Proyecto ArcosLife

Etiqueta: Ribadesella

  • Erradication day of invasive plants in Playa de Vega, Ribadesella, Asturias. A great success¡

    Erradication day of invasive plants in Playa de Vega, Ribadesella, Asturias. A great success¡

    Summary of the volunteering day to remove invasive exotic species on the Vega Beach, Ribadesella (Asturias) on 12th November 2016.

    On 12th November 2016, the Life+ARCOS team brought together around 60 volunteers on the Vega Beach to hold an activity day, with the aim of removing invasive exotic species from the dune space in the Vega Beach Special Area of Conservation, in the municipality of Ribadesella (Asturias).

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    The first participants approaching the meeting point, before starting the Volunteering day

    The day started off cloudy with the odd drop of rain, but in the end the weather held out and the activity continued until 2 o’clock in the afternoon, when the rain started to fall more heavily.

    After the introduction to the day and the presentation of the target species for removal: Paspalum secundatum (St. Augustine grass), Bidens aurea and various species of the Paspalum genus, the activity attendees were organised into groups, each distributed to different points along the dune system where there were registered patches of invasive species.

    Momento de presentación de las especies invasoras a eliminar.
    During the presentation of the target invasive species to be removed.

    The participants were provided with jackets and gloves by COGERSA, the company that also set up waste containers on the boundaries of the work areas, where the plant waste could be left and re-used by the company in its composting plants.

    With the help of the weeding tools and rakes, the participants were able to tackle a species that is particularly tricky to remove – St. Augustine grass – whose stolon stems spread along the entire secondary dune system, preventing other dune species from growing normally. The adaptation of this species to being trodden on (it is worth remembering that this invasive species was originally used for lawns), also favour its preponderance against dune species that are native to these environments, but that are less adapted to this kind of threat.

     

    Professor T.E. Díaz showing the stolon stems of the St. Augustine grass.

    Precisely to avoid treading on the dune system, participants were able to examine the actions undertaken by the Life+ARCOS project, with the fitting of enclosures that will protect the dune systems during the planting phase of native species in these environments.

    Some attendees to this activity day participated in the census of one of the population hubs of the catalogued species Linaria supina sub species maritima present in one of the action points for removing invasive species. The Life+ARCOS staff remained near the removal area to prevent any possible damage coming to this species.

    censo-linaria
    Some attendees were able to participate in the census of one of the population hubs of the Linaria maritima species, included in the Principality of Asturias Catalogue of Threatened Vascular Flora.

    The day ended with two containers filled with the three eliminated species, and the perception of all participants of the serious problem that biological invasions have in the effort to keep Cantabrian dune systems in a good state of conservation.

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    One of the containers with some of the removed invasive species.

    As a final note, the Life+ARCOS would like to extend its deepest thanks for the warm welcome given to these kinds of actions, revealing the awareness of citizens in terms of environmental conservation.

     

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    Final photo with some of the attendees to these activity days.

    Many thanks to all participants, we hope to see you again in future editions.

    The Life+ARCOS team

     

  • Life+ARCOS held a meeting with local authorities from the Ribadesella Council

    Life+ARCOS held a meeting with local authorities from the Ribadesella Council

    On 23 July 2015, members of the University of Oviedo-Atlantic Botanical Garden, coordinating member of the Life+ARCOS project, met at the city council house in Ribadesella to discuss the activities planned within the Life+ARCOS project with members of the municipal corporation, within the Site of Community Importance called “Vega Beach.”

    Reunión Ribadesella
    Photo of the meeting with A. Bueno (University of Oviedo) and Ignacio Baldón and Patricia Toyos (Council of Ribadesella), from left to right.

    The following people attended the meeting from the University of Oviedo: Mr Álvaro Bueno Sánchez and Mr J. Ignacio Alonso Felpete, as technical heads of the project; from the city council of Ribadesella: Mr Ignacio Baldó García, councillor of the environment and Ms Patricia Toyos González, surveyor from the council, who was accompanied by two employees of this section.

