The Redes Natural Park (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: Parque Natural de Redes) is located in the

Principality of Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

in northern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Its total area is , split between two

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

: Caso () and

Sobrescobio Sobrescobio (; ) is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by Piloña, on the east by Caso, on the south by Aller, and on the west by Laviana. It is situated in the southeas ...

(). It was declared a natural park in 1996.

Conservation

In September 2001, the park was included by

Unesco The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

in the global network of

Biosphere reserves Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) is an intergovernmental scientific program, launched in 1971 by UNESCO, that aims to establish a scientific basis for the 'improvement of relationships' between people and their environments. MAB engages w ...

. Redes is one a group of biosphere reserves in the

Cantabrian Mountains The Cantabrian Mountains or Cantabrian Range () are one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain. They stretch for over 300 km (180 miles) across northern Spain, from the western limit of the Pyrenees to the Galician Massif ...

, which includes

Picos de Europa National Park The Picos de Europa National Park () is a National Park in the Picos de Europa mountain range, in northern Spain. It is within the boundaries of three autonomous communities, Asturias, Cantabria and Castile and León, which are represented on th ...

and

Somiedo Natural Park Somiedo Natural Park (Spanish: Parque Natural de Somiedo) is a protected area located in the central area of the Cantabrian Mountains in the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain. As well as being designated a natural park, it is protecte ...

. Since 2007 there has been discussion of creating a single super-reserve called ''Gran Cantabrica'' to protect the mountain eco-system. This integration is expected to benefit animals such as the

Cantabrian brown bear The Cantabrian brown bear, Iberian brown bear, or Iberian bear (formerly ''Ursus arctos pyrenaicus'') is a population of Eurasian brown bears (''Ursus arctos arctos'') living in the Cantabrian Mountains of Spain. In Spain, it is known as the an ...

which have been adversely affected by

habitat fragmentation Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological proces ...

. Since 2003 Redes has been protected as a

Special Protection Area A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cer ...

for birds.

Tourist attractions

There are three

natural monument A natural monument is a natural or cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities, or cultural significance. They can be natural geological and geographical features such as w ...

s in the park: * ''Ruta del Alba'', an old miners' road by the river Alba. :es:Ruta del Alba * Deboyu Cave * El Tabayón del Mongayu (waterfall) There are various museums in the area including a bee-keeping museum.

Flora

Temperate deciduous woodland is typical of the park.

Fauna

Farming

The human population carries out traditional livestock farming including

transhumance Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or Nomad, nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and low ...

using high pastures called "brañas". The biosphere reserve aims to protect traditional farming as a sustainable use of natural resources.

Mammals

s are often found in the park, which appears to have a key role in the corridors used by this endangered species. Genetic studies show that the surviving Cantabrian brown bears were divided in the twentieth century into two populations separated by a bear-free zone. (This rupture has been interpreted as the consequence of the development of communication infrastructures and human pressure). However, genetic evidence has been found in Redes of hybridisation, the result of recent breeding between individuals from the two populations. This is good news for the bears as it shows that they have found a way to reverse the fragmentation of their habitat. There is a breeding population of wolves.

Birds

Bird-life includes the Cantabrian Capercaillie, a member of the grouse family which is dependent on large tracts of mature woodland. The subspecies has been in decline, partly related to a decline in the quality of its habitat. A recovery plan has been in operation, funded by

the LIFE Programme The LIFE programme (French: L’Instrument Financier pour l’Environnement) is the European Union's funding instrument for the environment and climate action. The general objective of LIFE is to contribute to the implementation, updating and d ...

, which is due to end in 2016. The recovery plan operates across 16

SPAs Spas or SPAS may refer to: * Spa, a therapeutic water treatment Geography * Spas, Russia, several rural localities in Russia * Spas, Kalush Raion, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, a village in Kalush Raion in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukraine * Spas, Sambir ...

, including Redes. There has been work to improve the birds' habitat and to reintroduce them to areas where it appears they have become extinct. Reintroductions have involved a facility for raising capercaillies in captivity at

Invertebrates

Gastropod species include the

Kerry slug The Kerry slug or Kerry spotted slug (''Geomalacus maculosus'') is a species of terrestrial, pulmonate, gastropod mollusc. It is a medium-to-large sized, air-breathing land slug in the Family (biology), family of roundback slugs, Arionidae. Ad ...

References

External links

Walking route of Alba

* {{Authority control Protected areas of Asturias Biosphere reserves of Spain Natural parks of Spain Special Protection Areas of Spain Protected areas established in 1996 Cantabrian Mountains Natural parks of Asturias