The Xunta de Galicia has just completed the ecological restoration of the first 39 hectares around the coastal dune of Corrubedo included in the project it promoted at the beginning of 2022 for the control and eradication of colonizing tree species in this natural area. Work on the ground began last April and is progressing at a good pace, with 21.1% of the area subject to intervention, or a total of 185 hectares, already recovered.
Precisely, the Regional Minister of Environment, Territory and Housing, Ángeles Vázquez, accompanied by the Mayor of Ribeira, Manuel Ruiz, today visited the Corrubedo Dunes Complex and the Carregal and Vixán Lagoons Natural Park to see on the site the result of the work undertaken so far to stop the advance of the pine forest and protect the integrity of the dune, actions that are being carried out for the first time in Galicia.
Thus, he explained that currently the wooded massifs occupy spaces which, originally, were part of the sandbanks and the dune system itself, thus altering the habitat of the fixed coastal dunes with herbaceous vegetation – considered as of priority Community interest—by preventing sand mobility.
To this end, and after recalling that the perimeter of action is divided into several polygons to facilitate its execution, he explained that in recent months the field tasks have focused on the area of A Charca de Olveira (polygon 4 ), where they have already completed work on 25.98 hectares; and on Mount Campos de Olveira (polygon 2), in which 11.5 hectares have been recovered so far and 20 hectares are expected to arrive within a month.
Extensive work has been carried out in these areas to remove the legs of colonizing species by felling, overturning, bucking and removal of wood and other debris, and manual uprooting and clearing of new specimens has also been carried out to avoid damage. the flora. avoid the incorporation of organic materials and reduce the risk of fire.
With an overall budget of 383,614 euros and an execution period of one and a half years, the project benefits from European funding through the NextGenerationEUin particular within the framework of component 4 reserved for initiatives that affect the conservation of marine and terrestrial ecosystems and their biodiversity.
New cartography with drone flight
In addition to continuing the work of control and eradication of tree species on the ground, the regional minister also advanced that, before the end of the year, a second aerial mapping of space will be carried out at the using drones, which will allow to know precisely the real evolution of the dune. The works have already been awarded for 17,424 euros and are now awaiting their start.
The first topographical survey was born from flights carried out last December with drones equipped with LIDIAR technology and a video camera, which also made it possible to obtain high-resolution images of the area overflown.
Thanks to this work, it has been possible to design a digital twin of the gray dune of Corrubedo, a very useful technological tool since it will help to know the future evolution of the set thanks to the topographic surveys that are carried out, in addition to allowing to appreciate the state of the vegetation and the morphology of the dune complex.
This information will help the Xunta decide on future vegetation regeneration actions and react to the resulting effects, among other measures. Thus, for example, it will make it possible to know precisely the impact that the work currently undertaken on the pine forests of the coastal dune will have in the years to come.
As Ángeles Vázquez pointed out, this type of initiative is in line with the objectives of the Master Plan for Use and Management approved last year to enhance and preserve the values of this natural park, declared in 1992, with an area of 996 hectares and that it is one of the main areas of dunes in Galicia, in addition to having a very important role as a receiver for migratory birds.
Thus, the improvement and recovery of the natural ecosystems of the park will guarantee good habitat conditions for the species that are found in this space, such as the píllara de las dunes, the pernileiro or the toad esporón; as well as endemic dune plants included in the Galician catalog of endangered species.