Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park
It represents the ecosystems linked to the Atlantic forest. The Picos de Europa have the largest limestone formation in Atlantic Europe, with important karstic processes, chasms reaching more than 1,000 m, very evident glacial erosion and the presence of lakes. Among its crags live the chamois, in the dense forests the roe deer, wolves and the occasional bear. The Park is home to more than 100 species of birds, including the black woodpecker and the capercaillie, and among the large birds of prey the griffon vulture and the golden eagle. But there is much more than landscape here; there are centuries of history written in the villages, in the valleys, in the churches, in the huts in the passes and on the paths.
The Picos de Europa National Park is located in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, between Asturias, Cantabria and Castilla y León, and forms part of the Cantabrian Mountains. The 300-million-year-old limestone, which emerged from the seabed as a result of orogenic activity, has given rise to a violent relief where high peaks alternate with deep gorges and canyons. Thus, in the Park there are 200 peaks of more than 2,000 metres in altitude and slopes of more than 2,300 metres.
The Massif Central, with its snow-capped peaks, peaks and crags, is the most abrupt of the three massifs that make up the Park, with the highest altitudes. Torrecerredo (2,646 m), the highest peak in Picos de Europa, and others as emblematic as Naranjo de Bulnes (Picu Urriello) at 2,519 m or Pico Tesorero at 2,570 m, where the limits of the three provinces coincide. The Western Massif is the most extensive, with high peaks such as Peña Santa de Castilla (2,596 m) and Peña Santa de Enol (2,486 m), mowing meadows, hillside forests, beech and oak groves, heaths, sandbanks and peat bogs, streams and, of course, the lakes of Covadonga. The Eastern Massif, of lesser extension and altitude, offers the visitor the ruggedness of the crags alongside the green mountain pastures.
Four rivers make their way from the highest peaks of the Cantabrian Mountains to the valleys, in a tortuous and spectacular way. The river Sella, for example, which rises in Sajambre after flowing through the Beyos gorge, passes through Cangas de Onís; while the Cares, the wildest of them all, makes its way between the Western and Central massifs, crossing the Picos through a narrow gorge that is well known and much visited (Senda del Cares). From Fuente Dé, the Deva starts at Panes, leaving behind the magnificent Hermida gorge and finally, the Duje, which originates at the foot of the enormous cliffs of Peña Vieja, joins the Cares at Poncebos.
Winter in Picos de Europa
We are entering a mountain climate dominated by large temperature fluctuations. The climate varies from season to season depending on the prevailing winds. Thus, in the middle of winter, we can go from several degrees below zero in the north wind, to a dry and strangely warm climate, with winds from the south, in a very short time. In summer, the opposite can happen, surprising the traveller with thick fogs on sunny days.
In the winter months, snow covers much of the territory, isolating towns and villages, until the spring thaw begins, giving way to a flow of torrents.
In the valleys of the western and southern slopes, rainfall exceeds 1,500 mm annually. Typically Atlantic tree vegetation once covered a large part of the Picos de Europa, with mixed forests and oak groves in the middle and lower mountains, and beech forests higher up, preferably on the northern exposure. In certain cases, such as in the canyons and sheltered from the damp winds, Mediterranean formations have developed in the lower parts, with holm oaks, laurel and strawberry trees.
The best known alpine lakes in Spain are formed on glacial deposits and moraines.
Lakes Enol and La Ercina are the only ones that have survived the karst phenomena so frequent in the Park. Of glacial origin, Lake Enol has a basin of 80,000 m2 and a depth of 24 m and is fed by water from the highest snows. Unlike the previous one, the lake La Ercina, eutrophic and with a depth of 2 m, has developed an important mass of aquatic vegetation, forming an excellent habitat for coots, mallards and teals.
Karstic phenomena and gelifraction processes shape the current structure of the Picos de Europa.
Rocks sanded and polished by ice, stony beds, giant sieves through which water seeps, lake basins that have not survived karst, make up the rugged structure of the Picos de Europa, which is largely the result of karst phenomena that have taken place over the centuries.
10% of the world’s chasms, with a depth of more than 1,000 m, are found in the territory of the National Park.
In Picos de Europa it is still possible to find magnificent examples of Atlantic forest, typical of Eurosiberian Spain, which offers the visitor a great diversity of formations depending on the altitude, climate and nature of the soil. These forests have been intensely exploited by man, in spite of this, they still conserve their splendour in many areas of the Park.
Mixed forests, a rare beauty
The mixed Atlantic forests of Picos de Europa, relics difficult to find in Spain, appear in the lower areas of the mountain and interspersed with mowing meadows. Oaks and hazelnut trees intermingle with maples, lime, ash, chestnut and walnut trees; at their feet, an undergrowth of brambles, heather and thorny bushes provides sustenance and shelter for numerous birds.
The roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and the wild boar (Sus scrofa) live here, along with the badger (Meles meles), which leaves its burrow at dusk in search of food. Among others, the marten (Martes martes martes), the stoat (Mustela erminea) and the weasel (Mustela nivalis) find their habitat in these woods.
Relict holm oak woods
Despite the predominance of the Atlantic climate in almost the entire National Park, in the area of Liébana (to the SE of the Picos de Europa) and in the canyons and gorges of the rivers Sella, Cares and Deva, there are Mediterranean climate conditions, especially due to the presence of drying southerly winds, which favour the development of perennial vegetation of a Mediterranean type.
It is surprising, especially on the rocky walls of the gorges, to see the development of dense groves of holm oak, laurel, strawberry tree and other plants typical of drier environments. These forests even appear on gentle south-facing slopes, at altitudes of between 50 and 650 m. They are relict forests, which can be found on the slopes of the gorge. They are relict masses, which in times of drier climate, possibly occupied most of the valley bottoms.
Shady and leafy beech forests
The most attractive forest in the whole Picos de Europa National Park is the beech forest. Large forest masses made up of corpulent beech trees (Fagus sylvatica) cover the mountain slopes which, dotted with other species, fill them with tonalities, shapes and contrasts. We immerse ourselves in the mysterious and leafy beech forest.
In summer, the different tree species display a refreshing greenness, a counterpoint to the warmer temperatures of the season. Autumn brings a wealth of colours to the Park: the copper beeches and reddish oaks and chestnut trees contrast with the yellow birches and the still intense green of the heather and broom.
In winter, visitors can enter a bare forest, carpeted with a thick blanket of leaves. Mists in the beech forest are typical of summer and autumn, while in winter they occupy very low areas (from 0 to 500 m) and close to the coast. This is the season when the dormouse (Glis glis) sleeps and waits for the cold weather to pass.
And in spring, the reddish, swollen buds of the beech trees point up on their branches.
The forest in the encainada
The existence of these forests is linked to high rainfall spread throughout the year and numerous days of fog (encainada). They form very dense stands, where light penetrates only weakly, so that the only species that appear are shade-loving. Hazel (Corylus avellana), rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), laurel (Daphne laureola), wood lupine (Luzula sylvatica), wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa), hepatica (Hepatica nobilis), pyrope (Pyrola minor), and star hyacinth (Scilla lilio-hyacinthus) make up the undergrowth.
Despite their impenetrable, jungle-like appearance, for centuries these woods have withstood the human siege and nowadays there are replacement thickets in many places with gorse, heather and broom.
Fauna in the forest
The emblematic bird of the Picos de Europa is the capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus), although its figure is increasingly difficult to observe. Another bird that is not so scarce, but elusive and difficult to spot is the black woodpecker (Dryocopus martius), a medium-sized bird whose clattering on the trunks of the beech trees is a common sight in the forest. Smaller and more abundant are the robin (Erithacus rubecula), the coal tit (Parus ater), the little wren (Regulus regulus) and the nuthatch (Sitta europaea) among others.
In the wetter meadows and grasslands we can see some saurians such as the slow-worm (Anguis fragilis).
Among the mammals, the elusive roe deer are common in these forests, as well as the wild cat (Felis silvestris), which prefers larger wooded areas. All kinds of mustelids abound, such as the marten, badger, stoat, genet and polecat.
Another abundant mammal in the National Park is the wild boar, which leaves traces of its nocturnal passage in the meadows, to take refuge in the dense forests during the day.
Unfortunately, the bear (Ursus arctos) was exterminated from the area decades ago, so that, nowadays, individuals from the eastern core of the Cantabrian Mountains can occasionally be sighted, seeking refuge and sustenance in these beech forests. To this end, the Park administration is developing a specific programme for the conservation of the bear, in coordination with the existing fauna management plans in the Autonomous Communities.
At high altitudes, the plants are small in size and the shrubs are cushiony, and they grow sparsely, as above 1,600 m the climatic conditions are extreme: strong winds and prolonged periods of snow mean that the forest cannot withstand these conditions.
High mountain flowers
The plants that live in this area have different adaptive responses in their structure, such as the mountain boll weed (Helictotrichon sedenense) which has a graminoid biotype, a long and flexible stem that does not break despite the strong winds blowing on the summits; or the stemless silene (Silene acaulis) which with its cushiony appearance is able to create a suitable microenvironment for survival. When the snow falls, the plants are protected by it, in an igloo effect that keeps them sheltered from the hardest frosts. Often, however, the wind blows the snow cover away and the plants are exposed to very low temperatures.
