• Presentation
• Municipal
• Network of Natural Parks
• Regional

Network of Natural Parks

SITxell is being widely applied in the review process for the spatial plans for protected areas included in Barcelona Provincial Council's Natural Parks Network. It is also being used in the early stages of development of various strategic plans for the parks network, especially those focused on aspects of conservation of flora, vegetation, habitats and fauna.

Although the working scale of spatial protection plans - 1:5.000 - is much more detailed than SITxell - 1:50.000 - valuable information contained in this project is very useful for different stages and aspects of planning:

1. Review of the boundaries of protected areas: specific studies (geology, flora, vegetation, fauna, ecological processes, landscape) that exist in each park are generally restricted to the limit of the protected area. The SITxell project provides information on the natural values of a larger area including the park, helping to chart a new provisional limit, taking into account the areas of greatest actual or potential value.
2. Zoning: depending on the natural values in different areas of the park, specific zoning is established, delimited on the basis of specific studies. However, the broader territorial vision provided by SITxell allows an initial outline of great coherence and consistency.
3. Areas of interest for connectivity: beyond protective measures inside of natural parks, current spatial plans define areas of connection between the park and its surroundings, particularly with other natural protected areas. The main aim of this is to protect the ecological processes necessary to ensure the viability of species and maintenance of the habitats on which they depend for the realization of biological functions (migration, dispersal, genetic exchange) and to respond to environmental changes (climate change, pollution) or disasters (fires, droughts, landslides). The definition of these zones is established with the help of SITxell, taking into account different layers of information and assessment of the territory according to the type of habitats and landscapes making up the protected area.

SITxell has been used in developing the new spatial plans for the protection of the Montseny Natural Park and Foix Park, and is currently supporting the review of the spatial plans of the Montnegre-Corredor Park and Serralada de Marina Park.

The overview of the network of natural parks offered by the SITxell project, as well as the interest of many of its layers of geographic information in establishing conservation criteria (assessment of habitats, groups of fauna, elements of geology, sensitive areas for flora and threatened vegetation, indicators of landscape ecology, functional connectivity, etc..), has been crucial for drafting the strategic plan for the conservation of the natural park network. Similarly, it is also essential for developing the conservation plan for each park, mainly as a basis for defining the general state of conservation.