The mayor of Sa Pobla, Llorenç Gelabert, the councillor of the Environment and Territory, Miquel Mir, and the director-general of Natural Spaces and Biodiversity, Llorenç Mas, visited the S’Albufera de Mallorca Natural Park this Friday, where work continues on the restoration of the riverside woodland in the Pont de Ferro area. These days have begun to extend opaque plastic covers on the sides of the stream where, previously, was executed a prescribed cream of the invasive reed (Arundo donax).

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The black netting will remain in place until the end of summer 2023 to prevent the absence of light from spoiling the development of the rhizomes, which, despite being burnt, could resprout under the right conditions. The covered rhizome exhausts its reserves, cannot synthesise photoassimilates and dies due to lack of light. The roots of the cane form a mat where they grow that prevents other plants from growing, in this case, in a humid area, which makes removal difficult.

The project is a pilot test carried out on about 6,000m2. The first phase of the riparian forest restoration consisted of the controlled burning of reeds, followed by the removal of the waste that had previously been covered by vegetation. The project has a budget of €180,000 and has been financed by the PIMA Adapta-Ecosystems plan of the Ministry for Ecological Transition. The aim is to promote the circulation of freshwater towards the wetlands in order to improve the ecological state of this protected natural area.

The councillor highlighted all the steps taken so far, given that the elimination of the reed “will help to enrich the ecosystem and all the associated fauna of the most important wetland area of this island”. He also stressed the importance of “reducing the vegetation load in this area, a key action to prevent forest fires”.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considers the reed to be one of the 100 most dangerous animal or plant species due to its capacity to invade and alter the habitats it colonises. The rhizomes of this plant can grow half a metre each year and compete with its own species for space and resources.