The evolution of vegetation in Castellbo Valley (Alt Urgell region) from 1960 to 1988

Abstract

The accelerated process of economic and social change in the upper Catalan Pyrennees in recent decades is directly reflected on the landscape in phenomena such as the abandon of agricultural land, the recovery of woodland, more extensive land use practices, etc. In a smaller sample area, Castellbo Valley (Alt Urgell region), the repercussions of these transformations on vegetation have been analysed and evaluated. The rapidity of anthropic activity and severe rural exodus have constituted fundamental factors in the transformation of the appearance of the area. Through a comparative study of various statistical cross-sections obtained for the 1957-1988 period, it was possible to identify the tone dynamics of evolution and the perspectives for evolution in future years. This study is intended to serve as a reflection of the problems which affect the Pyrennees in general.