Altitude (m): 525 Topography: plain Orientation: W Slope (%): 5.0 Hydrology: plain area of the Parga river catchment, flowing into the Miño River, 35 km far from the Atlantic coast. Soil type: UMBRISOLS Soil sub-type: Parent rock: acid to intermediate plutonic rocks PH: 4.9
Climate
Average temperature (°C): 10.7 Average precipitation (mm): 919 Number of frost days: 54 Reference period for climatic data: 2005-2012
History of the site
The site is included in a protected area classified as the Biosphere Reserve “Terras do Miño” (UNESCO). Terras do Miño is a traditional cultural landscape with many highly important natural habitats and erosive accumulation of terraces systems associated to specific sections of the Miño River. It plays an important role in hydric regulation of the whole region. It comprises evergreen forests, woodlands and scrublands, lagoons, alluvial forests, blanket bogs, raised bogs and fens. It also includes wetlands in the plains and valleys, agricultural land and mountains. Inhabitants are mostly engaged in cattle grazing, commerce and traditional agro systems in a particular form of ancient agrarian organization. DS18 is placed on a private land. The land is owned and managed by the Neighborhood Forest of Trasparga, typical of Galician culture. All the forest area belongs to a territorial demarcation, “parroquia”, which joins all the neighborhood members. Each citizen owns a percentage of the whole indivisible forest area and the management must be agreed with all the members of the community by a common consent. In Galicia, this way of forest property is called “Neighborhood Forest in Common Hand”. The surrounding land is occupied by pine reforestations. The stand shows a reforested birch forest covering a sparse understory mainly with blackberry, grasses and some ferns. Resprouting from birch is also noticed. Thinning treatments were applied in 2001. Initial tree stand characteristics were: Age (24 years) Mean DBH (13.5 cm), Dominant Height (13.5 m), Density (2257 tree/ha).
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