The Serra de Leire and Foz de Arbaiun SAC is located in the northeast of Navarre, bordering Aragon. It covers the entire Sierra de Leire and the mouths of the Arbaiun and Lumbier rivers, with the exception of the Salazar and Irati rivers, which are included in the Salazar River SAC (ES2200012) and the Irati, Urrobi, and Erro river fluvial system (ES2200025), respectively. The geomorphology is complex; it is worth highlighting the existence of thrusts that give rise to the cliffs of the Serra de Leire and the Cantís da Pedra and San Adrián cliffs. There is also a north-south fault system from Arangoiti and another system of anticlines and synclines towards Bigüézal, among other morphological features. This creates a landscape with abundant ravines and rock formations, as well as some plateaus home to hygrophilous uceiras, mixed forests, and pine groves.
ZEC Serra de Leire e Foz de Arbaiun – ES0000125
OVERVIEW
Area (ha): 8.897,72 ha
Natura 2000 Code: ES0000125
Within the territorial scope of the SAC, other protection statuses are included in accordance with national or regional legislation. Three Nature Reserves have been identified in this area: Foz de Arbayún (RN-16, 1,167 ha), Acantilados da Pedra y San Adrián (RN-24, 289.6 ha), and Foz de Lumbier (RN-25, 37.2 ha). The SAC also has its own Management Plan: Provincial Decree 43/2017, of May 24, which designates the Site of Community Importance known as “Sierra de Leire and Foz de Arbayún” as a Special Area of Conservation and approves its Management Plan.
CURRENT SITUATION AND CONSERVATION ACTIONS OF THE PROJECT
Most of the SAC is occupied by forests: coniferous forests (25.91%), mainly secondary pine forests, evergreen forests (25.27%), and deciduous forests (19.81%). Grasslands and scrublands (23.36%) also occupy a significant area. The SAC is also covered by mountain pastures (2.17%), cereal crops (2.10%), stony ground (0.67%), and other uses (0.71%).
The majority of the land belongs to communal land (79.55%) belonging to local authorities, although 17.5% of the land is privately owned; 1.67% is owned by the Autonomous Community of Navarre. In addition, 1.28% of the land is covered by public riverbeds, roads, and footpaths.
The THIC 4020* of this SAC corresponds to the Genista anglica subtype of sedges, present in the transitional mountain ranges between the Atlantic and Alpine regions and the Mediterranean region. The Serra de Leire and Foz de Arbaiun SAC is particularly important for the conservation of the hygrophilous sedges of THIC 4020*, as it hosts 86.54 ha of habitat. According to the latest habitat reviews in Navarre, the most relevant point for the conservation of THIC 3170* in the Mediterranean Region is located in the Lando wetland, within the Serra de Leire SAC. Regarding THIC 6230*, the SAC hosts a small representation of the habitat, although it presents some interesting locations of some very rare plants in the Mediterranean region, such as Nardus stricta or Juncus squarrosus. For all these reasons, the actions to be carried out in this SAC will consist of improving the structure and future prospects by protecting habitats 3170*, 4020* and 6230* from anthropogenic conditions.