| Urkiola Natural Park | |
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IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
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Urkiola, Untzillaitz, aitz Txiki and Alluitz. |
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| Location | Álava, Biscay, Basque Country, Spain |
| Nearest city | Abadiño |
| Coordinates | [1] |
| Area | 5,958 hectares (14,720 acres) |
| Established | 1989 |
| Governing body | Regional Council of Bizkaia |
| Official website | |
Urkiola Natural Park is a protected area located in the southeastern corner of Biscay and Álava in northern Basque Country, Spain. It is a protected area of 5,958 hectares (14,720 acres) are in the mountain range forming the Aramotz-Eskubaratz saws, and the mountains of Durango and the saw of Aragio.
It was declared a Natural Park on 29 December 1989 and on 27 March of that year, was declared the conservation of natural areas and wildlife, with the aim of protecting the natural values and landscape by making them compatible with the agricultural, livestock and forestry traditional place.
The Park's highest summit of the mountain is Amboto at 1,337 metres (4,386 ft). This mountain has a strong mythological significance. Is the main dwelling of Mari, a figure of Basque mythology. Natural Park Urkiola and Gorbea Natural Park are an important environmental unit. Landscape features and easy access have been fundamental to leisure and sports use. The park has increased and streamlined in the interests of environmental conservation.
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Urkiola Natural Park covers an area of 5,958 hectares (14,720 acres) and has a perimeter of 83.8 kilometres (52.1 mi). The Natural Park is located in eight municipalities, seven in Vizcaya and one in Álava.
The whole landscape Urkiola Park consists of the masses of limestone. These rocky masses have steep slopes, creating gullies and cliffs. Karst plains support a diverse and rugged landscape consisting of different proportions of shrubs, grasses, rocks, beech and pine forests.
Of note is the involvement of mining activity in the Park or its vicinity. While mineral extraction has been a traditional activity within the lands that make up the Urkiola Natural Park, the mines were closed long before. The limestone quarries, opencast mines with a great impact on the landscape, have remained active after the birth of the Natural Park of Urkiola.
Based on the use and protection features of the park is divided into four different areas. This organization search the orderly use of natural resources by the population Urkiola, ensuring environmentally sustainable harvesting, preserving the variety and uniqueness of natural ecosystems and geological landscape, maintaining essential ecological processes and habitats of species of flora and wildlife and maintaining the productive capacity of natural heritage.
The abundance of limestone and richness in rainfall in the area has led to a very rich karstic relief, with many caves with prehistoric remains of human occupation.
In the highlands that have the masses of Aramotz-Mugarra and Eskubaratz have developed all sorts of ways of karst. They are sinkholes and fissures , which form a particular landscape and harsh.
The climate is warm oceanic, with high rainfall with a clear decrease in the summer. Most of the park is about 600 metres (2,000 ft). The annual rainfall is around 1,500 millimetres (59 in). The temperature is mild, sweetened by the marine influence, with a range of between 7 °C (45 °F) mean minimum and maximum average 15 °C (59 °F), with an annual average of 11 °C (52 °F).
The vegetation of the natural park of Urkiola presents the typical features of the sector formed by the Cantabrian-Atlantic provinces in the region Eurosiberian with features of the Mediterranean region. This is the vegetetion that we have:
The park's vegetation has been influenced by human exploitation through centuries of occupation. Obviously the height and geology also determine the type of vegetation. Have cataloged a total of 694 taxa (species, subspecies and hybrids), among which 156 are classified as being of special interest because of their special endemism. In the Urkiola Natural Park there aren't own unique species.
The location of Urkiola Natural Park between the Cantabrian and the Mediterranean side makes their fauna consists mainly of typical Euro-Siberian species. Others are Mediterranean origin, etiópicoorientales and cosmopolitan. The distribution is the following:
They have cataloged 126 species of vertebrates, excluding Chiroptera (bats) in the following table shows the distribution according to their class:
| Classes | Fish | Amphibians | Reptiles | Birds | Mammals |
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| Number of species | 4 | 7 | 10 | 74 | 31 |
| Percentage | 3,2 | 5,6 | 7,9 | 58,7 | 24,6 |
In the park there are a number of protected species, 64 are included in the "National Catalogue of Endangered Species. " There are three species can be caught and 12 that can be hunted.
The Birds Directive of the European community protects 19 species while "Habitats Directive" protects the other 15. There are 106 species that are protected by the Berne Convention, 30 for the Bonn Convention and 15 by the Washington Convention. The "Basque Catalogue of Threatened Species " includes 36 species that is present in the park.
In the park of Urkiola there are traces of human occupation since prehistoric times. The caves in the gorge of Atxarte, in the massif of Anboto attest to that. There are traces of all the times in many caves throughout the Park. The passage of the Roman Empire Urkiola land has been witnessed by some ceramic fragments found and the Middle Ages has its shows in the remains of the walls.
Logging on the grounds that make up the Urkiola Natural Park is an activity that has developed in the area since time immemorial. Witnesses to the same are the beech Pollard used for making charcoal, the uniqueness of the oaks that have been used for firewood or pine plantations for the production of paper pulp.
Is defined as "forest use" all activities aimed at exploiting the goods and services provided by forests. Based on this definition has been developing different activities. Between 1990 and 2006 have been planted 185 hectares (460 acres) of forest in different species, including 148 hectares (370 acres) of hardwood, mainly beech, birch and oak, and 37 hectares (91 acres) of coniferous conifers, primarily Douglas fir, radiata pine, larch and Sitka spruce.
The livestock and pastoral activity has been a constant ever since man began to populate the lands of Urkiola and has actively contributed to the formation of the current landscape. The pastors have been carried out in both private and communal lands, which the most obvious example are the Seles.
There are two, fundamentally, the types of livestock: the sheep and beef livestock and horses. The sheep are ewes "latxa" for producing milk for cheese and curds.
The cattle, both beef and the horses, produced to be for meat.
The hunting and fishing activities have little relevance within the Urkiola Natural Park. Around the park hunting is provided in some especific areas where it is realized mainly on migratory species like woodcock, dove and thrush or malvices.
There are not many sedentary huntable species, but are included the hare which maintains a high population while there is some wild boar, deer and partridge, the latter being so low that not susceptible of being subjected to hunting use.
Fishing is inexistent within the Park area.