Hydrological-forestry restoration in La Manchuela

Hydrological-forest restoration; a field known to technicians given its relevance in the forestry world and whose objective is none other than to correct the increasingly pressing hydrological imbalances, which are caused by the increasing deterioration of soil and vegetation cover in various areas of Spain and especially the Mediterranean slope.

These imbalances cause serious erosive processes and phenomena such as floods and floods, which from time to time affect these areas. These avenues are caused by heavy rainfall that occurs in certain catchments, which are defined as the area of land that collects and delivers its water to the same drainage point. When these basins are in anthropized areas, their hydrological functioning is not correct, which can lead to disastrous material and even personal damage when extreme rainfall occurs. Within these basins we find a network of rivers, streams and/or ravines through which water flows to a main channel, this group is called the basin's drainage network.

The purpose of hydrological-forestry restoration is to curb these erosive processes that give rise to floods or floods, and this is achieved through two types of actions:

• Actions aimed at improving the state of the vegetation in the area, through appropriate forestry treatments if vegetation exists, or reforestation activities and/or support for natural regeneration if this vegetation is scarce or non-existent.

• Execution of hydraulic works whose function is to limit erosion, consolidate margins, retain sediment and laminate avenue flows. These works can be both longitudinal (pipes, protective walls...) and transverse (dams, barriers...).

As in other areas of Spain, the region of La Manchuela, framed within the peninsular SE, has been the subject of numerous actions by the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha, actions such as those shown in the attached images, all of them aimed at regulating rainfall that is distributed irregularly both in space and time and that entail a significant risk of avenues, with the ultimate goal of avoiding catastrophes such as the one in October 1982 known as the “Pantanada de Tous” These actions in the form of reforestation and construction of hydrotechnics are spread throughout the region, here are some of them.

As far as corrective hydrotechnics are concerned, a multitude of dams have been built on the beds of the different ramblas and ravines that we find in the region. In this area, the dams we found are either made of gavioned masonry or hydraulic masonry.

To conclude, just say that human development throughout history has been closely linked to the different hydrological basins, and that their current state of degradation is largely due to the transformative action of man. This is why the restoration of these basins and the sustainable exploitation of their resources should become a priority task for man.