de la serra d'espadà English version Parc Natural de la Serra d'Espadà C/ Francisco Mondragón, 2 12528 Eslida (Castellón) Tel. 96 462 91 12 Móvil: 679 19 62 94 [email protected] http://parquesnaturales.gva.es Assistance from: Layout: Benjamín Albiach Galán Kun.Xusa Beltrán Photography: Benjamín Albiach Galán Vicente Arnau Jose Miguel Aguilar Sisco Marco Jose Miguel Aguilar Map Design: Pau Pérez Puigcerver Printing this material has been possible thanks to the Cooperation Agreement fuente: ICV (Instituto Cartográfico Valenciano) signed on 21st April 2006 by the Caja de Ahorros y Pensiones de Barcelona, "la Caixa" and the Generalitat Valenciana (Autonomous Community Authority) for Texts: Equipo de Educación Ambiental Undertaking the Integral Management Plan for Conservation of the Natural Systems of the Valencian Communitys Network of Nature Reserves. Printed: IVADIS D. L.: Date of Nature Reserve declaration: 29th September 1998 Date of PORN approval: 30th July 1997 Date of PRUG approval: 11 March 2005 Municipalities inside the Reserve: Of the 19 municipalities connected, 11 have their municipal boundaries within the limits of the nature reserve (Aín, Alcudia de Veo, Almedíjar, Azuébar, Chóvar, Eslida, Fuentes de Ayódar, Higueras, Pavías, Torralba del Pinar and Villamalur); while the other 8 (Alfondeguilla, Algimia de Almonacid, Artana, Ayódar, Matet, Sueras, Tales and Vall de Almonacid), are only partially included. The Serra d'Espadà Nature Reserve is located in the south of Castellón province, in the last foothills of the Iberian System, being one of the best kept natural spaces in the whole Valencian Community. The “Sierra de Espadán” is a large mountain range with countless springs, cool ravines and shady cork oak woods, spreading over the counties of Alto Mijares, Alto Palancia and la Plana Baixa, between the basins of the river Mijares and the Palancia. The surface area classified as nature reserve takes up roughly 31,180 ha. This fact has made it the lar- gest extension of Protected Natural Space in the Valencian Community. B. Albiach Galán Panoramic view from Espadán peak Geology and climate There is a marked prevalence of inferior and mid Triassic material, through its great complexity means · Climate that there are also large amounts of Jurassic subs- The weather conditions in “Sierra de Espadán” tance, with Palaeozoic materials emerging through mountain range are determined by its relief and lie the folds and faults that form this. of the land (NW- SE), as the winds are channelled so as to form a barrier effect, favouring the penetration All these features give the “Sierra de Espadán” of currents of damp air towards deep zones, thus outstanding landscape value stemming from the generating a relative humidity greater than that of natural multi-coloured beauty of the geological for- the surrounding areas. mations, stressing the pink-reddish colour of the siliceous land forming the range, as opposed to the · Geology whiter shade of the lime rocks surrounding the The “Sierra de Espadán” is a Triassic mountain align- Nature reserve. ment with alternating acid-base content in the geo- logical materials and in the ground; it has great Tectonic interest and geomorphological modelling characterised by sharp crests and softer rounded ridges, rising in just a few kilometres from sea level to 1.106 m at the summit of the Rápita. M. Moya B. Albiach Galán Tawny owl (Strix aluco) Lacertid lizard (Psammodromus algirus) Fauna The fauna found in the park is the result of the Other typical birds in this range of hills are the jay, diverse landscapes and environments that this nuthatch, the robin, the wryneck, chaffinch, etc. includes. Starting with the amphibians, you can find several species such as the common toad or the nat- The masto-fauna includes, amongst others, the board, terjack toad, but perhaps the most interesting one is the fox, the beech marten, genet and badger. the Spanish ribbed newt, with its habitat in the irri- gation tanks and reservoirs. Finally we should mention that there are about 20 species of bats, some of these of great importance Reptiles are represented by diverse species such as the and in serious danger of extinction. jewelled, eyed or ocellated lizard, the psammodromus lizard, the ladder snake and the Montpellier snake. As for the bird life, the birds of prey found here are Vegetation doubtlessly the most outstanding group. The rare and endangered Bonelli's eagle inhabits the mountain The climatic, geological and edaphic conditions, as range and the woods provide an ideal habitat for the well as the floral wealth and human action on the short-toed eagle, the booted eagle and the goshawk. medium have given rise to recognition of different Some of the nocturnal birds of prey are the tawny plant formations. owl, the long-eared owl and the eagle owl. This is why the plant life of the “Sierra de Espadán” includes amongst its most representative species some endemisms that can only be found here. The