The Muniellos Nature Reserve (
Spanish: ''Reserva natural integral de Muniellos)'' is a protected area of woodland in
Asturias,
Spain. The area of the
nature reserve is . The main species of tree is oak: it has been described as probably the best preserved
Quercus robur forest in Spain.
History
In the 1970s timber extraction was forbidden and the woods were preserved as a hunting reserve. Hunting has since also been banned. Human access to the nature reserve itself is now strictly controlled, although there is a visitor centre overlooking it.
Biosphere reserve
In 2000 UNESCO designated Muniellos as a
biosphere reserve. The area of the biosphere reserve was extended in 2003 to take account of the creation of the
Natural Park of Fuentes del Narcea, Degaña e Ibias, which incorporates Muniellos. The core area of the Muniellos biosphere reserve occupies , making it somewhat larger than the nature reserve. The rest of the natural park is classed as a buffer zone to the core area.
As at 2011 there has been discussion of how the various biosphere reserves in the
Cantabrian Mountains could be managed as a single super-reserve to be known as ''Gran Cantábrica''. The first phase of integration would include
Somiedo Natural Park.
Other relevant reserves include
Redes Natural Park
The Redes Natural Park (Spanish: Parque Natural de Redes) is located in the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain. Its total area is , split between two municipalities: Caso () and Sobrescobio (). It was declared a natural park in 1996.
...
, which is also in Asturias.
Wildlife
Wildlife includes brown bears (
Cantabrian brown bear
The Cantabrian brown bear, Iberian brown bear, or Iberian bear (scientifically ''Ursus arctos pyrenaicus'') is a population of Eurasian brown bears (''Ursus arctos arctos'') living in the Cantabrian Mountains of Spain. On average, females weigh , ...
) and capercaillies (
Cantabrian capercaillie). There is also a population of the rare
Kerry slug
The Kerry slug or Kerry spotted slug (''Geomalacus maculosus'') is a species of terrestrial, pulmonate, gastropod mollusc. It is a medium-to-large sized, air-breathing land slug in the family of roundback slugs, Arionidae.
Adult Kerry slu ...
.
The proposed integration of the biosphere reserves is expected to benefit endangered wildlife such as the Cantabrian brown bear and Cantabrian Capercaillie, by reversing
habitat fragmentation
Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological processes ...
. There are
recovery plans in operation for both of these animals as they need to extend their range within the Cantabrian mountains in order to build sustainable populations.
Urogallo Cantábrico
www.lifeurogallo.es (a project under the auspices of the LIFE Programme
The LIFE programme (French: L’Instrument Financier pour l’Environnement) is the European Union's funding instrument for the environment and climate action. The general objective of LIFE is to contribute to the implementation, updating and d ...
).
Special Protection Area
''Bosque de Muniellos'' (Spanish for "Muniellos Wood") is a Special Protection Area for bird-life under the European Union's Birds Directive.[ ]
Muniellos has also been designated an Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
by Birdlife International.[BirdLife International (2016) Important Bird and Biodiversity Area factsheet: Muniellos. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 16/07/2016]
References
{{Authority control
Nature reserves in Spain
Important Bird Areas of Spain
Biosphere reserves of Spain
Forests of Spain
Protected areas of Asturias
Special Protection Areas of Spain
Cantabrian Mountains
Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in Asturias