,411 ft) above sea level.

It is a popular tourist destination, as its high peaks make skiing possible in one of Europe's most southerly ski resorts, in an area along the Mediterranean Sea predominantly known for its warm temperatures and abundant sunshine. At its foothills is found the city of Granada and, a little further, Almería and Málaga.

Due to its isolated location in the far south of Europe, the flora and fauna of the Sierra Nevada are unique.
The park is home to a thriving Spanish ibex population, along with other species such as wild boar, martens, badgers and wildcats. Native bird species include the Golden Eagle, Bonelli’s Eagle, Common Kestrel, Little Owl, Eurasian Eagle-owl, European Goldfinch, Serin, Ortolan, Dartford Warbler, Wheateater, Red-legged Partridge and Common Quail.

http://www.nevasport.com/fotos/181111/414676.jpg

Sierra de Guadarrama

The Sierra de Guadarrama is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges at the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, located near Madrid, the capital. The vegetation of the mountain range is characterized by an abundance of pine forests and copses of oak and Holm oak in its lower slopes, while the montane grasslands and pastures around the summits are fringed by juniper and Spanish Broom shrubs. The mountains abound with a variety of wildlife such as Spanish ibex, roe deer, fallow deer, wild boar, badger, wolf, various types of weasel, European wild cat, fox and hare. The area is also rich in birdlife including birds of prey such as the Spanish Imperial Eagle and the Eurasian Black Vulture.

http://www.magrama.gob.es/es/red-parques-nacionales/nuestros-parques/guadarrama/Pinares_32691_tcm7-284381.jpg


Picos de Europa

The Picos de Europa National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional de Picos de Europa) is a National Park in the Picos de Europa mountain range, in northern Spain. It is shared by the autonomous communities of Asturias, Cantabria and Castile and León.Several types of woods can be found in the area: trees include beeches and Cantabrian Holm Oaks.

There are many protected animal species, like the Capercaillie, the Lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus), the Cantabrian brown bear and the Iberian Wolf (Canis lupus signatus). The most representative animal of the Picos de Europa is the Pyrenean chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica) or sarrio, or its more specific relative, the Cantabrian chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica parva) or rebeco, of which there are many sculptures around the park, as well as the Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica).

http://www.casacamila.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/picos-de-europa_1.jpg

Rías

The Galician Rías, long stretches of water leading into the land like the fiords, define the landscape of Galicia. They hold a diverse sea wildlife, and wild horses graze in the meadows near the Atlantic sea.

http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1216/718215566_c916404c96_z.jpg

Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park

A wild mountain region in the Pyrenees, with peaks rising to 3017 m (Besiberri Sud) and with nearly 200 lakes, many of them of glacial origin, the park comprises a core area of 141 km² and a buffer zone of 267 km² surrounding the park. The park has an elevation range from 1600 to 3000 metres and contains four major vegetation zones: lower montane, upper montane, subalpine and alpine. It has a great variety of alpine vegetation, including dark-coniferous mountain forest (fir, mountain pine) and subalpine pine forest.

The fauna includes Pyrenean chamois, marmot, ermine, roe deer, among other mammals and numerous birds (Black Woodpecker, Common Crossbill, Lammergeier, Golden Eagle).

http://turismedeaventura.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/aiguestortes1.jpg

[Empecinado]

Green: forest
Yellow: agricultural land
Orange: agroforestry





http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1v00ENZUMko/T2tAtpCt0xI/AAAAAAAAGZI/4w04wnhnA_M/s1600/RVB.jpg

[FeederOfRavens]

I always thought of Spain to be a mountainous country.

[Empecinado]

I always thought of Spain to be a mountainous country.

It is:

http://www.kuprienko.info/wp-content/files/2006/04/espana-relieve.jpg

[FeederOfRavens]

It is:

http://www.kuprienko.info/wp-content/files/2006/04/espana-relieve.jpg

So Mountain Forest is what defines the country best.

[Ivan Kramskoï]

In human biodiversity, in France we win hands down ...

[Damião de Góis]

So Mountain Forest is what defines the country best.

I wouldn't say so. Much of Spain is actually a giant plateau called Meseta Central (Madrid is one of the highest european capitals if i'm not mistaken).
As for mountains you have the pyrenees, the cordillera cantábrica in the north and sierra nevada in the south, among others:

http://www.spainthenandnow.com/userimages/Map%20Spain%20Wikimedia.png

[Empecinado]

So Mountain Forest is what defines the country best.

I'd say mountain forest and plateau, the typical Quixote landscape:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jCVrSniMZiA/TjadzdsUMjI/AAAAAAAABXU/xpT_6tBBuZM/s1600/saelices+09.jpg

[FeederOfRavens]

I'd say mountain forest and plateau, the typical Quixote landscape:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jCVrSniMZiA/TjadzdsUMjI/AAAAAAAABXU/xpT_6tBBuZM/s1600/saelices+09.jpg

For someone who is used to plains and flatlands like me, these would be mountains.

[Empecinado]

For someone who is used to plains and flatlands like me, these would be mountains.

