C.2.Restoration of the peat bog enclaves of the SCI Jaizkibel

 The restorative actions of the marshland (habitat 7140) of the SCI Jaizkibel proposed in this task are based on the work done by the  Guipuzcoa County Council (GCC) in this area. 

Control of livestock population by installing of livestock enclosures, carried out on a trial basis, has resulted in a significant recovery of the habitat in pedological and hydrological terms, but the recovery of plant life has been inconsistent..

While each site is unique, the general pattern observed has been the overgrowth of plantlife  in the absence of livestock, with appearance even of undesirable plants like Rubus ulmiflolius. In this way the value of pioneering stages is lost, as they harbor heliophilous species of interest such as the insectivorous Pinguicula lusitanica and Drosera intermedia.

The SCI Jaizkibel is also home to the only rsample of the habitat 7210* of the Historic Territory of Gipuzkoa. It is a basophilic marshland dominated by Cladium mariscus formations.

The planned actions for these representations of the Jaizkibel peat bog and hygrophilous habitats are the following:

1. To install workable openings on the existing fences. After monitoring of the acidophilus marshlands, it is concluded that the controlled entrance of livestock should be permitted, for which workable openings will be installed on the four existing fenced enclaves.
2. One of the acidophilus marshes which is being studied has been maintained without the use of an enclosure.  These results support the fence with a workable opening as a preferable option, therefore this enclave would be provided with a closure of this type.
3. Control and eradication of Baccharis halimifolia because it affects both the acidophilus marshlands and the sample of basophilic marshlands in Jaizkibel. It deals with an introduced species that produces a large amount of seeds which are dispersed by the wind, therefore, proposing to act only in the marshlands would not be efficient. In consequence, tasks of eradication will be implemented in the northern slopes of Jaizkibel.

The actions carried out in the six enclaves of Jaizkibel will allow the restoration of a surface of 6,000 m2 of habitat 7140 and 5,000 m2 of 7210*.