The mountains of the Belate SAC are part of the transition range between the Pyrenees and the Basque Mountains, occupied by deciduous forests, pastures, moors and peatland complexes of great conservation value, forming the Cantabrian-Mediterranean hydrographic divide. The east-west alignment determines the variation in climatic, orographic and hydrological conditions on each of the slopes. This fact is especially relevant in the distribution of the main habitats and species of the SAC. The mountain range forms part of the transition between the western end of the Pyrenees and the eastern edge of the Basque-Cantabrian mountain range, within the so-called Basque Mountains. The main peaks are Saioa (1,418 m), Xuriain (1,411 m), Okolin (1,358 m) and Gartxaga (1,294 m).
ZEC Belate – ES2200018
OVERVIEW
Area (ha): 26.067,44 ha
Natura 2000 Code: ES2200018
Within the territorial scope of the SAC, other protection statuses are included in accordance with national or regional legislation, such as the inclusion of the Leurtza Reservoirs Natural Recreational Area in the Network of Protected Natural Areas of Navarre. Furthermore, the SAC has its own Management Plan, approved by Regional Decree 105/2014, of November 5, which designates the Site of Community Importance known as “Belate” as a Special Conservation Area and approves its Management Plan.
CURRENT SITUATION AND CONSERVATION ACTIONS OF THE PROJECT
Most of the SAC is occupied by deciduous forests (71%), although the area occupied by pastures (mainly mountain pastures) and meadows (especially at lower altitudes) is also very significant, representing 22% of the total. The area under scrub and bushes represents 4.5%, while the SAC area is completed by artificial forest plantations (1.5%) and other uses such as residential areas, etc. (1%).
Regarding ownership, 87.99% is distributed between communal and public land, and 10.17% is privately owned. The remainder of the ZEC corresponds to riverbeds, roads, and public trails.
In the context of Navarre, the Belate SAC is very important for the conservation of the hygrophilous bogs of THIC 4020*, not because of its small surface area (3.43 ha, 1.15% of the THIC in the Natura Network), but because it is part of the peatland complexes of high conservation value in the SAC. It is worth noting that the SAC is home to some of the peatlands with the highest conservation value in Navarre and the Basque mountains as a whole. The SAC also hosts a significant area of THIC 6230* mountain acidophilous pastureland (1,452 ha), which is in contact with THIC 4020* in the highest altitude areas of the SAC. The actions to be carried out in the Belate SAC (ES2200018) will consist of improving the structure and future prospects by protecting it from anthropogenic conditions in habitat 4020* and habitat 6230*.