ARALAR

Descriptionandsituation Karstmountainmassif,theeasternmostof

thedividinglinebetweenCantabrianand

Mediterraneanwaters,locatedatGipuzkoa's

south-easternend,ontheborderwith

Navarre

Surfacearea 10,962ha

Protectionstatus ZECNATURA2000(ES2120011)

Otherregionalornationalprotections NaturalParksince1994

Mainuses Ancestralpresenceofagriculture

(farmhouses),livestockandforestry.High

recreationaluse.

Ownership 57.5%public(MountainofPublicUse)

HabitatstargetedbyLIFE (4030)DryEuropeanheath,(4090)oro-Mediterraneanheath,(6170)calcareousalpineandsub-alpinemeadows,(6210)drysemi-naturalmeadows,(6230)plantformationswithNardus,(7140)transitionmires,(7210)calcareousmarsheswith

Cladiummariscusandwithcariciondavallanaspecies.Thesespeciesoccupy27%oftheZEC'ssurfacearea.

TheAralarMountainRangeislocatedinGipuzkoa'ssouth-easternborder,extendinginto

Navarre,aswell.Thispredominantlycalcareousmassifbearsintensekarstmanifestations:

thereare850caves,with70kilometresofmacro-cavernsorgalleriesaccessible,mostofwhich

havenotevenbeenexplored.

Thenaturalforestscoveroverathirdofthespace,withlargeextensionsofbeech,andtoa

lesserextent,oak,holmoakandgalloak.Thisforestpanoramaiscompletedwithseveral

coniferplantations.

Theseforestmasseshostfaunacommunities,withcarnivoremammalspresent(marten,wild

cat,polecat,badger,etc.),birdsofprey(white-tailedkites,honeybuzzards,short-toedeagles,

long-earedowls,etc.),woodpeckers,batsandsomeinvertebratesofinterest,suchasthestag

beetle,CerambyxcerdoandRosaliaalpina.Thesnowvole,beardedvultureandalpinenewtarealsoofnote.

Oneofthemaincharacteristicsofthisspaceistheancestralpresenceoftraditionalterritory

uses,suchasagricultureinthefarmhouseenvironment,livestockandforestry.Thepasture

landsusedforlivestockdominatethehighplateaulandscape,occupyingapproximatelyone

thirdofthesurfacearea.80%ofthelivestock,fundamentallylatxasheep,areinpublicuse

zones,wherethepasturesareconjointlyused,andinrecentyears,thepractiseofmaking

cheeseinhutsespeciallydesignedtothisendhasbeenrecovered.

AcalcareousmarshwithCladiummariscuswasalsodetected,impoverishedbythe

proliferationofgrassandligneousspecies,andacidophilemarsheswithcompactingproblems

duetolivestocktrampling.OneoftheactionsincludedinthisLIFEprojectis,indeed,tocontrol

theimpactofthelivestockactivityonthesetohygro-peathabitats.