Protected areas of the Campana de Oropesa

TIÉTAR VALLEY AND RESERVOIRS OF ROSARITO AND NAVALCÁN:

At the foot of the Sierra de Gredos, in the northern limit of the province of Toledo, bordering with the provinces of Cáceres and Ávila, there is a sea of well-preserved oak and cork oak pastures on the left bank of the river Tiétar, which is fed by several streams and rivers such as the Guadyerbas, which support gallery forests of great interest (alder groves, willow groves and tamujares). The Tiétar River, which is fed by several streams and rivers such as the Guadyerbas, supports gallery forests of great interest (alder groves, willow groves and tamujares).
 
The protected area reaches 68,563 ha and constitutes the nesting and breeding habitat for species such as the Iberian imperial eagle and the black stork, together with other birds of prey such as the common kite, the Bonelli's eagle or the booted eagle. In the rivers and streams inhabits the otter and on the banks of the Cabrera vole.
 
The pastures are home to thousands of wood pigeons, thrushes, finches and cranes in winter.
 
The area includes the Rosarito and Navalcán reservoirs, which are of great importance as a wintering and, to a lesser extent, breeding area for waterfowl (great cormorant, greylag goose, common goose, common moorhen, common moorhen and common moorhen).n grande, common goose, little tern, etc), or cranes, which find an optimal habitat for wintering in the pastures and meadows located in the surroundings of these reservoirs.
 
In the Tiétar and streams, fish communities thrive, especially the bogue (Chondrostoma polylepis), calandino (Rutilus alburnoides), pardilla (R. lemmingi), bermejuela (R. arcasii) and barbo comizo (Barbus comiza). Associated with the ponds and wetlands is a thriving community of amphibians and reptiles, including the southern tree frog (Hyla arborea and H. meridionalis), the common salamander (Salamandra salamandra), the pygmy newt (Triturus pygmaeus) and the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis).
 
The following municipalities of the Campana de Oropesa contribute to this SPA: Calera y Chozas, Calzada de Oropesa, Lagartera, Montesclaros, Navalcán, Oropesa, Parrillas, Segurilla, Torralba de Oropesa, Velada and Las Ventas de San Julián . The southwestern part of this SPA borders the western part of the ZEC-ZEPA Plains of Oropesa, Lagartera and Calera y Chozas.

ZEC-ZEPA Plains of Oropesa, Lagartera and Calera y Chozas:

Between the Tiétar pastures and the right bank of the Tagus River, the Oropesa Plains extend over sandy materials of sedimentary basins and fluvial deposits with some granitic outcrops.

Centuries of livestock farming have created annual xerophytic grasslands and wastelands, with a high richness and diversity of steppe birds, highlighting the populations of Montagu's harrier, great bustard, stone curlew, little bustard, sandgrouse, sandgrouse and bustard.n, bustard, little bustard, sandgrouse and black-bellied sandgrouse, as well as the abundant nesting population of white stork, lesser kestrel, black-winged kestrel and rock sparrow.

It is outstanding the abundance of ponds that support amphibious vegetation of temporary lagoons, of great interest and constitute an ideal habitat for various species of amphibians . It preserves some formations of riparian vegetation (ash groves, willow groves, reed beds, etc.).

The horizons of these plains are framed by large mountain ranges, such as the Sierra de Gredos to the north or Montes de Toledo-Villuercas to the south. In spite of the transformation experienced in the natural vegetation, the general appearance is of a steppe zone of a certain visual quality with seasonal chromatic contrasts.

This area covers 14.948 ha in the northwest of the province of Toledo and is made up of two areas of interest for steppe birds that are separated from each other, one on the border with the province of Cáceres and the region of Campo del Campo. ceres and the region of Campo de Arañuelo, in the municipalities of Oropesa and Lagartera, and the other closer to the Tajo river and the Azután reservoir, in the municipality of Calera y Chozas. The ZEC-ZEPA includes land in the following municipalities: Calera y Chozas, Calzada de Oropesa, Herreruela de Oropesa, Lagartera and Oropesa, and borders to the northwest with the ZEPA Valle del Tiétar, Rosarito and Navalcán reservoirs.

Other Natura 2000 Network sites:

In the southern part of the Campana de Oropesa there are other areas of the Natura 200 Network. The ZEC-ZEPA "Río Tajo en Castrejón, Islas de Malpica de Tajo y Azután", where you can observe herons and aquatic birds, and the ZEC-ZEPA "Ríos de la margen izquierda del Tajo y berrocales del Tajo", where you can contemplate the mills or mills in the riverbed of the Tajo.
 
One of the most valuable spaces, included in the ZEPA Valle del Tiétar is the Fluvial Reserve Sotos del Río Guadyerbas and Arenales del Baldío de Velada with 1.666,00 ha of surface. It stands out for its sandy formations, a geomorphological element very scarce in the interior and more typical of coastal areas, called eolian mantles.
 
These are home to shrub floristic communities of sabulic scrubland, dominated by coho (Adenocarpus aureus), accompanied by Halimium calycinum, Halimium umbellatum ssp. viscosum, Lavandula stoechas ssp. sampaiana, Thymus mastichina, Halimium ocymoides, Daphne gnidium, Cistus psilosepalus and Cistus salvifolius, all species of the rockrose, lavender and thyme families. In the clearings of the scrubland, psammophilous (sandy) herbaceous plants develop on very loose soils, as well as terrestrial lichens of the genus Cladonia.

One of the most interesting places in the region is the wildlife refuge "El Dehesón del Encinar", a farm owned by the Junta de Comunidades de Castilla - La Mancha, which maintains herds of Iberian pigs and carries out research on their genetics.