    Attendees received a thematic portfolio on the LIFE+ARCOS subject “Conserving Cantabrian Dunes” and learned about the scope of action and activities to be carried out on Vega Beach through 2018.

    The aerial photo of the protected area was used to talk about where the main activities will take place. We talked about the need to regulate access points to the beach, to eradicate exotic invasive species in dune areas—such as the Australian laurel (Pittosporum tobira), Arctoteca calendula or Stenotaphrum americanum and others that are present in fragments of the alder grove (a habitat that is also protected and prioritised by European legislation) at the final part of the river that flows into Vega Beach.

    At the meeting there was also time to coordinate some municipal activities such as placement of lifeguard stands and mechanical cleaning work. The goal was to make sure these activities do not threaten protected species in the Regional Catalogue of Threatened Flora of Asturias.

    The head of the Environment of the city council of Ribadesella’s knowledge of the area, resulting from having lived in the village of Vega for many years, enormously facilitated the conversation and discussion of information about the ownership of land bordering the Site of Community Importance.

    The meeting concluded with council members interest in the project. They agreed to meet in September to discuss important public information functions about activities on Vega Beach and in the council of Ribadesella.

  • Life+ARCOS team finds a new population of the protected species Chamaesyce peplis in the Verdicio (Asturias) dune system

    Life+ARCOS team finds a new population of the protected species Chamaesyce peplis in the Verdicio (Asturias) dune system

    In the course of the Cantabrian dune system recovery actions within the activity of the Life+ARCOS project, on the Tenrero beach, Verdicio (Asturias), a population of the threatened species Chamaesyce peplis has been identified.

    This species had already been listed by Damián Abril-San Juan for this protected space, in his end-of-degree project about the “Assessment of Plant Coverage in the Verdicio Dune System, Gozón (Asturias)”, but during 2014 the Life+ARCOS team in charge of collecting seeds for their preservation and use in re-introduction actions envisaged within the project were unable to find it.

    Frutos de Chamaesyce peplis
    “Sea spurge” specimen, displaying its still unripe fruits, each containing 3 seeds.

    Chamaesyce peplis is a species that along with around twenty other taxa, are being preserved in the germoplasm banks in Iturrarán (Basque Country) and in the Atlantic Botanical Garden, where its germination capacity is being assessed and for its later use in restoring 10 dune ecosystems along the Cantabrian coast benefiting from this European project.

    Sea spurge is an annual plant found on the tide line area of dunes and sandbanks, included within the Principality of Asturias Regional Catalogue of Threatened Flora Species under the “Endangered“ category. In the Communities of the Basque Country and Cantabria, this species is also included in the protection catalogues under the category of “Vulnerable“. 

    A direct census has been carried out on this population, producing an approximate figure of 150 specimens. This high number of specimens is particularly striking given the harsh environmental conditions faced by these plants over the past autumn-winter seasons, in which adverse weather conditions considerably altered the landscape.

    The recreational use of the habitat where this species is developing – particularly intense over the summer season – can make it difficult for enough species to complete their life cycle (remember that they are annual plants), culminating with the production of seeds that allow it to regenerate year after year.

    Other activities, such as beach cleaning with machinery, can cause irreparable damage to the numbers of this species.

    Señalización de ejemplares de Chamaesyce peplis en la playa de Verdicio.
    Image displaying the census carried out on “sea spurge” populations located in Verdicio

    Sea spurge is currently in full flower, and even though some plants have already begun to develop fruits, we must still wait for several weeks before collecting the seeds. 

    In the photograph you can see the still green fruits of this species (small and smooth trilocular capsules) each containing three seeds.

    In the near future, once the seeds of this species have been collected, the University of Oviedo-Atlantic Botanical Garden scientific team will develop the most suitable cultivation protocols so as to reintroduce the Chamaesyce peplis back into the Cantabrian dune, where it has currently disappeared completely, or to reinforce enclaves where its numbers have been diminishing.

    If you come across this species on a visit to Verdicio, please remember that it is protected and enjoy its presence without damaging it. It is a great privilege to see such a rare species along the coasts of the northern Iberian peninsula.