Des que el 2004 vam començar a plantar vinya a Mas Marès, al Cap de Creus, sabíem que volíem respectar al màxim l’ecosistema existent i fins i tot aportar-li més riquesa. Us expliquem què és el mosaic i com el treballem a Mas Marès fins crear el que s’anomena tècnicament un sistema agrari d’alt valor natural.

Ja fa quasi vint anys que vam comprar les vinyes de Mas Marès. De seguida ens vam posar en contacte amb el Parc Natural del Cap de Creus per treballar conjuntament en la gestió d’aquell tros de territori. Les vinyes estarien inserides en un espai natural que estimem, calia fer-ho bé. A més, conscients que la mà dels ésser humans hi ha estat present des de fa milers d’anys (dòlmens i menhirs ho certifiquen) calia una gestió integrada de totes les terres.

Mas Marès i tot el Cap de Creus és un paisatge que meravella a tothom que ens ve a conèixer. Darrere de la bellesa hi ha sí o sí una gestió, imprescindible. El 2004 amb l’ajuda de Xavi Vilavella, tècnic del Parc Natural en aquell moment, i de l’Anna Sanitjas, enginyera forestal que va fer el projecte tècnic de gestió i millora forestal, vam idear la distribució del mosaic a Mas Marès. El pla de gestió de les terres tenien i tenen en compte uns objectius compartits:

• prevenció d’incendis forestals
• augment progressiu de la biodiversitat
• protecció de les espècies en perill d’extinció
• eliminació de plantes invasores

Els elements del mosaic de Mas Marès

El mosaic o sistema agrari d’alt valor natural fa el territori més resilient al canvi climàtic, als incendis, i li aporta més capacitat per nínxols ecològics, per tant més biodiversitat. Les quatre unitats del mosaic de Mas Marès, al Cap de Creus, estan distribuïts estratègicament en quatre unitats que es retroalimenten creant un cercle virtuós, un ecosistema equilibrat:

• pastures: s’han mantingut les velles, amb les vaques, i se n’han anat creant de noves, desbrossant. Són a la part Nord i per tant la zona més exposada a perills com el foc
• vinyes i oliveres: amb coberta vegetal verda a la tardor, hivern i primavera. A l’estiu es treballen les zones que limitem amb el matollar, per a fer de tallafocs.
• suredes: regenerar aquests espais és clau, són ecosistema madur, evolucionat en aquesta zona, perquè sempre n’hi ha hagut. Hem mantingut les que hi havia, hem netejat el sotabosc mantenint els plançons
• zones sense intervenció: a l’extrem sud, és on hi ha els ecosistemes més establerts. Els deixem que evolucionin de forma natural cap a ecosistemes més madurs a nivell de diversitat. Interessa protegir-los al màxim.

Les zones es distribueixen en funció de la vulnerabilitat de l’ecosistema que volem protegir. En el cas del mosaic de Mas Marès, la zona Nord és clarament la zona més exposada a incendis i per tant a pèrdues. Per tenir un mosaic equilibrat és imprescindible la cura de totes les unitats que requereixen intervenció. Si ho voleu escoltar en paraules de l’Anna Espelt us recomanem aquest episodi de Bar de Vins.

Since we can remember, we have seen cows in Albera and Cap de Creus. Changes in the contemporary world have made transhumance more complicated. The beasts, however, still need to change their minds when winter comes.

For years, we have had an agreement for these cows from Ripollès to graze in our vineyards in Cap de Creus. They win with good pastures: Xavi, the shepherd, tells us that if it rains there will be good grass (hopefully it will be so and it will rain soon!).

The whole area around Mas Marés also benefits with an enriched ecosystem. Thanks to their presence, we help the mosaic, this Mediterranean landscape that is a reflection of the variety of ecosystems and biodiversity. With the cows, one more element is added so that the different ecosystems that live together in this space create synergies between them. Cows are important because they create more open spaces, which is great for bringing in other animals like the little kestrel, which already we told you . They also reduce flammable biomass and, therefore, lower the risk of fire, and contribute more organic matter to the soil, thus closing a virtuous circle.

If you go up to the Pic de l’Àliga or the Pla de Gates you can now find the cows grazing peacefully again and enjoying the sun and wind, and hopefully some rain soon. Tell us if you were able to greet them, have you seen them?

Dry stone is part of our landscape, one of the reasons we rebuild dry stone walls. Dry Stone Week takes place from 19th to 28th November. More than 100 activities organized throughout the territory of the Catalan Countries to raise awareness of this cultural heritage.

This week will take place the 2nd edition of Dry Stone Week. More than 100 activities that vindicate, update and put these spaces of popular architecture and biodiversity at the center. The conference, organized by various organizations throughout the territory, is a good starting point if you want to know more about these rural buildings.

Dry stone is an ancient technique of separating fields, but also of gaining cultivation space in irregular terrain. In addition, over the years we have seen that the vineyards that had dry stone walls nearby were more resilient and with more biodiversity, since the holes between stones are natural dens for all kinds of insectivorous species and small reptiles, amphibians , birds At Mas Marés we have rebuilt more than 3000 m of dry stone walls because it is part of the our landscape and our heritage, but above all because they are the refuge of a rich and powerful ecosystem.

Let’s participate in the Seca de la Pedra Seca, there are more than 40 scheduled events, more than 20 trainings and more than 30 disclosure acts about the Catalan Countries. You can also come to meet us and learn first hand why we rebuild the walls of dry stone.

You have the calendar of activities and the location map on the Dry Stone Week website. Don’t miss it!

In the middle of the harvest we observe the vineyards. They have come this far, with all their might, in spite of the drought, in spite of the wind, in spite of the risk of fire this summer. We are very grateful to be able to work and harvest their fruits. We thanks nature to be able to take care of them.

The vegetable covers are yellow, the color of the straw dominates, if it were not the leaves and underneath, the grapes that we now harvest, we would say that the earth cannot bear fruit like this. Plants teach us slow adaptation to changing climatic conditions, resilience is their most authentic way of life. Our obsession is to make their future easy, creating spaces so that the water does not carry away the soils, redoing the dry stone walls, using drip irrigation very occasionally.

We keep on going on harvest ????

Since we know that the climate change is almost irreversible we do not stop asking us what we can do to adapt us in. Of course the world is in a climatic emergency, whose effects stil we are not aware of.

The MIDMACC research project, part of the European program Europa Life, has been working in our vineyards for more than a year to find answers to a question we often ask ourselves: are we doing everything we can to cushion climate change? Mid-mountain vineyards, such as those we have in Mas Marés, can be a good tool to prevent erosion and therefore influence the consequences of climate change. Researchers have placed small machines in the vineyards to find out how the water moves in our vineyards, because this gives us clues about soil erosion. These data will help us determine the differences, at the environmental level, between working in gobelet-trained or in trellis.

Collecting data is a very subtle way to open a window into the future. We hope to be able to tell you all the fruits.