Alinyà Mountain

A great setting and refuge for emblematic species such as the chamois or the wood grouse, the Alinyà Mountain Nature Space is located in the Catalan Pre-Pyrenees, the only region in Europe where you can see with ease the four species of vultures that live on the Old Continent: Common Vulture, Bearded Vulture, Black Vulture and the Egyptian Vulture.

ALL THE SPACES IN THE NETWORK

Fauna and Flora

The great geographical biodiversity, the geographical features, the marked altitudinal variation and the diversity of the actions of man on the environment.

In the forests you will find interesting species such as the wood grouse, the roe deer and the woodpecker; Hares, rabbits and foxes live in the meadows and scrubs; The rocky places are home to chamois and moles; in the cliffs the great birds of prey nest and breed; the rivers include the native trout and the otter, and the ponds and marshes are home to the Pyrenean newt and the common frog.

The floristic richness of the Alinyà valley is remarkable; Studies carried out by the Catalan Institution of Natural History have identified more than 1,000 taxa of vascular plants, including species and subspecies.

There are a number of reasons that justify this floristic richness: the geographical location, marked altitudinal variation, and the calcareous nature of the substrate. In addition, there is a great diversity of habitats linked to azonal environments, such as aquatic, rocky, arvense and anthropogenic.

Wildlife

Black vulture

(Aegypius monachus)
It is the largest bird in Europe. It nests in the trees, usually large pines and cork oaks on inaccessible slopes. In Catalonia it died out in the early 19th century and is currently being reintroduced to the Catalan Pre-Pyrenees, with the release of specimens in Boumort and in the Alinyà Mountain

Bearded vulture

(Gypaetus barbatus)
Huge size and slender silhouette. In the Peninsula it is found only in the Pyrenees. It feeds mainly on bones, which they swallow whole or broken up, dropping them from a great height.

Egyptian vulture

(Neophron percnopterus)
The smallest of European vultures. Migrant, it spends its winters in Africa. Its population is decreasing alarmingly.

Common vulture

(Gyps fulvus)
The most common and widespread of European vultures. Breeds in large colonies, on rock cliffs.

Catalan donkey

(Equus asinus)
Large, powerful, with an energetic temperament and excellent conformation, this is a breed of donkey with extraordinary qualities. It is endangered.

Chamois

(Rupicapra rupicapra)
Agile and fast, with short coat and brown in colour, it has a pair of very characteristic hook-shaped horns, present in both sexes. They spend the summer in small flocks on the Pyrenees peaks, and in winter they go down to the woods.

Flora and vegetation

The forest vegetation

The forest predominance of the valley corresponds to the coniferous forests or aciculifolis. We found three species of pines, two of them in the montane shrub -the black pine (Pinus nigra ssp salzmannii) and the Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), and one subalpine - the mountain pine (Pinus uncinata).

Shrub vegetation

You can find boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) in different communities depending on whether the orientation is in the sun or the shade. There are also scrubs, rosemary sprigs and seagrass. Elements also to be mentioned include juniper (Juniperus phoenicea), shrublands oromediterranis hedgehog (Erinacea anthyllis) subalpine thickets of juniper (Juniperus communis dwarf subspecies) and bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi).

Shrub vegetation

There are two different communities: the jonquil meadows, with white Breckland Thyme, which presents a unique floristic composition rich in endemic species (Teucrium polium ssp aragonense, Thymus serpyllum ssp fontqueri) and the alpine meadows of Usson (Festuca gautieri).

Shrub vegetation

Six different communities have been identified, with interesting species such as the Antirrhinum molle (endemic to the Central Pre-Pyrenees), the Pyrenean violet (Ramonda myconi), and the Pyrenean saxifrage (Saxifraga longifolia).

The crops and pasture meadows

The following are represented by dry land: olive trees and almond trees , in small orchards, alongside cereal crops, fodder and pasture. The cultivation of potatoes (locally, ‘trumfos’) is characteristic of the area, and especially in the higher parts. One final point: the false oat-grass meadows (Arrhenatherum elatius), the characteristic pasture meadows dedicated to forage production, are also present on the estate.