Practical Ecology

Nature Switched On

 

 

 

 


in the Pyrenees  the first 10 years

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                         a   S T A M M E R  project              

2007 October 13 & 14, Saturday & Sunday


The area on the lower terrace which I had mown at the end of June is showing a nice contrast with the unmown area. It is much greener and lower and these transitions are usually very attractive for all kinds of wildlife.

 

 

A comparison with the situation of exactly one year ago is also striking. I hadn't mown that time but the vegetation was uniformly low, which was probably due to a very dry spring. The vegetation was nevertheless even greener than now and that was certainly caused by the heavy rainfall a the end of September that year. Very interesting to observe how closely the vegetation reflects the hydrology.


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Lower north-western terrace, looking south-east.
Sunday 11:06

  Same place but exactly one year ago: 14 October 2006 at12:27
 

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Hydrology is also the main factor for the recovery of the vegetation in the south-eastern part of the terrain. The former owner had moved the soil and levelled these terraces but the vegetation had quite some difficulty to cover the area again (compare the situation on 1 August 2006). To help the regrowth I had left the prunings of the winter and some hay of the spring as a kind of mulch layer on these areas and the effect can now be clearly seen: only under the patches of hay and branches the grass is starting to grow. Another example of the extreme importance of a mulch layer in the fight against erosion and desertification in the Mediterranean.

 

Middle terrace in the south-east, looking east.
Saturday 9:47

 
   
 

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Also good news from the pond front. The water had turned crystal clear! Many water insects could be seen and the most striking were the dozens of Backswimmers (Notonecta undulata). They swim exactly like that: on their back, but they can also fly. They are fearsome predators and may give you a nasty sting but use the same needle to suck mosquito larvae and that is really good news.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pond with transparent water of an amber colour. Looking north-west.
Saturday 9:50

Looking east.
Saturday 10:12.
  Two Backswimmers tanking oxygen.
Sunday 10:01

Flocks of birds could be seen drinking and bathing.
Photograph taken on 21 October 2007 9:47

 
  One of the first colonizing plants in- and outside the pond is the grass Setaria pumila.
Photograph taken on 21 October 2007 9:33
 
 

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Another voracious animal is this small caterpillar who has been been able to leave many branches of the wild roses completely without leaves. Something similar happened with the honeysuckles this summer but here the destructors were probably aphids. They had attacked all the honeysuckles in the neighbourhood and it is clear that these kinds of plagues are not exclusively a characteristic of modern monocultures.   

 

Yet unknown caterpillar on a wild rose.
Photograph taken on 20 October 2007 16:33

 

introduction
floristic catalogue
faunistic catalogue
contact
index
gallery 1: 2006-2012
gallery 2: 2012-

map
>> 2007 Nov  3
<< 2007 Sep 29

 

 

 


 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Latest revision on:  01/08/2018