ASdTorrevieja Information - tourist guide: "Alien Invasion" Project 

"Alien Invasion" Project
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A. Michael on 19 January, 2010 01:11:00

European residents eliminate invading vegetation at the La Mata and Torrevieja's
Natural Park Salt Lakes

Volunteers of different European nationalities have eliminated 37 cubic metres
of invading vegetation at the La Mata and Torrevieja's Natural Park Salt Lakes
during an initiative boosted by the Department for Environmental Issues and in
collaboration with the Asociación de Voluntarios Rutas y Caminos.
This invading or exotic species may threaten the natural park ecosystem, since
they are scrolling the autochthonous flora and may colonize large land surfaces
in a short period of time, and that is why the project is so important.
The volunteers, all of them between 50 and 75 years old, have participated in
five elimination stages (four at La Mata's Salt Lake and one at the Torrevieja's
Salt Lake), where they cleaned about 700 square metres from different invading
exotic species.
Most of the remains collected belong to the “ice plant” or Carpobrotrus, a
species which requires from a very meticulous elimination work to ensure a total
eradication of its stem and leaves, as well as of its wide root system. This
work method is aimed to prevent the plant from resprouting.
Each intervention contained 7 volunteers’ groups who eliminate invading
vegetation for two hours, where they can clean about 100 square metres.
This initiative belongs to the project "Alien Invasion", which is being
developed by the Department for Environmental Issues at the La Mata and
Torrevieja's Natural Park Salt Lakes and which involves the control and
elimination of exotic vegetation and the promotion of awareness campaigns.