In the middle of the debate on solutions to avoid fires, the Forestry engineer, Adela Conde – one of the eight people responsible for extinguishing fires of the Cabildo de Tenerife– and Esther Pérez, engineer of the technical service of Planning and Forestry Projects, explain on the spot, in the Las Lagunetas Protected Landscape (El Rosario) how the work carried out in the last decade with the island’s monteverde has served to stop the fire and facilitate extinction tasks.
The Cabildo of Tenerife plans to carry out an investment of 5.7 million euros between 2014 and 2025 in the island’s Monteverde. Forestry improvement treatments have already been carried out by the personnel of the area of Natural Environment as well as Gesplan in about 719 hectares. “That work has paid off during the recent fire to stop the advance of the fire,” explains Adela Conde.
The expert adds: «Many people who visit the mountains do not know their vegetation and that is why it is important to point out that work has been done for years to improve them, replacing species with those of green Mount, which retain moisture, are more resistant to fire and also improve the soil and prevent erosion. He emphasizes that “h“They have been key to preventing the fire from spreading further these days.”
“When we walk inside the mountains, almost all the life we see is exclusive to the Island”
Esther Pérez points out that from her area, and under the supervision of Luis Edda Correa – director of Monteverde work in the Cabildo– «Monteverde work is planned and environmental control of the birdlife is also carried out.». In that sense, as a reservoir of biodiversity, Monteverde constitutes the most complex ecosystem in Canary Islands, hosting the greatest endemic plant and animal diversity of the islands. Pérez values: “When we walk inside the mountain, almost everything we find, whether plants or animals, are exclusive species that only live here, like the rabiche pigeon and the turqué pigeon.” He emphasizes: «It is essential to continue protecting our mountains and biodiversity».
Conde and Pérez collected information regarding work on other islands. They point out in this regard that “people have to understand that each island is different and different jobs and treatments have to be done.” They insist: “What is good and works here may not be the most appropriate for another island. These debates do not help because what they do is confuse people and that is why we must plan educational work to explain what we are doing in Tenerife.
Monteverde on the other islands
The head of the forest service of La Palma, Francisco Prieto, points out that “the preventive tasks in Monteverde are concentrated on those masses on the edge of the trail or road with an abundance of pyrophytic species such as heather or ladder.” Apostille: “The treatments are aimed at reducing the presence or biomass of these species in favor of others with greater difficulty in burning such as the Monteverde planifolias.”
“Our previous work has paid off during the disaster of these last few days”
In Gran Canaria The situation is very different. This is how he explains it Carlos Velázquez, engineer at Montes del Cabildo: «The restoration of Monteverde is hampered by the lack of public land, the fragmentation of property and the degradation of areas that housed this forest in the past.». Sentence: “Massive plantations in full light present serious difficulties due to competition from the scrub and subsequent maintenance needs.”
The conservative director of the Garajonay National Park, Ángel Fernández, assesses: “The central peaks of La Gomera are home to an extraordinary ancestral laurel forest, for the most part, protected in the Garajonay National Park.” He reveals that “it constitutes the largest mass of unfragmented laurel forest in the Canary Islands.” He explains: “Its large ancient forests, low-flammable vegetation and microclimatic conditions that make the spread of fire difficult, constitute a great asset against large forest fires.” However, he points out, “this barrier is not impregnable and is surrounded by areas of abrupt relief and highly flammable vegetation of bushes, heaths and young forests that encourage the spread of fire.”
Juan Bautista Mora He is head of the Forestry and Environmental section at the El Hierro Cabildo. He remembers the silvicultural treatments on the windward (north) and leeward (south) slopes, especially in the ridge area. He summarizes: “It was demonstrated in the 2003 fire that this vegetation cushions the impact of the flames as a natural barrier of hygrophilous and planifolia species, very interesting for firefighting operations as a guarantee of safety.” Treatments have been carried out in Monteverde (auxiliary strips, especially to eliminate pyrophytic vegetation) in different areas.
Monteverde constitutes an indispensable ally when it comes to fighting forest fires, while providing enormous benefits to the mountains of Tenerife.
Nature against fire
Monteverde is a subtropical humid forest made up of a large number of tree species. This causes the light It reaches the ground in a very residual way, creating that shady forest landscape. This forest formation occupies the altitudinal floor between 600-800 and 1,200-1,400 meters and its natural distribution is conditioned by the influence of the trade winds on the northern slopes of the islands. Within the monteverde is the fayal-heath, a formation that replaces laurel forests in degraded areas or natural vegetation transitioning to pine forests.
A forest characterized by the abundance of heather (Erica arborea) and fayas (Morella faya) that can be accompanied by holly (Ilex canariensis) or laurel (Laurus novocanariensis). In its maximum splendor, Monteverde becomes laurel forest, one of the best-known tree formations in the Canary Islands, an authentic living fossil and refuge of nature.