Life on the snowfields
At the highest altitudes, where snow accumulates over a long period of time, certain plants grow, adapted to a short biological cycle that sometimes lasts less than four months. The location of these snowfields, in shady areas and their slow thawing in summer, means that the summer dryness does not affect the development of plants such as the saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia) with its showy purple flowers, the alpine plantain (Plantago alpina) or the alpine buttercup (Ranunculus alpestris) with its small white flowers, which thrive in these places. Crags and screes
In alpine crags, plants can withstand temperatures close to -20°C and because they do not have a snow cover in winter, they have biotypes adapted to the lowest possible water loss. The scree communities grow on stony soils and have adapted to the constant mobility of the substrate by developing very deep roots that allow them to anchor themselves to the substrate and have a prostrate biotype, such as the dwarf crepis (Crepis pygmaea), which allows stones to pass over it.
The alpine and subalpine crags are poor from a faunistic point of view due to the lack of resources and the harsh climate. Among the inhabitants that can be observed most easily are the Alpine accentor (Prunella collaris), the redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros), the alpine sparrow (Montifringilla nivalis) and the red-billed chough (Pyrrhocorax pryrrhocorax) and the yellow-billed chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus) that inhabit the crags and cliffs and come down to feed in the meadows.
Among the large birds of prey, the Park has several species such as the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), which glides over the high cliffs and has the most numerous breeding nucleus in the Cantabrian mountain range in these mountains; and the griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), which nests in the most inaccessible cliffs. On the other hand, the bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) disappeared as a breeding species in 1935, although in recent years some specimens have been sighted in the eastern part of the Massif. The curious wallcreeper (Trichodroma muraria), a symbol of the rupicula avifauna, inhabits the cliffs, rich and rocky outcrops and builds its nests in the crevices of the inaccessible vertical rocky outcrops.
Subalpine meadows
The most nutritious meadows for mountain livestock are the cervunal meadows, subalpine meadows covered by the cervunus (Nardus stricta) and Elyna myosuroides which form dense lawns and which, in spring and summer, are dotted with flowers such as aconites, daffodils and primroses. The wolf: survival instinct
The wolf is perhaps the species that has suffered most from human harassment in Spain and probably throughout the world, due to its well-deserved reputation as a predator, especially of animals that are easy to hunt, such as domestic livestock.
The wolf in Spain
In spite of everything, and after having seen its population reduced in the 70s and 80s, today it is recovering and spreading thanks to its capacity for adaptation and cunning.
In the Picos de Europa, the wolf is at the top of the food chain. In wild environments with little human presence, it preys on chamois, roe deer, wild boar, small mammals and even reptiles and birds. In areas with a greater presence of livestock, it finds it easier to capture sheep, goats, foals and calves. This circumstance makes it vulnerable to pressure from the local population on what is its greatest enemy.
In this sense, the Park administration develops wolf management programmes, which aim to ensure its conservation within stable population ranges, while at the same time trying to progressively create a favourable awareness among the local population.
The streams and rivers shape canyons and gorges
The erosive action of the rivers in the Picos de Europa National Park forms spectacular canyons, gorges and gorges, with drops of more than 2,000 metres in height, through which the holm oaks climb, settling on small ledges and where the only existing vegetation grows in fissures and crevices. These walls are home to the griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), the Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus), the eagle owl (Bubo bubo), the red-billed and chough chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus, P. pyrrhocorax), the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) and the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos).
Gallery forests
Most of the streams and rivers in the Picos de Europa National Park descend torrentially in the higher stretches, to slow down in the lower parts, allowing a forest of willows (Salix spp.), alders (Alnus glutinosa), ashes (Fraxinus angustifolia) and oaks (Quercus robur) to develop on their banks. The high flow, the low temperatures, the high speed and the high quality of its waters determine the importance of these rivers for trout and salmon fishing. The restless dipper (Cinclus cinclus), which dives in search of food, and the multicoloured kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), whose dives are always a prodigy of speed, also attract attention. Yellow Wagtails (Motacilla cinerea) and white wagtails (Motacilla alba), gnatcatchers (Phylloscopus collybita) and warblers (Sylvia spp.) form part of a long list of up to 42 species that live in these environments.
Marsh vegetation on the shores of La Ercina lake
One of the park’s curiosities is the presence of a mass of vegetation that was once floating in the interior of La Ercina lake, nowadays fixed on one of the lake’s shores. This floating blanket is an excellent habitat for the caryx (Carex spp), water clover (Menyanthes trifoliata), different species of mosses and some insectivorous plants, such as the grasilla (Pinguicola grandiflora), especially attractive to insects, which get trapped in its sticky leaves when they land on it.
Amphibians living in ponds and lakes
Bodies of water in small pools form lagoons full of aquatic species, such as the long-tailed salamander (Chioglossa lusitanica), the alpine newt (Triturus alpestris) and the palmate newt (T. helveticus). Other common inhabitants of these areas are the common frog (Rana temporaria), which can lay its eggs even in the snow, the midwife toad (Alytes obstetricans), which carries its eggs on its hind legs until the moment of hatching, and the common toad (Bufo bufo), the largest of them all.
Source: Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y Reto Demográfico del Gobierno de España. www.miteco.gob.es