Tablas de Daimiel National Park
IUCN Category II - National Park
Catwalk in the Tablas de Daimiel
The Spanish Tablas de Daimiel is located in the autonomous community of Castile -La Mancha going on in the communities Daimiel and Villarrubia de Ojos. The rather small for a national park reserve protects one of the last remaining flood plains of central Spain. The expansion was originally 1,928 ha, since 2014, it is 3030.5 ha Due to lack of water, which fell on the use of groundwater for irrigation, in essence, the area was temporarily dried up.
History
Already in 1325 mentioned Don Juan Manuel, the suitability of the river bank Cigüela for hawking. In 1575 Philip II described in his Relaciones Topográficas the Tablas de Daimiel and ordered " take good care of them." The hunting of waterfowl was in the Tablas de Daimiel a long tradition here hunted 1870 General Juan Prim and 1875 King Alfonso XII ..
1956 a law on the draining of wetlands along the rivers of La Mancha (Ley de Desecación de Márgenes del Gigüela, Záncara y Guadiana ) was announced. It remained until the establishment of the national park into force in 1973. During these years, canals were built and acres of drained wetlands. The draining of wetlands along these rivers would have had an impact on the entire region, so characteristic of water bodies such as the Ojos del Guadiana and the Tablas de Daimiel would have disappeared.
In the early 1960s exceeded the channeling of rivers of La Mancha is accelerating. At that time began the uncontrolled tapping of groundwater for irrigation, what should be the main problem in the 1970s.
The Tablas de Daimiel were declared a national park in 1973, a Biosphere Reserve in 1981 and 1982 for " wetland of international importance " under the Ramsar Convention. Since 1988 they are Special Protection Area under the EU Birds Directive ( in Spain with ZEPA abbreviated ).
The Tablas were from 2005 virtually dried up. As a result, underground peat had ignited. Through the years of desiccation cracks formed in the ground, came through the peat into contact with atmospheric oxygen, and it has come to self-ignition. In this way, an underground smoldering, the exhaust came to the surface through cracks in the soil originated. As a result, produced the Tablas more carbon dioxide than they save. In early February 2010, the fire was extinguished by weeks of rains and two reservoirs brought about recycled water.
The National Park Authority has replaced 2004-2013 more than 4.4 million cubic meters of water abstraction rights and 1,904 acres of land acquired in the vicinity of the park. In January 2014, the National Park has been extended to those acquired land immediately adjacent. Its total grew by about 1,102.5 ha to 3030.5 ha
Hydrology
The water supply of Tablas de Daimiel is related to the large aquifers La Mancha Occidental under the western part of La Mancha, which was formerly " Aquifer 23" called and known today as " Hydrogeologic unit 04-04 ". The Tablas de Daimiel Ojos del Guadiana and are located on the southwestern edge of this aquifer. Under natural conditions, the water flows slowly in the aquifer to the west and exits to the Ojos del Guadiana to the surface. Due to the uncontrolled water extraction, the groundwater level has been greatly reduced, so that since about 1984 no more groundwater, the Ojos del Guadiana and the Tablas de Daimiel feeds. The flow conditions have been reversed, water from the Tablas de Daimiel seeps in the karst underground and so feeds the groundwater. The Tablas de Daimiel in 1995 for the first time virtually dried up; 2005 to 2010 they were again without water. The heavy rains in 2010 have ensured that the Tablas de Daimiel in 2010 and again in 2011 reached its highest level. The high water level, is deceptive because of the long time parched karst underground can still absorb a lot of water.
The Guadiana River is closely related to the groundwater body La Mancha Occidental. The Ojos del Guadiana were the main tributary on the middle reaches of the Guadiana. The river was in the water all year round, ended up being a long time dried up. Since 2010, he also leads back water.
