Montsant natural park - Cataluña, España

The landscape of Montsant (a mountainous natural park) is marked by the footprint of human activity. However, the park has an important natural heritage and biodiversity with various cliffs, canyons and gorges.

Its rich and varied landscape emerges from the complex terrain of the confluence of different climatic regions. These regions are used for various agricultural purposes. The following is a brief description of the different areas in the park:

• The south side
  the most impressive feature of Montsant's south side is the rocky cliff walls of the towering Major mountains. They are composed of calcareous conglomerates of Oligocene (dating back 38 to 24.6 million years). 
• The Major mountain range
  Large conglomerate layers form the spine of the mountain. It is an area with little or no vegetation. There are a variety of access routes to the Major mountains, most of which pass through what is known as "degrees" (grados), including some easier routes.
• The north side
  This is an area of wild forest and deep ravines, which extends from the Major mountain range to the north.
• Western Montsant
  This is an area of deep ravines and scrubland with pine trees that descend from the cliffs to the Montsant river.
• The Montsant and Siurana river valleys
  These valleys have a high ecological and aesthetic value. They also have a unique and beautiful landscape.

Flora and fauna in the Montsant natural park

The flora is Montsant mainly consists of Mediterranean vegetation, with some sub-Mediterranean and Euro-Siberian influences. The potential vegetation is divided between the areas of oak (Quercetum galloprovinciale) and holm oak (Quercetum rotundifoliae) which dominate most of the territory, and the oak of Violo-Quercetum fagineae, which grows in damper and more humid areas and on the higher levels of the massif. Typically, the forest floor has a dense layer of oak trees (Quercus ilex) covering a large number of shrubs and vines, making it almost impenetrable.

The Sierra de Montsant Natural Park undoubtedly hosts one of the richest faunal populations in Catalonia. The varied nature of the park's environment makes it the ideal habitat for a wide variety of interesting species, some of which are endemic or extremely rare in the province of Catalonia. The dense forests are normally home to mammals like the wild boar (Sus scrofa), the dormouse (Eliomys quercinus), the genet (Genetta genetta) and the wildcat (Felis silvestris). The most common birds of prey in the park include the goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), the sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), the tawny owl (Strix aluco), and the long-eared owl (Asio otus). Other birds in the park include Jays (Garrulus glandarius), Wood pigeons (Columba palumbus), Robins (Erithacus rubecula), Common Firecrests (Regulus ignicapillus), the Crested Tit (Parus cristatus),  the Long-tailed tit (Aegithalos caudatus), and the Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea).