This is one of the questions answered in the first brochure of the LIFE RESQUE ALPYR. Edited in six languages, it is available online on the project’s website and in print at the information centers of the Alt Pirineu Natural Park, the Aigüestortes i Sant Maurici National Park, in Catalonia, and the Monte Avic Natural Park and the Gran Paradiso National Park, in Italy.
The LIFE RESQUE ALPYR is a LIFE project on Nature and Biodiversity, coordinated from the CEAB-CSIC. Its objective is to restore mountain aquatic ecosystems such as lakes or wet meadows, and the native species -some of which are endemic- that live in them.
Among the species to be protected are amphibians such as the toad, the Pyrenean newt (endemic), or the red frog; and mammals such as the musk deer (also typical of the Pyrenees) and seven types of bats.
To achieve this, various actions are being carried out to combat the main threats to these habitats and species. These include the removal of invasive fish from the ponds, in order to recover populations of native semiaquatic invertebrates, amphibians, and mammals. Also, forest management, to prevent the uncontrolled growth of trees from compromising wetlands and other wet areas, or restricting livestock access to specific points to prevent an excess of nutrients in the soils.
The actions, as well as the reasons for carrying them out, or the habitats and species they seek to protect, are detailed in the first brochure of the LIFE RESQUE ALPYR. These are proven effective measures thanks to previous research projects: LIFE LIMNOPIRINEOS and LIFE BIOAQUAE, carried out in the same scope and geographical regions where work is currently being done.
The publication also indicates the areas where action is being taken: four spaces in the Natura 2000 network located in alpine regions of the Pyrenees (northwest Spain) and the Alps (Italy).
The brochure has been edited in the six languages of these territories: Catalan, Aranese, Spanish, French, and Italian. It is also available in English.