The Castilian meseta is a high plain, it looks like flat (eventhough is around 600 meters height on average) with some small mountains. Very hot in summer, and very cold in winter. It's mostly made up cereal crops with some spared trees:

http://www.reverdecer.com/imagenes/paisaje.jpg

[Dandelion]

You even have tarantulas and scorpions.

[Empecinado]

You even have tarantulas and scorpions.

Yes, the wolf spider (fortunately not so big as other tarantulas):

http://img.imgur.com/Ai6NTIf.jpg

And the 3 native scorpion species.

[Dandelion]

Yes, the wolf spider (fortunately not so big as other tarantulas):

http://img.imgur.com/Ai6NTIf.jpg


You caught that one yourself?

[Smaug]

Beautiful country, simply beautiful.

[Empecinado]

You caught that one yourself?

No, I found the photo in a forum (http://www.forocoches.com/foro/showthread.php?t=3924733&highlight=lobo). A guy found the spider in his gilfriend home and keeps it as a pet (I wonder what his girlfriend think about it).

[Lábaru]

The fact is that Spain was fighting against Muslims in lands of other European nationsm Vienna, the Mediterranean, the Balkans.

[Tietar]

The Irati Forest (Navarre) is the second largest and best preserved beech and fir forest in Europe

http://campingmurkuzuria.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Irati-desde-Pikatua.jpg

http://img.rtve.es/v/2067211/

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Nj0mkoRk34I/Us-sr9si66I/AAAAAAAACzg/M3T98O0N52A/s600/bosque-de-irati.jpg

http://www.fotonatura.org/galerias/fotos/usr37495/13059176ji.jpg

http://www.salyroca.es/media/salyroca/images/2016/10/25//2016102518320621956.jpg

http://empresarios.ruralia.com/uploads/Imagen/grande/selva_de_irati-7259.jpg

http://mileniumgallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/n%C2%BA3-Miguel-Peidro-40X86-RIO-IRATI-EN-NAVARRA-500x285.jpeg

http://espanafascinante.com/wp-content/uploads/Principal_blog_viajes_-Selva-de-Irati.jpg

http://www.hotelaribe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/selva-irati-aribe-hotel.jpg

[Shah-Jehan]

Interesting, thought it was Russia.

[Profileid]

Only in Europe
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Megadiverse_Countries.PNG
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megadiverse_countries

[Colonel Frank Grimes]

The fact is that Spain was fighting against Muslims in lands of other European nationsm Vienna, the Mediterranean, the Balkans.

The most random of posts. This guy was the biggest fag. Suck my dick, Lábaru.

[Dick]

The most random of posts. This guy was the biggest fag. Suck my dick, Lábaru.

Relax, tough hombre. Your beaner cousin hasn't been here since 2015.

[Colonel Frank Grimes]

Relax, tough hombre. Your beaner cousin hasn't been here since 2015.

Bitch ass trick nigga be hidin'

Knows I bring the realness and so he be faggin' it up.

[Antimage]

Only in Europe
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Megadiverse_Countries.PNG
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megadiverse_countries

Have you read the thread title?

[Tietar]

La pedriza park in the region of Madrid, is the largest granite outcropping in Europe, declared in 1992 reserve of the biosphere

https://i1.wp.com/www.panoramicas360.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/pedriza15.jpg?resize=580%2C386&ssl=1

https://www.escapadarural.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Cabras-15.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7369/13991248800_28a06a0e61_b.jpg

http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/108002775.jpg

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XWsW7nX16xc/maxresdefault.jpg

http://www.picoseuropa.net/provincias/madrid/pedriza/pedriza-P1070139-d97.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/La_Pedriza_en_invierno.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8456/8016555661_be71f51abb_b.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VJP1eSVnL68/VhZGuyo13-I/AAAAAAAAB6c/YG5kOtGErsg/s1600/12.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v9a71uWR5fo/VRWwl4ab-qI/AAAAAAAAHoc/4GJnlgW8JGQ/s1600/P1200252.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-1jc8kOs5d5I/Tc0GamwiP4I/AAAAAAAAAJ4/FXYO-vFwvLI/s1000/yelmo_sur_01.jpg

http://www.cdn.uolala.com/getimage.ashx?width=730&q=70&src=/event-covers/b-lugares-econdios-de-la-pedriza-de-manzanares-20151026120918079-88b0c6.jpg

http://static.desnivel.com/images/2003/07/29/pedriza01.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/2/1689/24150137666_4535788369_b.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zhaOjg46vy4/VmA9pSi8W0I/AAAAAAAAA94/lmDD5cpnswA/s1600/LA-VELA-5.jpg

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xtrwF19RnJE/U34_cOu7YvI/AAAAAAAAeu0/RtZDUhZLZ0s/s1600/LA+PEDRIZA-2014_05_14-85.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2eqx0eTMFKU/ULAJJIbu14I/AAAAAAAABK8/SBiyCCfrQ3Y/s1600/10.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-buscPGRBDBc/TxmzhQhKG1I/AAAAAAAACTM/LVXqs68uFdM/s1600/MUELA_RECUENCOS_1.jpg

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Joder/media/PEDRIZA/28Pedriza.jpg.html

http://www.marioguia.com/s/cc_images/cache_34776989.JPG?t=1443525726

[UkrainianGirl]

Beautiful pics. And good info.

