"Alien Invasion" Project

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.

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