cork oak woods, one of the most interesting formations in the Valencian Community, represent the potential vegetation in siliceous soils. The cork oak has the peculiar feature of standing up to fire, which gives it great ecological value. When properly taken advantage of, its sturdy bark, cork, is an eco- nomic resource for the mountain people. Mixed in with the cork oaks, or forming thick woods alone there is the red pine, used in ancient times for extracting resins. It also has the particular feature of growing aciculas and pine cones of larger size than those of the Aleppo pine, which we will also find sharing limy soils with the holm oaks. Other species worthy of mention are the matojares or thickets formed of different species of the genus Cystus: heather, juniper and Mediterranean meze- reon.There are also trees or bushes of interest such as the Pyrenees oak or "roure reboll", the teak, holly, chestnut, maple, Valencian oak or "roure valencià", the hazel nut, sorb and strawberry tree. The range has species of great scientific or bio-geo- graphical interest amongst which there are Valencian endemisms such as the "bracera" (Centaurea aspera), "clavellet de roca" (Minuartia valentina), "l'herba de llunetes" (biscutella calduchii) and others such as "el pericó de sureda" (Hypericum androsaemum) and "la ginesta de sureda" (Cytisus villosus). Ferns (Asplenium onopteris) B. Albiach Galán Human resources · History: The “Sierra de Espadán” has been connected with mankind since times immemorial, as is vouched for by the many archaeological sites dating back to the Bronze and Iberian ages, as well as the remains of Roman cera- mics, inscriptions and buildings of different kinds. Nevertheless, it was in the Arab age that the “Sierra de Espadán” had its moment of greatest splendour. At this time castles were built in almost all the towns in the range, and cattle and more particularly farming enjoyed a great boom thanks to the irrigation system with its canals, ponds, waterwheels, dams and aque- ducts, leading to a great increase in the population. The “Sierra de Espadán” constituted an important economic, commercial and cultural centre, with a prestigious Koran school whose influence even went as far as such distant lands as Algeria. When Jaime I began his conquest, he established a number of treaties with the mountain towns intended to secure their submission. In the 16th century the pressure of the Inquisition and forced conversions on the Moorish population encouraged emigration and revolts. On 11th September 1609 they were definitively exiled from the range, which sank into an age of great economic and demogra- phic depression. Due to the particular lie of the land, its natural defences made the Sierra a strategic vantage point in all armed conflicts; the Arab uprisings, as already mentioned, the Carlist war or the Civil war, which still vouch for their presence in the form of coun- tless dugouts and trenches. Cork B. Albiach Galán V. Arnau V. J. Aguilar Transportation of cork Bee-keeping is a very widespread activity in the area · Resources Apiculture is another well-developed business in the zone, there being a large number of hives which The different uses made of the resources and activi- provide, apart from excellent honey, other products ties respecting the environment are all reflected over such as royal jelly, pollen or wax. the different landscapes making up the “Espadán” Range. The socio-economic activities of the zone The waters pouring from the range are ideal for human have concentrated on the traditional exploitation of consumption through their low lime content, which is natural resources, such as for example the exploita- why there are several bottling facilities in the reserve. tion of cork oaks for extracting this raw material to be made into corks and stoppers. Other products of Another resource is the making of handles or the range are honey, oil, cherries, water, etc... "gaiatos" from the branches of the hackberry or "lli- doner", also known as the "llatonero". The crops farmed are the carob, almond, olive, cherry and other fruit trees. One of the most important of The natural resources of the range have been these is the olive, for the excellent quality of the oil, as exploited since ancient times and some vestiges of well as the cherries grown at the bottom and on the these still remain today such as the "pous de neu" or sides of the valleys. The orographic characteristics ice houses for obtaining ice, which used to be distri- mean that the mountain farming here stands out more buted among the towns of the Plana Baixa. One for its quality than for the volume produced.. example of this trade is the Castro ice house, used until the 20th century. B. Albiach Galán Ajuez reservoir Route: Ajuez Ravine (Chóvar) 1 Ajuez reservoir estimated distance: 11,2 km - drop: 325 m The name of Ajuez comes from an Arab word mea- On this route, that leads along the Ajuez and Carbón ning "communal lands used for pasturing".