Maritime-terrestrial national park of the Cabrera archipelago
Maritime-terrestrial national park of the Cabrera archipelago
The Maritime-Terrestrial National Park of the Cabrera archipelago, whose WDPA code is: 196045 is a protected natural area in Spain, established in 1991.
The Maritime-Terrestrial National Park of the Cabrera Archipelago was established to protect the territory of the island of Cabrera, in the Balearic archipelago, and of other 18 small islets that arise in its proximity.
The total area of this park is 10,021 hectares, of which 8,703 are marine areas and 1,318 hectares of land.
Furthermore, due to the biodiversity that affects it and the richness of the avifauna, according to Directive 79/409 / EEC (the so-called Birds Directive), the National Park of the Cabrera archipelago has been declared a Protection Area special (SPA) for birds; it is also recognized as a Site of Community Importance (SIC), integrated into the Natura 2000 Network.
Subsequently, since 2003, it is also considered a specially protected area of Mediterranean interest (ASPIM).
From an administrative point of view, the Maritime-Terrestrial National Park of the Cabrera archipelago falls within the municipality of Palma de Mallorca.
The geographical genesis of the area of this park is also interesting.
The archipelago of Cabrera, which broke away from the island of Majorca about 15,000 years ago, is located 10 km south of the Cape Salines de Mallorca.
This archipelago comprises 19 islands and islets; the largest is Cabrera, followed by Conejera. The other islets are S’illa de ses Rates, S’Estell Xapat, S’Estell de s’Esclatasang, S’Estell des Coll, S’Estell de Fora, L’Imperial, S’illa de ses Bledes, Illa des Fonoll , Na Redona, L’Esponja, Na Plana, Na Pobra, S’Illot Pla, S’Illot de Na Foradada, Na Foradada.
The only mining activity allowed in the park is traditional professional artisanal fishing, regulated by the park’s Plan Rector de Uso y Gestión (PRUG).
Flora –
As mentioned, the Park area is rich in both flora and fauna biodiversity. As for the flora, 516 species of vascular plants, 22 species of mosses, 21 species of lichens and 162 species of algae have been registered in the park.
The terrestrial environment has a predominantly xerophilous Mediterranean scrub vegetation (Oleo-ceratonion), in which some populations of Pinus halepensis are inserted. Among the most significant species are the wild olive (Olea europaea), the native ramno Rhamnus ludovici-salvatoris, the tree spurge (Euphorbia dendroides), the Phoenician juniper (Juniperus phoenicea), the rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), the mastic tree ( Pistacia lentiscus), fragile ephedra (Ephedra fragilis), timelea tricocca (Cneorum tricoccon), thorny asparagus (Asparagus horridus). The coastal belt is dominated by Limonium spp., With strips of glasswort in which halophilous species such as Sarcocornia fruticosa and Suaeda vera predominate, sometimes associated with Malva arborea.
There are several Balearic endemisms, such as Balearic astragalus (Astragalus balearicus), Balearic hypericum (Hypericum balearicum), Balearic boxwood (Buxus balearica), Balearic peony (Paeonia cambessedessi); there is also a subspecies of madder (Rubia balearica caespitosa), whose range is limited to the island of Cabrera.
Furthermore, in the marine environment, which represents 85% of the park’s surface, there are large meadows of Posidonia oceanica, the climax community of the Mediterranean Sea, which exerts a significant action in protecting the coast line from erosion and hosts al inside it a multitude of animal and vegetable organisms, which find nourishment and protection there. The health of the Posidonia, which is a good bioindicator of the quality of marine waters, is monitored by the management authorities of the park and has been the subject of specific and effective protection measures.
Fauna –
The establishment of the Special Protection Area (SPA) was necessary due to the presence of a rich bird life. This includes over 130 registered species, of which 27 are nesting species.
Colonies within the park are: the greater shearwater (Calonectris diomedea), the Balearic shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus), the shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis), the Corsican gull (Ichthyaetus audouinii), the Mediterranean herring gull (Larus michahellis) and the stormbird (Hydrobates pelagicus). The community of birds of prey, which constitutes one of the most important ornithological resources of the archipelago, includes the kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), the osprey (Pandion haliaetus) and the queen’s falcon (Falco eleonorae), which does not live permanently in the archipelago, but which returns there every year to nest in the cliffs of the various islets. In addition to the breeding species, in the epoch of migrations, countless other species that use the islands as a transitory staging area.
In the interior of the island of Cabrera, the presence of Passerines is abundant, even if little studied; in particular there are the house sparrow (Passer domesticus), the goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis), the greenfinch (Carduelis chloris), the linnet (Carduelis cannabina), the Sardinian magnanine (Sylvia sarda), the red eye (Sylvia melanocephala), the flycatcher (Muscicapa striata) and blue rock thrush (Monticola solitarius).
Among the reptiles, the Balearic lizard (Podarcis lilfordi), locally called sargantana, deserves a particular mention: about 80% of the existing population of the species falls within the territory of the park, and 11 of the 24 known subspecies are endemic to the archipelago by Cabreba. There are also the common gecko (Tarentola mauritanica), locally called dragó, and the warty gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus), called dragonet.
The presence of mammals is scarce, mostly introduced by man. Among them the wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), the common genet (Genetta genetta), the black rat (Rattus rattus), the house mouse (Mus musculus), the house cat (Felis silvestris catus), and the Algerian hedgehog (Atelerix algirus) ) [11]. The only native mammals are bats, of which 6 different species have been counted: Tadarida teniotis, Hypsugo savii, Miniopterus schreibersii, Plecotus austriacus, Pipistrellus sp. (probably Pipistrellus pipistrellus) and Myotis sp. (probably M. capaccinii).
Finally, the marine fauna. this includes 87 species of sponges, 85 of coelenterates, 113 of bryozoans, 25 of crustaceans, 169 of molluscs, 53 of echinoderms, 41 of sea squirts and 214 different species of fish, which makes the park one of the areas of greatest biodiversity in the Mediterranean .
Among the larger animals present there are the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), the striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba), the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), the pilot whale (Globicephala melas), the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) and the common turtle ( Caretta caretta).
Guido Bissanti