[Tietar]

I see that most of the people have a distorted view about the Iberian landscape

Iberia is a pure myth and legend for the rest of the world, most people have no fucking idea of their nature, people, history, culture, politics, anything. Even many Iberians also have a distorted image projected from the outside and quite ignorant of their country, especially from other regions.

Then come the surprises, confusion, and a feeling that you were deceived

Spain, the country with the highest number of biosphere reserves of the world

The International Coordinating Council (ICC) of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme has added 20 new places to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) of the UNESCO, among them the Tagus cross-border basin.

On Saturday, the XXVIII edition of the Council decided, in Lima, to add 19 national reserves and a cross-border reserve, the one shared by Spain and Portugal. This is the International Tagus Natural Park, declared Natural Park ten years ago. It is in the south-west of the province of Cáceres, on the border with Portugal.

As the UNESCO remembers, the predominant vegetation in the territory of the Tagus Natural Park is made up of cork trees and bushes. It also has cultivated areas and pasture land. The inhabitants of the reserve are few and they basically live from cattle raising and forestry.

Besides, the ICC has taken into account the fact that the area includes a fauna typical of the Mediterranean area where numerous endangered species can be found. The most abundant animal populations are those of Spanish imperial eagles and Bonelli’s eagles, black storks, Egyptian vultures and otters.

UNESCO includes the International Tagus Natural Park in the list, shared by Spain and Portugal

With this decision, the total number of biosphere reserves in the entire planet amounts to a total of 669 places in 120 countries, 16 of them cross-border places. Spain is the country with the highest number of reserves in the world, with 48. It is followed by the United States, with 47; Mexico, with 42; and China, with 33.

The Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, created by the UNESCO at the beginning of the seventies, is a scientific intergovernmental initiative whose objective is to improve, at an international level, the relation between the population of our country and the natural environment.

“The biosphere reserves are places of learning and application of sustainable development principles, which combine the conservation of the biological diversity with the use of natural resources compatible with the protection of the environment”, according to the UNESCO.

The International Coordination Council of the MAB Programme, made up of chosen representatives of 34 member States of the UNESCO, designate new biosphere reserves every year.

http://thediplomatinspain.com/en/spain-the-country-with-the-highest-number-of-biosphere-reserves-of-the-world/

https://sites.google.com/site/waterwatchalliance/700px-Biosphere_Reservesonearth.png

[Melki]

Iberia is a pure myth and legend for the rest of the world, most people have no fucking idea of their nature, people, history, culture, politics, anything.

Then come the surprises, confusion, and a feeling that you were deceived

Well, that's how your ancestors, the Iberians, and the arid landscapes of Hispania are portrayed in Asterix. Pretty accurate, isn't it? :thumb001:

http://zupimages.net/up/17/16/ni90.jpg (http://zupimages.net/viewer.php?id=17/16/ni90.jpg)




Spain, the country with the highest number of biosphere reserves of the world

Besides, the ICC has taken into account the fact that the area includes a fauna typical of the Mediterranean area where numerous endangered species can be found. The most abundant animal populations are those of Spanish imperial eagles and Bonelli’s eagles, black storks, Egyptian vultures and otters.

With this decision, the total number of biosphere reserves in the entire planet amounts to a total of 669 places in 120 countries, 16 of them cross-border places. Spain is the country with the highest number of reserves in the world, with 48. It is followed by the United States, with 47; Mexico, with 42; and China, with 33.

The Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, created by the UNESCO at the beginning of the seventies, is a scientific intergovernmental initiative whose objective is to improve, at an international level, the relation between the population of our country and the natural environment.

“The biosphere reserves are places of learning and application of sustainable development principles, which combine the conservation of the biological diversity with the use of natural resources compatible with the protection of the environment”, according to the UNESCO.

The International Coordination Council of the MAB Programme, made up of chosen representatives of 34 member States of the UNESCO, designate new biosphere reserves every year.

http://thediplomatinspain.com/en/spain-the-country-with-the-highest-number-of-biosphere-reserves-of-the-world/

https://sites.google.com/site/waterwatchalliance/700px-Biosphere_Reservesonearth.png

Spain is not a tropical country, it's not because it hosts many biosphere reserves that its biodiversity is high.

[Tietar]

Well, that's how your ancestors, the Iberians, and the arid landscapes of Hispania are portrayed in Asterix. Pretty accurate, isn't it? :thumb001:

http://zupimages.net/up/17/16/ni90.jpg (http://zupimages.net/viewer.php?id=17/16/ni90.jpg)

I doubt that a stupid comic can be very accurate.

Just another motherfucker creating topics about Spain, only that

[Melki]

I doubt that a stupid comic can be very accurate.

Just another motherfucker creating topics about Spain, only that

Come on! How can you seriously mean that Asterix is stupid? He's a national hero in France. I even found his adventures in countries as remote as Peru. It's not your silly Mortadelo y Filemon that can match him. Only Batman, Scrooge McDuck, the Peanuts, Spiderman, Tintin and Mafalda can play in the same Comic's World League.