At Ports Nature Park, the project’s goal is to create a landscape resilient to climate change, composed of a mosaic of various vegetation types and forests in different stages of development, to restore basic ecological processes.

In the initial phase, 8 Landscape Units were defined in the nature park, and 20 forest estates totaling 16,413 hectares (46% of the Natural Park’s surface) were identified. After identifying the estates, an informative/participatory process was conducted through meetings with each of the owners. At the end of the process, 11 forest owners (5 from public estates and 6 from private estates) expressed a willingness to participate. The total surface area of estates interested in participating is 9,213 hectares (26% of the Nature Park’s surface).

Ultimately, 8 estates have been selected to participate in the project: 2 estates where actions are funded by the LIFE project (1,090 hectares) and 6 estates that will replicate the project (4,382 hectares) with external funding. In total, interventions will be carried out on a total surface area of 5,472 hectares (15% of the Nature Park’s surface).

Given the extensive area and limited profitability of forest management, adaptation management in these estates is proposed through a combination of specific silvicultural actions, promotion of herbivory, and prescribed fires. Planning tools (forest management plan, prescribed fire plan, and herbivory management plan) for the 8 participating estates have been drafted.

Currently, with the planning instruments in place, the phase of designing and implementing actions has begun, involving interventions in the pine forest through silvicultural measures. Clearings will be created, with interventions to open the forest canopy, allowing “companion species”, such as maples, yews or oaks, to receive more sunlight and resources, favoring their growth and development.

In the second LIFE RedBosques_Clima webinar, more than 170 participants from all over Spain listened to and debated different management strategies to generate heterogeneity in the landscape and increase the resilience of forests to the effects of climate change. With the participation of three speakers, our participants were able to learn about the main actions being carried out in the Parc Natural dels Ports, the results of the LIFE Montserrat project and the strategy with wild herbivores in the Alto Tajo Natural Park, with Rewilding Spain Southern Iberian System.