68. Raña de El Carrizal, Toledo Mountains (central Spain)

Abstract

Raña de El Carrizal mire (39° 26 ʹ55.56" N, 4° 27 ʹ 28.55" W; 790 m above sea level [a.s.l.]) is located in the ‘Sierra de Enmedio’ range, one of the ranges composing the ‘El Chorito’ range. It belongs within the Retuerta del Bullaque municipalty, in Ciudad Real province, Castilla-La Mancha, in the centre of the Toledo Mountains. This mire occupies 0.22 ha and it is not protected under any conservation plan, despite its position close to a historical cattle track. This area is under the influence of a typical Mediterranean climate, with warm and dry summers and cold and wet winters. Irregular rainfalls reach their maximum values in winter. The mean annual temperature is around 14‒15 °C, while the annual precipitation is 600‒700 mm. Vegetation surrounding the mire is typically Mediterranean: woodlands mainly composed of holm oaks (Quercus ilex L. subsp. ballota [Desf.] Samp.) and cork oaks (Q. suber L.) in the meso-Mediterranean foothills. Holm oaks are associated with meso-thermophilous taxa such as strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.), while cork oaks usually co-occur with deciduous trees (Q. faginea Lam. subsp. broteroi [Cout.] A.Camus, Acer monspessulanum L. or Sorbus torminalis [L.] Crantz, among others). In the supra-Mediterranean bioclimatic belt, and on north-eastern oriented slopes, it is possible to find deciduous oak woodlands, where Q. pyrenaica Willd. is the most representative taxon, along with some chestnut trees (Castanea sativa Mill.) (Perea García-Calvo et al. 2015, 2016). Riparian forests are characterized by Salix atrocinereaBrot., Salix salviifolia Brot., Frangula alnus Mill., Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl., and Betula spp. Among them, the presence of Ilex aquifolium L., Taxus baccata L. and Prunus lusitanica L. on well-drained soils is noticeable. Vegetation around the mire is composed by Sphagnum spp., Drosera rotundifolia L., Pinguicula lusitanica L., Erica tetralix L., E. lusitanica Rudolphi, Dactylorhiza elata subsp. sesquipedalis (Willd.) Soó, Genista anglica L., Lobelia urens L. andMolinia caerulea (L.) Moench. (López-Sáez et al. 2014). The bedrock is an old siliceous basement, part of the HercynianMassiff, made up of Armorican quartzites and slates (Muñoz Jiménez 1974, 1976).