Environmental fallow - Life eCOadapt50

Studies and specific monitoring of threatened steppe birds and small invertebrates in the Plana de Secà (Dryland Plain) located in the Alt Camp region and implementation of pilot tests of environmental fallows.

Date of onset	19/08/2024
Sector	Agricultural and tourism
Lead partner	Consortium Leader of Rural Development of the Area
Territory of performance	Plana desecà in Alt Camp
Climatic risk	Loss of ecological balance Biodiversity loss Changes at the distribution and abundance of species of fauna and autochthonous flora
Budget	13.552,00 €

 

Fallow, a key element in agriculture since the beginning

In general, cultivating the land involves extracting nutrients, both mineral and organic, in the form of crops, at a higher rate of that of their natural production. Likewise, the cultivation work that is carried out for the preparation of sowing or vegetation control, change the land structure and dynamics, interfering the natural transformation cycles of organic matter and the capacity of water retention.

Fallow practice, widely understood as the rest time allow to the land for it to regenerate, has been consubstantial in agriculture from the beginning and it is essential for land improvement and for the conservation of biodiversity since fields of dryland agricultural landscape provide shelter, food sources and a good habitat for the nesting of many species.

Improving soil quality and providing habitats favourable to biodiversity

This action will combine studies to identify threatened steppe bird species present in the Plana de Secà area in Alt Camp and the diversity of small invertebrates with the implementation of pilot tests of environmental fallows with the aim of improving land quality and provide habitats favourable to biodiversity.

To do so, strategic properties will be defined, analysed according to whether they favour the conservation of steppe birds, and in those plots where fallow is implemented biodiversity will be monitored.