The second major influx of Tablas de Daimiel, the Cigüela, has a fluctuating water levels under natural conditions. The changes are not quite as serious as the Guadiana, but also the Cigüela today supplies less water. One reason is that at its upper reaches for hunting ponds were created in order to attract waterfowl.
An important contribution to biodiversity in the Tablas de Daimiel delivers the fact that the two main tributaries have a significantly different salinity. During the Guadiana freshwater leads, it is in the water from Cigüela rather brackish or salt water; he rises near Cuenca and passes through the region to Alcazar de San Juan, are to be found in the sometimes very salty lagoons. In the Tablas de Daimiel there is therefore a very small space sweet, salt, and brackish water areas.
Ecological Significance
The Tablas de Daimiel are in Spain, the last relic of the riverine wetlands, where a river enters at its middle reaches of the river. Such wetlands occur primarily at low gradient and where lie flat near the river valleys.
The wetlands at the confluence of the Guadiana River with its tributary Cigüela are among the most important in Spain due to their fauna and flora. They are also used by a large number of migratory birds such as ducks and geese for a stopover.
They get their water from two rivers with a different character: the salty Gigüela gets its water from the Cabrejas swamps in the highlands of the province of Cuenca, during the Guadiana called from his " ojos " sources, about 15 km north of the national park in Villarrubia de los Ojos, zoom performs " sweet " water.
Vegetation
Fed by the fresh water of the river Guadiana extensive areas created me reed (Phragmites australis ), while leaves the saltier waters of the Cigüela other aquatic plants, especially the bins cutting ( Cladium mariscus ) thrive. The extensive holdings of the bins provide cutting their biggest deposits in Western Europe dar. In the shallower areas one can find different types of cattails, the straw eaves ( Scirpus lacustris ), beach - ledges ( syn. Scirpus maritimus ) and rushes.
Among the most characteristic plant canopies of the park include the underwater meadows formed by charophyte, prevail here Chara ( Chara ) ago. In the flooded areas, they form almost universal stocks.
Chance thrives on high spots of the French tamarisk as the only species occurring in the park.
Wildlife
Among the migratory birds of the park include Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea), Grey Heron ( Ardea cinerea), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta ), Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax ), the bittern ( Botaurus stellaris ), Pochard ( Netta rufina ), Shoveler ( Anas clypeata ), Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope ), pintail (Anas acuta), Common Teal (Anas crecca ), Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo), Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus ), black-necked grebe (Podiceps nigricollis ), stilt ( Himantopus himantopus ), the Cistensänger ( Cisticola juncidis ) and the bearded tit ( Panurus biarmicus ).
Among the sedentary animals is one of the formerly very common clawed crayfish ( Austropotamobius pallipes ), the fishing was an important source of income for residents of Daimiel and which is now almost extinct in the region. Since the onset of the pike (Esox lucius) were the stocks of barbel ( Barbus barbus ) Carp (Cyprinus carpio) and chub ( Leuciscus cephalus ) so much back that they could not entirely disappear from the park.
In spring and summer you can amphibians and reptiles such as the European tree frog ( Hyla arborea ), marsh frog (Rana ridibunda ), common toad (Bufo bufo) and spotted salamander encounter ( Salamandra salamandra ), as well as the " water snakes " grass snake (Natrix natrix ) and Viper snake ( Natrix maura ).
Mammals that occur in the National Park, for example, European polecat (Mustela putorius ), Red Fox are (Vulpes vulpes), otter ( Lutra lutra ) and the Vole ( Arvicola amphibius), live in the area wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), Cape hare (Lepus capensis ) Least Weasel (Mustela nivalis) and wild boar (Sus scrofa).
Also worth mentioning is the occurrence of marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus), Coot (Fulica atra), Common Moorhen ( Gallinula chloropus), Mallard ( Anas platyrhynchos), Gadwall (Anas strepera ), Kingfisher ( Alcedo atthis), ferruginous duck ( Aythya nyroca ) and Tufted Duck are ( Aythya fuligula ).