Experiences on pyric herbivory in the Ancares within the Compás project
Catro persoas do persoal dos socios galegos do proxecto COMPÁS: modelos de desenvolvemento rexional sobre herviborismo pírico (xeración de pasto con lume), unha ferramenta para a conservación ambiental e a fixación e protección da poboación, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela e Asociación Forestal de Galicia, estiveron o visitando as dúas parcelas piloto nos termos municipais de Cervantes e Navia de Suarna, na provincia de Lugo.
In the two plots, a controlled burning was carried out in the forest, with the support of the integral forest fire prevention teams (EPRIF), and several unburned sample plots and another burned but ungrazed sample plots were set aside, to study the consequences of pyric herbivory on the improvement of the mountain pastures.
Controlled burning is a more economical procedure than clearing and is valid for rugged sites where mechanization is not possible, which allows to reduce the biomass in the forest and therefore prevent the risk of fire, at the same time as it allows the regeneration of pastures, increasing its fodder value.
In both plots, which currently graze cattle, new technologies are being applied for a more modern management of cattle such as GPS collars and virtual locks. In addition, monitoring of how the vegetation evolves after burning is being carried out with remote sensing and field measurements.
The project "COMPÁS: modelos de desenvolvemento rexional sobre herbivorismo pírico, unha ferramenta para a conservación ambiental e a fixación e protección da poboación” which has the support of the Biodiversity Foundation of the Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), financed by the European Union–NextGenerationEU, which has as main objectives:
- To establish the scientific-technical, regulatory and social framework necessary for the use of pyric herbivory in preventive forest management against large fires.
- To develop real examples that serve as models for future entrepreneurs, and prepare and lead their training.
It is a project coordinated by the Public University of Navarra in which the Galicia Forestry Association (AFG), the Experimental Station of Zaidín de Granada (CSIC), the University of Santiago de Compostela and the Association of Shepherds for the Mediterranean Forest also participate.