Baixa Limia – Serra do Xurés is a
natural park in
Galicia
Galicia may refer to:
Geographic regions
* Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain
** Gallaecia, a Roman province
** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia
** The medieval King ...
,
Spain. It is located in the southern province of
Ourense
Ourense (; es, Orense ) is a city and capital of the province of Ourense, located in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, northwestern Spain. It is on the Camino Sanabrés path of the Way of St ...
. The park was established in 1993. ''Serra do Xurés'' is the
Galician name for a range of mountains which straddle the border between Spain and Portugal: the Portuguese variant is ''Gerês''.
The main geological material of this park is granite. Within the borders of the park are lower elevation glacier
cirques.
International recognition
There is also a protected area on the Portuguese side of the border, the
Peneda-Gerês National Park. In 2009 a transboundary
biosphere reserve was designated by
UNESCO which is intended to help the two countries integrate conservation measures. The Council decided to add 22 new sites to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves of UNESCO, which now has a total of 533 reserves spread over 106 countries. One that was added was the International Park Xures-Geres according to UNESCO's website.
The importance of the site from an ecological point of view is due to the wealth of forest ecosystems and bogs and a high level of endemic species that has been developed by climatic influences from the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean. Local communities are an integral part of the regional landscape. They have established centers for sustainable development in the reserve to support municipalities in their efforts to strengthen the environmental sustainability criteria in local development.
Baixa Limia – Serra do Xurés is also the name of a
Natura 2000
Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively ...
site.
Site ES0000376
European Environment Agency
The European Environment Agency (EEA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) which provides independent information on the environment.
Definition
The European Environment Agency (EEA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) which provides i ...
Flora and fauna
The park's flora is characterized by a deciduous forest with Pyrenean oak
''Quercus pyrenaica'', commonly known as Pyrenean oak, is a tree native to southwestern Europe and northwestern North Africa. Despite its common name, it is rarely found in the Pyrenees Mountains and is more abundant in northern Portugal and nort ...
(''Quercus pyrenaica''), birch ('' Betula pubescens''/''Betula celtiberica'') and Mediterranean elements such as '' Arbutus unedo'' and higher altitude holly (''Ilex aquifolium
''Ilex aquifolium'', the holly, common holly, English holly, European holly, or occasionally Christmas holly, is a species of flowering plant in the family (botany), family Aquifoliaceae, native plant, native to western and southern Europe, nort ...
''). There are several relic plants, including Portuguese laurel (''Prunus lusitanica
''Prunus lusitanica'', the Portuguese laurel cherry or Portugal laurel, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae, native to southwestern France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, and Macaronesia (the Azores, Canary Islands and Madeira ...
''), a species that colonizes the ravines and other areas that have high humidity.
Some amphibians and reptiles that can be found in the park are the Iberian wall lizard
''Podarcis hispanicus,'' also known as Iberian wall lizard, is a small wall lizard species of the genus ''Podarcis''. It is found in the Iberian peninsula, in northwestern Africa and in coastal districts in Languedoc-Roussillon in France. In Span ...
s (''Podarcis bocagei
Bocage's wall lizard (''Podarcis bocagei'') is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation ...
''/'' Podarcis guadarramae'') and the viperine snake ('' Natrix maura''). Birds include golden eagles (''Aquila chrysaetos''), goshawks
Goshawk may refer to several species of birds of prey, mainly in the genus ''Accipiter'':
* Northern goshawk, ''Accipiter gentilis'', often referred to simply as the goshawk, since it is the only goshawk found in much of its range (in Europe and N ...
, cuckoos and woodpeckers. Some hunting species are wild boars, roe deer and rabbits
Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit specie ...
. There are also wolves, European polecats and wildcats
The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...
. Otters can be found in the waterways.
See also
* Peneda-Gerês National Park
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baixa Limia - Serra do Xures
Natural parks of Spain
Protected areas of Galicia (Spain)
Geography of the Province of Ourense