Restoration, conservation, and resilience of mountain pine (Pinus uncinata) forests on limestone in the Pyrenees

Introduction

LIFE UNCINATA aims to improve significantly the ecological integrity, biodiversity, resilience, and governance of Pinus uncinata forests in the Pyrenees. Human-related pressures (climate change, land use changes, etc.) threaten the habitat in the Pyrenees. The scope of this project is to make the habitat less vulnerable to global change and to make human activities more compatible with its conservation.

Project Context

No other previous LIFE projects have directly targeted this habitat. LIFE UNCINATA will have an impact in all the regions where this habitat occurs in the Pyrenees. Catalonia and Navarra are partners of this proposal, while the other regions will participate in Coordination and Expert Advisor Committees.

Implementation Strategy

Action will be implemented in 6 SACs hosting approximately 50% of the habitat in the Pyrenees, despite the actual area being poorly known. Implementation is based on a previous cutting-edge diagnosis using innovative methodological tools, conservation planning at Pyrenean and SAC scales, and executive actions aimed to prevent or revert current pressures on the habitat.

Key Conservation Actions

Key conservation actions proposed by the project are:

1. Select mature forest stands to natural dynamics.
2. Promotion of biodiversity-friendly practices, such as closer-to-nature.
3. Wildfire protection of priority areas under current risk.
4. Reduction of browsing pressure from domestic and wild ungulates.
5. Regulation of frequentation and recreational use.
6. Education and awareness.

Expected Outcomes

These actions will have a synergistic effect on the suitability of the habitat for species of conservation concern and of European interest. Also, LIFE UNCINATA has a broadly demonstrative scope, with the dissemination and transfer of knowledge being a central axis of the project, having potential effects beyond the habitat itself (e.g., to other mountain forests).

Contribution to EU Objectives

LIFE UNCINATA contributes to several specific objectives of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the LIFE program. LIFE per la millora de l'hàbitat de Pi Negre en sòl calcari.