Dehesa
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Dehesa ( port. Montado ) is the Spanish term for grazed oak groves ( wood-pastures ), mainly in the southwest of Spain ( Autonomous Communities of Extremadura and Andalusia ) and Portugal occupy large areas. The dehesa was traditionally managed as common property (similar to a commons ) and belongs to the Silvopastoral systems ; Even today, the lands are often owned by the municipality .
The Dehesas in Extremadura now cover 1.03 million hectares and cover a quarter of the total area of the region (4.163 million hectares). In the province of Cáceres , stone and cork oaks are found on an area of 0.53 million hectares, in the province of Badajoz on 0.50 million hectares. This means that the dehesas in Extremadura are by far the most widespread in Spain, where areas of 2.1 million hectares are found throughout the country. Half of all Spanish cork and holm oaks also grow in Extremadura. There are few comparable landscapes outside the Iberian Peninsula . Because of its great resemblance to African tree savannahs , the Dehesa is also called the "Iberian Serengeti ".
history
Dehesas were created when the original stone and cork oak forests were grazed by sheep and goats , and later also by cattle . Due to its extensive stocking with oaks, the Dehesa enables the use as pasture area also for the Iberian pigs , which feed on grasses, roots, mushrooms, tree bark, berries, acorns as well as insects and small animals in the wild. On the shallow, nutrient-poor soils in the south-west of the Iberian Peninsula, the conditions for arable farming are poor, and grazing is more worthwhile. This is how park-like trees emerged. The trees protect the soil from erosion, provide shade for the grazing animals and provide the acorns that are valued for fattening (primarily the pigs).
A special feature of the form of use of the dehesa is its old age - the oldest evidence of the dehesas dates back 4000 years. The people destroyed large parts of the denser forest ( primary forest ), as it still exists in the Monfragüe National Park today, in order to preserve pastureland. However, the change to dehesa took place slowly but steadily and is due to human intervention. It is therefore not a question of a landscape form untouched by humans , which had a plant community corresponding to the potential natural vegetation .
Dehesa in spring with white stork ( Extremadura )
Dehesa at Montehermoso
ecology
Farm animals
Dehesas are a prime example of a near-natural cultural landscape: Trees protect the soil, provide fuel (in the past, the wood of holm oaks was used to make charcoal ) or cork and fodder for grazing animals (cattle, pigs, sheep, goats). To this day, the natural rearing of young bulls also plays a major role, as they die in the bullring when they are around 3 or 4 years old . Nevertheless, the dehesas are endangered today, as the traditional grazing animals are being replaced by modern, more productive breeds, whose feed requirements, however, have to be covered by imported fodder; even bull farming is on the decline due to ongoing protests from animal rights activists . Unused dehesas can be recognized by the emerging bush growth.
Pond for watering cattle, Extremadura
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Wildlife
However, the dehesa is not only home to cork oaks, bulls and the Iberian pig breed, but also a diverse flora and fauna . A study from 1985 showed that around 45 species of plants thrive in the dehesa.
Of the numerous bird species of the dehesa, the blue magpie is most dependent on the habitat. Common species include the chaffinch , song thrush , blackbird and great spotted woodpecker , which live mainly in dense tree populations. Hoopoe , bee-eater , little owl , girlitz , gray bunting , goldfinch , red-headed shrike and woodlark can be found on the ground. Dehesa forms with low tree populations, which therefore come close to steppes, form the habitat of Theklalerche , Triel , Little bustard and Southern gray shrike . The white stork , which is found in Spain as a breeding bird mainly in the Extremadura, benefits from the open vegetation and the small animals of the structurally rich, extensive cultural landscape. Most noticeable, however, are the birds of prey, which circling in impressive numbers over the Dehesas. Some breed in the dehesa, others in the Mediterranean forests of nature parks and on rock faces. In addition to rabbits, typical dehesa inhabitants such as the lizard, Moorish gecko or lizard snake serve as food , which in turn feeds on the eggs of the hoopoe. They become the prey of griffon vulture , black vulture , Egyptian vulture , black kite , red kite , golden eagle and Spanish imperial eagle .
See also
The dehesas were often used only as winter and spring pastures for sheep and goats; in the summer, the herds were moved to higher regions on the cañadas reales or on other paths and stayed there for several months. Cattle and pigs, on the other hand, remained in their ancestral dehesas.
literature
- Tobias Plieninger: Built to last? The continuity of holm oak (Quercus ilex) regeneration in a traditional agroforestry system in Spain. In: Werner Konold , Andreas Reinbolz, Akiyo Yasui (eds.): Weidewälder, Wytweiden, Wässerwiesen - Traditional cultural landscape in Europe. (= Culterra , Volume 39.) Series of publications by the Institute for Land Care. Freiburg 2004, ISBN 3-933390-26-5 , pp. 5–62, online file , (PDF; 13 MB).
- Tobias Plieninger: Traditional land-use and nature conservation in rural Europe. In: Cutler J. Cleveland (Ed.): Encyclopedia of Earth. Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment, Washington, DC 2007, online text in The Encyclopedia of Earth (EoE).
Movies
- Dehesa - Spain's Serengeti - The landscape of a thousand colors. Documentary, Spain, Austria, 2020, 47:27 min., Book: Joaquín Gutíerrez Acha and Claudia Clemente, director: Joaquín Gutíerrez Acha, production: Wanda Vision, ServusTV , series: Terra Mater , first broadcast: August 5, 2020 on ServusTV, Synopsis from ServusTV, online video.
- Dehesa - Spain's Serengeti - The Iberian Lynx Forest. Documentary, Spain, Austria, 2020, 46:49 min., Script and direction: Joaquín Gutíerrez Acha, production: Wanda Vision, ServusTV, series: Terra Mater , first broadcast: August 12, 2020 on ServusTV, synopsis by ServusTV, online video .
- Dehesa - Iberian harmony with nature. Documentary, Spain, 2017, 43:01 min., Book: Javier Ortega, director: Carlos Pérez, production: 1080 Lineas, first broadcast: February 21, 2018 on arte , synopsis by ARD .
