From typicallyspanish.com
Tablas de Daimiel National Park
By m.p.
Sep 7, 2007 - 4:04 PM
The Parque Nacional de las Tablas de Daimiel, in Castilla-La Mancha, is the smallest of Spain’s 14 National Parks, extending for 1,928 hectares across the plain of La Mancha – la Llanura Manchega - in Ciudad Real province.
This unique wetland falls within the municipal boundaries of Daimiel and Villarubio de los Ojos, and is situated at the confluence of the Guadiana and Cigüela Rivers, at the foot of the Montes de Toledo. It lies approximately 10 km northwest of Daimiel and 20 km northeast of the provincial capital, Ciudad Real.
The Tablas de Daimiel is the last example in Spain of a pluvial flats ecosystem, ‘tablas fluviales’ - a system of numerous islets and marshland with large shallow lagoons which were formed by the floodwaters of the two rivers: the freshwater Guadiana, and the brackish waters of the seasonal Cigüela.
Another steady source of water was the ‘Acuífero 23,’ a water table which extends for 500 square kilometres below the lands of 40 municipalities. Levels in the Park dropped dramatically in the 1970s, however, when changes in traditional farming methods caused a heavy reduction in the water table. Acuífero 23 is now officially declared as over-exploited.
The situation has improved with hydrological programmes put in place to restore the flooded area, which include supplies from the Tajo-Segura water transfer, a series of wells for emergency supply, and the Morenillo Dam, which ensures minimum and maximum levels in the Tablas.
Along with the Alcázar Lake and the Lagunas de Ruidera Natural Park, it falls within the Biosphere Reserve of La Mancha Húmeda, and is described by UNESCO as ‘exceptional’ for its avifauna, and especially important as a nesting and wintering site for many species of birds.
It was declared a National Park in 1973, a Biosphere Reserve in 1981, and included in 1982 on the list of more than 200 wetlands in Europe and North Africa which are covered by the Ramsar Agreement. The ZEPA classification as a special protection area for birds came in 1988.
Species found here include the black-necked grebe, the great-crested grebe, the purple heron – one of seven of the eight species of Iberian heron which inhabit the park - the shoveller, and various species of duck, along with rarer species such as the white spoon bill, the greater flamingo, and the black stork.
The Tablas support a rich variety of aquatic vegetation, including hornwort, tasselweed and stonewort.
The emergent vegetation was previously dominated by the saw sedge cladium mariscus, which has now been mostly replaced by phragmites australis, the common reed.
The park is home to 13 species of reptile, which include three species of pond turtle, water serpents and the Montpellier snake. Amphibians range from the European tree frog and the parsley frog, to the Spanish ribbed newt and the natterjack toad.
Wild boar, fox, polecat, otters, the least weasel, rabbits, and the garden dormouse are amongst the mammals found in the park.
The only tree which grows here are two sub-species of the tamarisk, a deciduous shrub which can appear as a small tree and which tolerates saline soil: the Canary Islands tamarisk and the French tamarisk.